December Due Date Advice

I have a friend who's daughter was born right after christmas. She is planning on having a small celebration on her birthday with the family but then celebrating her half birthday in June, with the friends party and presents. This way Like most kids she'll have 2 times of year with presents and celebration.

My son will be 5 on Dec. 24th. We celebrate his b-day on Dec. 1st. It is after thanksgiving and still early enough before christmas. If you plan a b-day party after the 10th, you'll find people have x-mas parties to go to or family is in town or people are going out of town.

My son was born on the 26th of Dec. He will be 2 this year. We just do somethig small for now but mt friend her girl is going to be 8 this Dec. 26th and they do half birthdays. In the warmer weather they have a pool party or somethig out doors with her school friends and family.

I'm pregnant with my 4th and due on Dec 28th. They are inducing me on Dec 21st. I think that is perfect because if at all possible, I want us all to be home by Christmas Eve. My birthday is December 16th and I never really had an issue with having a December birthday. It was always celebrated as anyone else's in the family and I seemed to get just as much as everyone else. My mom would just buy the presents earlier in the year and save them so it wasn't more out of the account during the holidays. If you have the baby too close to Christmas sometime's it's difficult to have a party on the day of the birthday because everyone is sooooooo busy that time of year. I know this because my sister had her child on Christmas Day. She never gets to have friends over that day. She's turning 16 this year and she cannot even go get her driver's license on that day because the DMV is, of course, closed. I think it was a very special Christmas for the family the year she was born though. It's the best Christmas present ever.

My birthday is December 27. As a child I didn't mind it because while some kids experienced that sadness once the Christmas presents were opened - I still had something fun to look forward to in a couple days.

My parents tried very hard to make my birthday separate and special. The hard thing was as I got older my friends were very rarely available for a big party or sleepover because it was so close to Christmas Day. That seems to be the case now even as an adult although even I'm too tired to want to do anything big for my own birthday so close to the holiday.

I sort of agree with another writer who said that unless you must have a c-section - let nature take its course and have your baby when they're supposed to come. Who knows, maybe he/she will be a week late like my daughter was and you can get the birthday to be just after New Years.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter when they're born as long as they are healthy and happy. Their birthday will be their birthday and you will make it wonderful for them - no matter what the day.

Good luck!

My brother was a December baby and it was a bummer. My mom told everyone "give him a bday present and/or give him a xmas present, but don't give him one present and tell him it's for both!" LOL I would say, go earlier. My son is a end of summer baby, and it's always hard trying to get invites to the kids and get them to show up due to vacations, etc. Based on that, I would say earlier so that you can pass out invitations and have a party before school gets out for winter break.

Hi M.,
It's so great that you are thinking ahead on this one!
Although my birthday is not at Christmas (and is in January), I still got short changed on birthday gifts, or received everyone's unwanted Christmas presents. I also have many, friends who have birthdays on, or near Christmas, and they ALL complained that they got birthday/Christmas presents and not both. Additionally, none of them were able to have parties with all of their friends because everyone was with their families.
My thoughts would be: celebrate your child's half birthday. This would be towards the end of the school year, the weather would be warmer for pool parties (or outside venues) and you would have the majority of his or her little friends around. Additionally, everyone would not be financially strapped (including yourselves), and emotionally and physically drained. Just my thoughts, hope this helps.

I have a niece that was born Dec. 31 (new years eve) and the poor kid gets "oh if you don't get it for xmas you'll get for your birthday" line. Now that she is old enough I have asked her to give me a Christmas list for Santa and a "personal birthday list". This way for her birthday its a bit MORE personal with the gifts. This past year her mom had an early new years eve party just for kids that started at 7pm and ended at 9pm. They watched the new year ring in New York and then the kids went home. It was a mess of confetti and lots of apple cider from plastic champagne glasses. Fun finger foods too.

A lot of the friends/family miss her day because of the busy holidays but there is nothing you can do about that. As long as it is the core you will be fine. Remember to just get creative as the child gets older. Good Luck!

K.

Hi Michell,

First of all, Congratulation on your new bundle of joy!!

My daughter was born on Christmas Day, she will be turning 5 this year... and almost every year she gets cheated by more than one family member or friend.

Family/friends hand her ONE gift for X-mas/birthday. This happened the first two years - mainly because we decided to celebrate her Birthday on Christmas Day when family/friends gather together anyway.

What we do now is celebrate her birthday prior to Christmas. Usually the first/second week. The way I see it, family/friends are still on a shopping frenzy and won't think twice about getting her a Birthday gift for her birthday (party) and one for Christmas.

That made a huge difference.

Good luck!!

Hi My son's birthday is December 20. I always have his birthday party on his birthday or earlier and try to make it big, so he does not feel like his birthday is on Christmas. It works for us because usually everyone is in town for Christmas. It's a pre-Christmas party. If your baby comes late, then you could have a new years birthday party. If you are going to have a c-section they will probably take the baby a week to 10 days before your due date.
Good luck!

My birtday is Dec. 20th,,, I am 45 years old... The older you get it just really doesn't matter... But my younger years, it was always just another day, everyone was always too busy with their xmas shopping to even remember, or they were too broke to acknowledge the day!!!

I now know of people who have a birthday at xmas, or near, and they have a 1/2 birthday party celebration in June, with all friends and family, and when the real birthday comes in December, they celebrate it with just close family members with cake,,,

No one should EVER feel their birthday isn't special!!! June just makes it twice as nice!!!

December Birthday's can be just as fun as any other month you just have to be a little creative. I have two son's with December B-day's. One in the 1st and one on the 28th. We've done the 1/2 b-day's and parties at the begining of the month or just after New Years but my kids love the birthday tree a lot. We buy our tree at the start of December and decorate it with streamers and balloons, put a party hat on the top instead of a star. The boy's really get a kick out of it and then about a week befor Christmas we switck back to our traditional holiday stuff. For my 12/28 birthday boy we sometimes go back to b-day tree right after Christmas. You do have to make an effort to make the birthday special for them and seperate from the holiday's. Even for parties try to stay away from to much winter theemed events(People tend to think it's another holiday party). We had a Luau one year to have Summer at Christmas time!

My fathers Birthday is the 28th and My husbands is ON Christmas. My hubby says that he loved having his bday on xmas cause people were always trying to make sure that his b-day was also celerbrated resulting in MORE presents and attention. My dad love it cause his family would put up a second tree just for him, decorated differently than the xmas tree, presents put under his tree were also wrapped in "special" silver paper and red ribbon. Not only was he proud to show his friends HIS tree but he could see all the presents he was getting. From listening to these two, it seems they actually get MORE attention due to the date of their bdays cause people want to make sure they are recognised. If I was to put my vote in I would say do it after xmas being xmas let down occurs in kids and if it is after there is something to look forward to...as well as all the xmas parties are over so your sched might be a little clearer. Good luck!

M.--Although my birthday isn't in december I have a mom with a birthday 2 days before christmas, a brother the day after , a sister jan 1st & another brother early december. So we're quite the busy family in december. the only one that really was affected was my brother (dec. 26) my parents always tried to make his birthday seperate and special, giving him just as much attention as if his birthday was in june. i still today make sure that i give him 2 seperate presents, we are 39 & 42. i think if you plan for the moments and really focus on your kid on his special day all will be great. i always like the 2 days of parties too!!

i now have a step son who has a birthday the first week of jan and what we do with him is let him have a special pool party in the middle of the summer to celebrate his "1/2" birthday. he really enjoys doing that as well because it is easier to involve more kids.

i wish you the best of luck!!

Hi M.,

My birthday is on the 27th and my younger brother the 28th. For me it didn't really matter for the most part. Sometimes as a kid we'd have combined presents so people would say "this is your birthday and Christmas present" and as a kid sometimes that was hard. Trying to remember as a child..and all children are different so it's hard to say how yours will feel...but I do remember having a bithday party in the summer when I was 8 1/2 and that was fun. I think it was because of the winter season...growing up in Utah. My parents did a pretty good job at keeping it seperate overall and still had a birthday party or something special.
Either way it's a really busy season and with your due date right in the middle the before or after really wont matter. I'd personally selfishly want to have the child to be born to celebrate Christmas....if you can be already home...that would be sooo nice. Nothing like a new born babe to bring in the spirit of Christmas. Congrates and good luck!

My sister is Nov 29th and my daughter is Jan 16th, and they have suffered the "this is for both" syndrome. I think its up to you and Dad to make the distinction between Christmas and birthday. If they get 2 gifts from one family member, hide one for the birthday.

Hi there!

My son is a Jan 5th b-day...even he ends up feeling slighted...I suggest before for the family celebration and then having a birthday party (with pals) on the half (June, July)

Our kids could have a party every other year...that worked out well.

Blessings to you on your new child!

C. R

Hi M., I am a Dec. baby. I was born Dec. 28th. It was hard when I was younger having a birthday so close to christmas cause some people would give me a present and say happy birthday and Marry christmas. I would tell them to pick one, either give it to me for my birthday or give it to me for christmas but not both. My parents always did my birthday and christmas separate. I think as long as you separate the two your child will be fine and won't miss out on anything. I wouls also make sure that you wrap your child's b-day presents in regular b-day paper. It does bother me ( well not as much as it used too) when people don't take the time to wrap my b-day present in b-day paper. It's not all bad having a birthday right bye christams cause I would get gifts on christmas and then 3 days later my birthday. Sometimes, my mom would wait a few days and have my birthday in Jan. that way my friends and everyone could be there cause people do go out of town over christmas break but over all I love having my birthday so close to christmas! oh, and I was a c-section baby too! I hope this helps you!

My son was born Dec 10 which is 2 weeks before christmas and my birthday is Jan 8, 2 weeks after christmas. It is a very busy time of year and things do tend to get lumped together either way you go. But as parents, you do have the power to make it special regardless. We make a big deal out of birthdays for my son and then he knows he still has xmas coming soon to look forward to. As for c-sections, I also have experience with those and I personally would opt for surgery after xmas. You might be uncomfortable and possibly antsy or nervous before christmas, but it's major abdominal surgery and it takes some recovery. You may not enjoy the festivities quite as much if you are in bed or worse, in pain, depending on how close the c-section is to xmas. Coming from the mouth of my 9 year old "I like having my birthday near Christmas, because you get LOTS of presents in one month!" So there you have it. Have a wonderful rest of your pregnancy and here's wishing you an easy delivery and recovery.

I had a great time reading all of your responses. My daughter was due the 24th and came on the 25th, Christmas Day! She'll be 2 this year so I have only experienced one birthday so far. You got a lot of great ideas I will be trying. Here are my 2 cents.

-As far as your choice for being induced: I don't think it really matters. Choose a day you like. The month before Christmas everyone is busy. The month after everyone is tired and broke.

-Young kids don't really care about their birthday, it's really for the parents. So that will give you a few years to decide what to do. I just had a birthday celebration during our Christmas activities with family.

-I like that half birthday idea best for when our daughter wants to start having parties. We'll pick a weekend in June for her friends to celebrate. What's funny is her actual half birthday is our anniversary!

-I feel like I can't really make a decision until I know what my daughter prefers. She may grow up loving it, and maybe not.

Good luck and congratulations on the best present ever!

I hate to point this out but it might be a mute point to try and micromanage the due date. If you will have a C-Section, most practices require you to plan the C-Section 1-2 weeks prior to the due date and my doctor only did planned C's on Tuesdays, so My baby's birth date was pre-determined by the doctor's office.

For the record, my daughters both have early January b-days and we like to have parties over Christmas break. The only drawback is that some kids are out of town or else they forget about the party (because they haven't seen their friends since before Christmas). Any way you slice it, December will be a busy month for you, and yes, it does suck getting all of your presents at the same time. Just try and make it special any way your can! (and I know you will because you are already worried about it!)

My 5yo has a birthday on Dec 27th the presents are never an issue because of the day after Christmas sale but the attendance to his party from anyone other than close family has allways been hard because everyone is out of town or has family in town and can't make it. I have been thinking about doing his birthday in June or July like a half birthday so that people can actually come to his party. This was recomended to me by my friends mother and I have also heard other people do this also.

My baby is a new years baby and I am worried about her birthday getting overlooked. I think I have a good example with my husbands brother. He is a Dec 26th birthday and his parents always made a point to celebrate his bday the day after Christmas no matter what. It works great now that we are all grown up because we usually travel from all over to be together so he gets an extra special birthday with the whole family typically. We usually do Christmas celebration and then the next night is always Chad's Bday party. We have never had problem with turnout...people are always in a festive mood around the holidays and it is another reason to celebrate! Good luck!

Hi M.,

First, who cares? Really! I'm not trying to sound sarcastic, but the baby comes when the baby comes. My 2 brothers and I are all in December. I have friends that have babies and kids that are right before Christmas, after Christmas, and 1 that is a Christmas eve baby who is now 17. (she did just fine)
It's up to you if you want to celebrate her Birthday . I would think you know as a mother of 3 that one can't always celebrate with a party on the actual birthday itself. So when she gets older you'll celebrate a week before Christmas or before school gets out so she can be with her friends. As long as you have a beautiful healthy baby. I think she should be born when she's supposed to be born. Unless of course you need a c section, then it's a given, but at least do it on her due date.

Anyway, that's my point of view. and it's just one. So read on as I'm sure we all have our ideas.

Thanks
A.

My birthday is 12/12 and since you are having a baby in December as long as the baby is healthy it really doesn't matter. But since you asked and you may have a choice, I would say before Christmas. After Christmas it seems like everyone is completely spent (and I mean physically, emotionally and financially!) and the only energy they are going to have is to prepare for the New Year. Whereas before everyone is still excited and in anticipation of Christmas, which I think carries over to birthdays! My fathers birthday was on Christmas and his mother (my grandmother) always had his celebration on June 25th. Of course now my dad expects a party and gifts twice a year (he is 65 and I can't imagine what it was like when he was a child!!). But we usually give him gag gifts on Christmas (a pair of socks 1 for Christmas and 1 for birthday etc) and the good gifts in June. One downside to birthdays before Christmas is usually schools have all the final exams right before the Christmas holiday so you are usually studying the day/night of your birthday. My 21st birthday was spent taking a final and then preparing for 2 more the next day!! Let me know what happens! Hope this helps, T.

M.,
I don't think it is a good idea to plan a C-section, its better to go into labor and then do the C-section if need be. Talk to your doctor about that. I don't want to scare you, but my brother was a planned c-section and was born blue and not breathing, I guess he wasn't ready yet. (They got him to breath, but it scared the hell out of my parents.) The contractions prepare you and the baby for birth, I'd look into it.

As far as a birthday, I'm not too sure about that either, but you could always have a party whenever you want, in January, for example and have a small family /cake thing the day of his bithday. Things always have a way of working themselves out.
Good luck!

I have 2 boys that both have holiday birthdays - one is actually ON Thanksgiving this year and the other is a week before Christmas. Yes - it is really tough! People are out of town and wrapped up in the festivities. As the kids have gotten older I have done a party for them on their "half birthday". Trenton gets his party on May 27th and Taylor in June. This makes it much easier to plan a party or bbq and friends and family are available! It also helps with budgeting - and the grandparents and aunts and uncles appreciate it as they do not have to buy 2 more birthday gifts along with Christmas - or lump them together!
Hope this helps! It has worked well! We of course as a family celebrate on their actual day with a gift and going out to dinner, cake, etc. The kids are happy and that is all that matters!
J.
Giggle Moon Photography
http://www.gigglemoonphotography.com

First, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

My first born is December 26th. He is 9 now and having a b-day on this date has been great! You, as his/her parent pretty much have control over it. Just make sure you actually give him/her a normal amount of gifts, cake, everything you'd do normally. I shop seperately considering only his special day! So whatever amount of gifts you usually give your children just do the same for the new one! Given Christmas is a busy time of year, you can give a party after school starts back (when that time comes!). We, as a family celebrate on his day, and if he wants somthing with friends, then we do it after school break.

Blessings to you & your new precious-one!

My sister's birthday is December 26, and she always felt cheated. No friends around for birthdays because they are home or traveling with family for the holidays. Presents get combined or forgotten altogether. It seems like a raw deal. She always wished it had been more like Dec 15 or so, so her friends would still be around.

Wow, lots of responses! My birthday is Dec. 13th and growning up I LOVED having my birthday during the holiday season. I felt it made that time of the year extra special! My youngest daughter was born on Dec. 3rd and for her first b-day we took a family trip to Disneyland. The park was all decked out for the holidays and we had the greatest time! December birthdays are the best in my book!

I have a friend who was born on Dec. 24th and one on Dec. 25th. They are now in their late 30s.
They both hate their birthdays. No one is around.
So they have to have parties before or after x-mas.

My 10 year old niece was born Dec. 17th and she has similar problems. I was born near Thanksgiving and could never have parties around my birthday either.

You just have to deal with it.

Although, I have heard that it is better not to be in the hospital near major holidays.
Evidently, a lot of women schedule c-sections early to avoid being in the hospital before the holidays, so it is busy.

Good luck.

I don't think it matters weather it is before or after. I am a December baby. To avoid some of the chaos of the Holiday season my Mom would have my b'day parties at the beginning of December. If you child's b'day is after I would do the party after New Years. I have several friends with babies right around that time and that is what they do.

my birthday is decemeber 24. i was never short changed on gifts. my parents firmly believed that my brothers had their birthdays and got a certain number of gifts. that was my birthday and i got the same number of gifts. we then got the same number of gifts for christmas. i absolutely love having my birthday on that day. and now it is my anniversary day as well! lol

Hi M.,

My daughter was born 12/19. Six day before christmas. Yes you do get the "This gift is for christmas and birthday". But I try to make a big deal out of her bday. I have allways given her a party. I am divorced form her father so I often have to have the party a week before her birthday. I think as long as u make the child fell special it doesn't matter the day. I just ask her what she wants! Good luck! C.

Hi M.,
I can really answer this one with a little experience! We have birthdays in our family on the 16th, 19th and 22nd and then my daughter is on the 30th. She really gets the short end of the stick, so my answer is that a birthday after Christmas is worse. People are more into the buying and giving spirit before Christmas and are way more generous prior to the 25th. (even though it isn't all about the gifts, you don't want your child feeling slighted, I get that!)

After Christmas, people are thinking about how much they just spent and are ready to buckle down to pay for it all. She received so many re-gifts, "after Christmas" marked down, picked over, sale items, as well as just very small gifts with an explanation about "Gee we're really short on cash since Christmas just passed". Try explaining that to a small child, it is hard!

She is now a grown adult and it had an impact on her life in more ways than gifts. She had a hard time having a party, because kids didn't come due to being out of town, or other excuses. (we always suspected because parents didn't want to bring a gift or because some people are reluctant to veer from family time during the holidays).

I had my daughter c-section as well, and was able to pick her birthdate. She was due on Jan 8 and I was able to pick between the 1st and 8th. I requested Dec 30th, for tax purposes (which sounds really selfish and ultimately was). I can beat myself up over it, but can't go back and change it now :( She just recently had her own daughter and was given a choice of an earlier birth date. Her daughter was due on Jan 11th. She opted to wait it out so that her daughter's birthday could be as far away from Christmas as possible because of her own experiences. My grand daughter was born on Jan 15th, even though my daughter could have had her as much as a week earlier. It was a struggle to hold out that long, but that is how important it was to my daughter to drag the birth date out away from Christmas.
I hope this helps. But if you have a choice of having your child before Christmas, take it!!!!!!
Good Luck!

To start my birthday and my brother's birthday are both in December. Mine is 2 days before Christmas and his is 8 days before Christmas. It never bothered me, growing up, to have a birthday so close to Christmas. It did, however, bother me that I had to share my parties with my brother. Now that we're both grown we still celebrate them together and it's great (NOW). Although, our family never gave us the combination presents, friends did. Our friends have outgrown this and it's not so important anymore. My advice, such as it is, is to treat this child the same way you would your other children. You don't want to celebrate this child's birthday any different. Hope this helps. Good Luck & God Bless.

My husband was the last of 4 kids and was born on Christmas Eve. He always felt like his birthday got completely overlooked and is even today a bit sensitive to it getting lost in the shuffle. And sure enough, even though I try my darnest every year to make sure that his birthday is a separately celebrated occasion, it does in fact get absorbed into the general Christmas festivities.
So, my advice is to do it after Christmas (if you get the choice - as we know babies don't always do what we want them to!).

We have a son who's birthday is December 28. His biggest complaint is that he has to wait the entire year for his birthday to come around and that his birthday comes last (on the calendar). We've assured him that everyone has to wait all year for their birthday's, but to an 8 year old, this is still an issue for him. We have made sure to let our family and friends know that his birthday is separate from Christmas and we always wait 2-3 weeks into January to have his birthday party. It gives everyone a little chance to recover from Christmas, plus it prolongs the birthday celebrations for our son. (We still do a cake at home and one small gift for him to open.) I also make sure that the first day back from the holiday break, we do something special with his class, as well. I prefer that his birthday is after Christmas, rather than before, because it is such a busy time of year, we have the chance to fully concentrate on the holiday season, then turn our attention to his birthday.

Best of luck with you and your family.

HI there,
My daughters birthday is Dec. 16th and no matter what i do it seems like we can never pull together a really great birthday because everyone is always busy with christmas things. As she gets older it does seem to get easier cuz parents don't stay for parties as much.
then there is the fact that christmas puts everyone bankrupt.
so birthdays tend to get forgotton.
I have started giving my child gift cards because she is thirteen and likes to pick out her own things.
Good luck,
Babies are such a joy, and you could start a tradition with your family for your new babies birthday and stick to it. make him or her feel important.
take care

i think it's tough to be a december baby..i'm one..but i'm the 9th so that's a lot better..but if i were due so close to Xmas i would wait til after..b/c then people have received money on Xmas and maybe less stressed about finances? so then your child might get better presents? it's funny my whole life i've heard "this is your Xmas and bday present" wasn't a big deal to me.

Hi! Wow, I have 3 girls tht are 8, 31/2, and 2 as well! My 3 yr. olds b-day is Dec. 6th, my husbands is the day before and both of my parents are in Dec. as well. I'm also due Dec. 6th this year! So, Dec. b-day is not always a bad thing! I might suggest doing it before Christmas if you have the opportunity, though. Either way, being born anytime in Dec. makes for somewhat of less gifts, but they also have a birthday at a wonderful time of year! Good luck, congrats:)

My mom's birthday is Dec. 19, one of her sister's is Dec. 24 and another sister's is Dec. 27. Both of my goddaughters' b-days are on Dec. 8. I have talked about this topic with all of them and they all agree that they like having their birthdays around the holidays because of the overall festive atmosphere. Their only complaints were that they didn't like getting birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper and they didn't like getting the dreaded "combination gift." (i.e. this is for Christmas and your birthday!) What a gyp!

There may be an issue with people being out of town, but my daughter and I have that problem, too, because we're both born in August and everyone is away on vacation. Happens to a lot of people. ;-)

My other daughter was born the day before Thanksgiving so I spent the holiday in the hospital that year. But since then (she's 3 now) we have a great time celebrating her birthday when the family is all together for Thanksgiving. You could do the same with your new baby. It's really quite special and fun!

In the end, I would say just let nature take its course. Your baby will come when he/she is ready and if you need a c-section, base the date on your baby's readiness, not the calendar.

Best of luck for a quick and painless delivery!!

My daughter was born ON Christmas day. She's 9 now. She thinks it's cool that she has the same birthday as Jesus, but she doesn't like it that she has only half a day to celebrate it. We celebrate Christmas in the morning and her birthday in the afternoon. In fact, just as I'm writing this, perhaps I'll change our tradition back to the one I grew up with, and that's opening them on Christmas Eve, and that'll give her a whole day. Anyhow, I tell her she will always have her family around for her birthday, all her life. And she can pick whatever day she wants to celebrate it with her friends. Sometimes she's had it in December, January and once she decided on a half birthday and had a pool party in June. You just have to make the best of it.

I think before is better than after. My birthday is Jan 11th and although it doesn't bother me as an adult, as a child, it was just too soon after Christmas. Also, since your due date is Dec. 26th and most scheduled c-sections are a week ahead of the due date, then you may go in to labor and end up with an un-planned emergency c-section, maybe even on Christmas day?

Just my .02.
M.

My birthday is December 28. I always liked it because I could ask for an extra-big combo birthday-Hanukkah gift. :) I did miss having my birthday at school, but I also was happy not to have my birthday during finals (like between December 10 and 21), especially once I was in college. As an adult, it's a little less fun because, for instance, my best friend is a teacher and always goes out of town the week between Christmas and New Year's so I never get to see her on my birthday. I have a good friend whose birthday is December 23, and it always gets lost in the shuffle, even with her family. She's 50 and unmarried, so it's extra-tough on her. I'd vote for after Christmas than before, if it's going to be super-close. Hope this helps...and you never know, my baby with a due date of November 4 arrived on October 8, so this worry may be a moot point for you!

M.,
Hi my name is Margaret and my birthday is on Christmas day it was very hard for me growing up cause I never had a birthday that was mine.My birthday was celebrated on the Christmas holiday so it reaay wasn't like a birthday of my own.I suggest to have your baby to be born befor the holiday.

It doesn't matter!! It's all up to you what you want for your child and family. We have a child whose birthday is Christmas Day and was never cheated out of a gift for christmas or birthday. We made it a practice of celebrating both and we also asked family and close friends not to combine the gifts. In the morning it was Christmas and then we would have a late lunch early dinner to celebrate the Birthday. We celebrated with immediate family (grandparents, whoever was available) and a few close friends. It's what you make of it....hope this is of some help to you. Good luck and God Bless, L.

BEFORE!!! BEFORE, BEFORE, BEFORE !!! Poor baby with xmas taking all the attention away! Before!!! Right before xmas takes the limelight for a week.

Wendy

Hi M.,
I have a few close friends who have BEFORE b-days and they all say how sad they were as kids because many relatives gave them birthday/ Shristmas presents, you know, combined the two for one "special" gift. They missed out on many birthday parties as well, with so many Holiday parties at that time of year.

So, there's my 2 cents :)

Good luck!!

I was one week overdue, and older so _ I did get induce on Dec 21, 2000 for my last child. I couldn't sleep well since he dropped down, and my back ache real bad, lack of sleep. He's had 7 birthdays. It was nice to put him under the christmas tree, he cried. It is hard to give him his own speical day since it's right before Christmas & New Years. Good side some have put in vacation time, or bad people have left for vacation. Everyone knows it's his birthday coming up, and he has had xmas wrappings paper for gift. We have to work extra hard to make it just for him. Good part when he see's xmas stuff out, he knows his birthday coming. Having him out and only 4 days old for christmas was better, you would have some extra helping hands and you could recover easier. God bless L.

Looks like you've already had a ton of responses, but thought I'd give you a positive one. My birthday is right in between x-mas and new years, and I never minded or noticed. I think my mom had my parties sometimes before or after the holidays, but also sometimes in between. Or we celebrated on a fun trip with lots of family. I never had anyone (that I recall) give me a combined gift. I think my parents were always really careful about that. I still love it - it makes for a very special time of year for me :-)

Hey M., congrats on your upcoming arrival. My birthday is 12/20. I always enjoyed having my birthday close to Xmas but most people thought that was strange. they would say things like 'didn't you feel gypped as a kid?' But to me, it was such a happy and joyful time of year, I loved that my bday fell during that time. I am sure it helped that my parents always made a point to wrap my bday gifts in BDAY paper instead of Xmas paper, and I always had a bday party every year, so I didn't see it as a big deal. They even waited to put up the Xmas tree and decorations until after my bday party had passed. Incidentally, my best friend's bday is on Xmas day, which I would have to admit, I wouldn't want. ;-) but anyway, I just wanted to share my story to let you know that having a bday right by Xmas is no big deal, atleast it wasn't for me. I am sure your baby will love their birthday no matter when it is, as long as you make a point to make it a special day :-) best of luck for your pregnancy and delivery, hope all goes well. -Suzanne

have them separate. The child will feel better. Let people know they are separate events.

Hi M., My birthday is on Christmas so when I saw this I just had to respond! My parents always made my birthday special for me when I was a child (and they still do). Here's what they did: Whatever gift I wanted the most was considered my birthday gift and my mom always wrapped that gift in Birthday paper instead of Christmas paper. I got to open that one first-usually around midnight. Then later Christmas morning when it was time to open the rest of the gifts, we all did them together as a family like usual. But throughout the day, we did things that were birthday oriented like a special cake with candles and a the song when the desserts were brought out during Christmas dinner. Also, since all us kids got presents on my birthday, we all also got gifts on the other kids' birthdays (there were three of us). My bro and sis always got whatever they really wanted on their birthdays and me and the unbirthday child got a smaller, less significant gift. I sometimes got people who tried to put the two together, but it never really bothered me because my parents went out of their way to make the difference and that mattered most to me. Now that I'm an adult, my parents get us all only one gift for Christmas and then I get an extra gift for my birthday. But we don't get gifts on each other's bdays anymore (but we're grown now so we understand that). Anyway, now that I'm married, my husband makes a very big deal to separate the two as well. He buys me things that are specifially for bday or Christmas and makes sure that in our own family we have created our own tradition of doing so as well. I think you'll be fine. Don't worry. Oh, the only thing that I did hate was that I was never really able to have a bday party with friends. However, since it's already a holiday and the family is together anyway, it was nice to always be around my family to celebrate!

My grandfather was born on Christmas day and he always celebrated his "half birthday" in June. It worked to spread out the toys, fun and especially the paychecks he said.

i think before christmas is better. i have 2 friends born on christmas &everyone remembers when thier birthdays are but they always get joint xmas/bday presents. but some on my friends born before christmas (21st &22nd) get both bday presents &xmas presents.

My son's b-day is on Dec.13. We make sure that he gets his b-day separate from Christmas. Each of my 4 children get 4 presents for their b-days. This way even though my son's b-day is near Christmas, he doesn't get skimped on presents.

Both of my boys are december babies, one on the 6th and one on the 21st. So far, it really hasn't mattered that their birthdays are so close to Christmas. The only thing that is bad about it is that birthday parties harder because everyone is having holiday parties too.

My ex brother-in-law and his dad were both born on Christmas day. They always celebrated Christmas Eve. Growing up though, he was always given a present on his younger brother's birthday since the little brother received presents on his b-day.

I've heard of people who do the birthday celebration in June just so the b-day person gets the attention a birthday should.

Hi. I had my first daughter on New Year's Eve. It is a hectic time of year, but you're not going to get around that whether you deliver a few days before or a few days after. You have all the hustle and anticipation of the holidays and then the aftermath. I say, do whatever is best for your baby and you. I think that the New Year's Eve birthday will eventually be a blast for my daughter...for now it adds another twist for us, but another reason to celebrate! I like the idea of the half birthday, but I imagine if I tried to implement that, I would have our other two girls wanting to do the same. (I can see it now!) Best of luck to you and all your babes!

Hi M.,
My nephew(AJ) birthday is on Dec 19th and my neice(Sandy) is Nov 8th. My sister has always made everything equal and told us to make it equal also. So if Sandy got to presents for her birthday, so did AJ. With that said she did the same for christmas. She always let AJ have a party before christmas but let people know in advance in case they went out of town. I don't know if that help, but I hope so. I also would say, let the baby come when it wants to if you can. Dec does get kinda stressfull, so the baby may come early even having a c-section.
Best of luck with your decision.

My son's due date was 1/6 but he came 3 weeks early and has a B-day of 12/17. My husband's B-day is 12/31. So I can tell you some info from both sides.
My husband has always said that he did not like his birthday because people are preoccupied with Christmas still and he did not feel special.

My son's b-day is 1 week before christmas and I think this works out better because we are not in the full christmas frenzy and I have found that If my son get's gift cards for his birthday we can save them until the after christmas sales
I hope this helps.

my birthday is 10 days before Christmas (12/15), and it never bothered me that it was close to Christmas. I would suggest having your child before Christmas as well, like the other posts. The period between Christmas & New Year's Eve is quite hectic as well.

Congrats on your 4th child.

My six year old was born 12/24. What a joyous time. It was really hard with an overbearing MIL that got upset because we normally got a tree on Christmas eve and because I was in labor at 4am, I just quickly hung some lights in the shape of the tree. (My ex was totally lost when it comes to the kids). We do celebrate her birthday early, before school break. For little ones, holiday birthdays are hard. When they become teens the love it because they get to go to an extra party. My sister was born 12/23. We do have to explain to other cousins and ignorant relatives that she needs another gift at Christmas. When she was smaller it was harder, but now with her in school, her friends love that her birthday is around the holidays, more treats! My son's birthday is around Easter (during Little League baseball and that is the one that we have a problem with - no one can come because of games and when we postpone it, he goes to his grandparents for the summer. Good luck and have fun with it!

My son was born December 11th and we have had no problems with having his birthday by Christmas. He is only 3 though so we've only had family parties.

My son was due December 25th. Nothing like a Christmas miracle. (: My doctor and I did not want to be in the hospital on Christmas, so we induced and I had him on the 21st. But, let me tell you, the 21st is still very very close to the holiday.

Also, in my family, we have the following birthdays to celebrate: My uncle- December 24th, My cousin- December 25th, My grandmother- December 26th. (I really didn't need to throw another birthday right into the middle of all that!)

As for celebrations, we always celebrate my son's birthday before Christmas. As far before Christmas as is feasibly possible. He gets a separate party and separate presents and we try to make sure the two are not celebrated as one event. Every kid deserves to have a birthday celebration, even if his birthday is close to a major holiday.

My aunt (who has a husband and a child w/ almost Christmas birthdays) celebrates her son's birthday in June. He has a "half birthday" celebration on or near June 25th each year. This makes planning the holidays easier for her, as she is not running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to plan two large events at the same time.

My grandmother, who is a December 26th baby, has always celebrated her birthday after Christmas. She feels this is better because everyone has Christmas out of their system already when her day rolls around. She's never, even as a child, had a "combined holiday."

I find the planning gets to be a bit crazy, what with school finals, birthdays and holidays all landing in the same two week period, but you can choose to celebrate these things in the same time period, or spread them out over the year if you choose. Talk it over with your family and see what works best for them. And more importantly, as your child gets older, find out what it wants to do. Maybe, like my cousin, it will want to do a mid-year celebration.

My birthday is Dec 6, my mom's is the 18th and now my son's is the 15th. They pretty much all suck! Everyone complains about "having" to give you a present that time of year. But I will say that I LOVE the month of December because it is jam-packed and fun! When I was pregnant last year, my due date was the 22nd, but I was hoping to go late...somewhere around the 27th or 28th. I figured that the week between Christmas and New Year's is kind of a dead week and it would be fun to celebrate a bithday then. You could really concentrate on it, instead of being all hyped up about Christmas. Alas, I went a week early! Best of luck on the rest of your pregnancy!

My birthday is Dec. 20 - my advice would be for after - before Chirstmas everyone is stressed and busy and there is just no time. After is more relaxed. Just make sure they get presents for Christmas and for their birthday. I hated gettting the "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas" present. Also I would pick a day in summer to do something.

My son was born two weeks early on Dec. 16 and my daughter was born on Dec 19. I think since Gret was the Jan baby, it was just as well that he was early so they wouldn't always have to share birthdays, but I do think after the holidays is a better time--even the 30th would have competed with another holiday and people's vacations. On the other hand, it may have been good in that I never did big elaborate parties like my daughter does and maybe the time of their birth helped justify that. And on the other hand from that, I don't like throwing big elaborate parties, so they probably wouldn't have gotten one anyway. Maybe my daughter is making up for my reserve by going all out for her kids--plus she has a ton of friends with kids. Anyway, given a choice, I think after is better.
I'm obviously a grandma--to three beautiful kids, mother of two.
R. G

My birthday is the first week of January and it was always a bummer as a kid. Everyone is so tired of celebrating or traveling on vacation that it is hard to have a party. I also received a lot of presents that read, "Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas". If I had a vote for myself it would be for an earlier birthday so that it is part of the build up of Christmas rather then the let down after Christmas. But, at the end of the day the baby's health is the #1 priority.

My son's birthday is December 18th and I had always heard the same, so we would celebrate his birthday the first weekend in December. Then due to some circumstances a few years ago, we could not hold his party on that weekend and gave him the option to have it in January. He would not have it. We decided to have it on his regular birthday weekend and got 100% turnout - yes 27 kids! The parents loved the opportunity to get some Xmas shopping done without the children around. We decided to do it that weekend again the last two years and he has still had amazing turnouts - and this year was even a slumber party - 13 boys! The parents all had Xmas parties and they loved being able to send their kids to our house without a having to pay for a sitter. The friends all know his b-day is close to Christmas, so it seems like the over-compensate and get his great gifts. This has led us as parents to lay off a little and we celebrate Easter big and both boys get roughly the same amount of Easter gifts as they do Christmas. They get their summer toys at Easter time and they really enjoy it. We do our own Easter egg hunt as well (we find the concept similar to Christmas stockings). We had thought about and people gave us advice to celebrate 1/2 birthdays, but that would conflict with our younger son's birthday and we didn't want the emphasis to be just on presents - we truly wanted him to celebrate his birth.

The best thing is to plan, get input from parents about the weekends that would be best. We have found that the closer it is to Christmas, the better it is for the parents!

I also had my fourth child in December of 2003. He was suppose to be a Christmas Baby, but I had him December 23rd. His fourth birthday was the first one he had with his friends. I was so proactive I scheduled his birthday for the first weekend in December in August. I have already planned his birthday for this year also for the first weekend in December. I really wanted to make sure he has the experience of his birthday + Christmas.

If you have the choice go before. My entire family except my dad is december. My mom, daughter and I are after and my brother is before. People aren't usually gone for Christmas yet, or at their dads, and are usually not quite burnt out on the whole season. By the time the last week in december comes no one is in the partying mood, everyone is looking forward to New Years!

Hi M.,

My birthday is a week before Christmas and my parents did a great job keeping both separate for me. It just takes a little planning. Sometimes I got a "half" birthday party (in June) so I could have a pool party and have more friends. As I got older and wanted more expensive "toys" for Christmas, I worked it to my advantage (Mom, it can be for my birthday AND Christmas!). Hope that helps some!

Steph T

You have already received a lot of opinions, but you don't mind another, I would love to throw in my 2 cents worth. I have 3 daughters with birthdays: Dec 11, Dec 21 & Jan 9. I think that of those three, the Jan 9 birthday is the hardest to deal with. People generally have the "holiday hangover" after Christmas, and especially after New Year.

My husband and I do our best to make sure they feel special for their birthday. We can't control other people's reactions to combined birthday/Christmas gifts, so we make sure that they get that special response from mom, dad, grandparents and close aunts. Therefore, they don't feel slighted.

Also, for their birthdays, we try to make the "big" present a special event or outing rather than spending money on stuff. The exta good thing about this is that it serves both as a present AND as a memory maker!

Good luck to you. Congrats!

My son was born a week before Christmas. I have friends born on the 25th and 26th. Yes, we often have a large number of guests unable to make the party, so we over invite. None of the December birthdays I know ever feel left out. We make sure we have a big birthday celebration, and we tell people that if they can't really afford 2 gifts, to buy one or both at the dollar store, or make one gift a giant candy bar or something. Only once (my son's 13) have we ever had someone give one gift and say, "This is for both occasions."

Hi M.,
first, congrats on your upcoming arrival. Our daughters both have January birthdays, Jan.6 & Jan. 20. We have always celebrated thier birthdays separate from the holidays. We make sure to have the decorations down after New Years to get ready to celebrate our oldest birthday on the 6th. I have a friend whos son's birthdate is the 23 of December and when he was younger, she always waited to put the tree up until after his birthday. I think the biggest thing about having birthdays around the holiday is to make sure family and friends know that you don't want them to combine gifts. I know that may be hard with the economy being how it is but, it's important for them to have thier own day. Don't stress too much about it right now. Enjoy being pregnant.

Congratulations M.. I don't think you can change your date to make a difference. No matter what, you will have a baby near Christmas. Just let the baby come when nature says, unless other complications arise.

My older daughter was an April baby and I never bought her anything just because. Her clothes and toys were gifts for her birthday or Christmas. Now I have an October baby and just kept the same concept, but it doesn't work. She will be 3 in October and has outgrown her toys. I had to start buying her new toys because the toys she had were so babyish. As well, her clothes and shoes don't fit so I just had to go shop. You just have to deal with what the good Lord has given you. You will have a Christmas baby.

Hello! My birthday is December 27th, and needless to say it isnt the best time of year, but a birthday is a great day no matter when it is! I dont think it matters whether its a few days before or after, I would just say to make sure you have birthday wrapping paper on hand, because as a kid I always hated to have my gifts wrapped in the same paper as the Christmas gifts! It seems like a lot of people are out of town or too busy to get together during that time of year, but the most important ones will always make time. If that's when your birthday is, you just never know any different and it all works out great! Good luck!

My birthday is on the 19th of December. It was difficult to have birthday parties growing up because everyone was busy that time of year. But I survived and I don't think I have any permanent damage associated with that! :) I actually felt a little special because my birthday was so close to Jesus' birthday. My christmas and birthday gifts are usually combined as one gift, but we all need to learn to be grateful for less, and be blessed if we get anything at all!

I say let the baby cook as long as possible and if you need the c-section, schedule it later.

Oh boy, well, my b-day is 12/27 and my daughter's is 12/16. We celebrate Hanukah which moves around and can start anywhere from the end of Nov. to the end of Dec. So both our b-days can sometimes fall during our religious holiday. When I was younger, I always got the 2 for 1 gift but my husband and I try hard to separate the gifs for our DD. (BTW, she was due on Christmas.) Whenever the baby is born, try to have a party/gathering as far away from the holiday as possible. Maybe even a blow out 1/2 b-day party in the summer and a small family party on the actual day. Have fun.
M.

Aloha, M.,
My daughter was born on Christmas Eve, so I know about spending Christmas in the hospital. Right now my daughter is 4 and I have been having her birthday a month later. Usually the weekend closest to Jan. 24th. I found that more people were able to attend, since there's no more holiday shopping, work parties, holiday parties, etc occurring. When she is older, I am going to let her decide. My birthday is Dec 11th and my mother always made sure that my birthday was a separate event from Christmas. You decide what works best for you and your baby. Aloha!

I have a birthday after Christmas, and it's my opinion that having a birthday before Christmas is better. My birthday always felt anticlimactic and I often received my "joint" gifts on Christmas. I would imagine that people would make a bigger deal out of birthdays that come before Christmas.

My sister was born Dec. 27th. I also have a nephew on the 15th of Dec. Doesn't matter when in December, it's always a busy time. A way around it for birthday would be what my sister did, celebrate on the half birthday in the summer. What a wonderful gift you'll get this year!

M.,

My daughter was born on Dec. 26th 2007 via scheduled C-Section. We will be celebrating her first birthday on her birthday date. I wanted to have her after X-Mas as I figured before X-Mas many families get together to celebrate it starting the week before thus the holiday would be everyone's main focus. My husband and I will try to keep everything separate and give her the amount of gifts she would be getting if her birthday were in any other month. It just takes some prior planning and saving. I figured if I saved at least $5 a month for her birthday I would have enough to get some great gifts and all the stuff that comes with a B-Day party. I have heard of some families celebrating a 1/2 birthday to cut down on the expenditure too.

M. P

Hi M.!

My son was born 12/20 and I make it a point to have a distinct birthday celebration. I can't answer if before or after Christmas is better; I will say that my son LOVES having a birthday celebration just for him. When friends and extended family ask what type of gift he would like, I stress the birthday part - Santa will take care of Christmas. Not exactly subtle, but it works.

Hi M., My brother was born 5 days before christmas, and my grandmother's birthday was on christmas, for my brother my mom always had his party the saturday that was closses to his actual birthday, and for my grandma her birthday was celebrated the first weekend before Christmas, birthdays are our personal holiday's and they are important. J.

Hi Michele... Having a birthday in December period is going to be effected by Christmas. My birthday is the 9th and people satill will just send me gifts late and say happy Birthday/Christmas. My sister's birthday is December 28th and it still goes the same for her. It's a hard sell because you cant tell people that they need to give you two gifts... Thoguht that counts hole thing. Just make it your own mission to always separate birthday from Holiday for your little angel. Good lcuk to you and go with whatever your heart says to do. I personally would say get Christmas oout of the way so you can concentrate on baby's birthday seperatly.

My only advice about this is to try to avoid being in the hospital on Christmas itself. You will have doctors and nurses who will be especially unhappy to be there, and your care may suffer. I had a C-section on a Thursday in November and felt that the nurses over the weekend shifts were very inattentive, so I can only imagine those who are thinking about not being with their families on the holidays. In terms of birthday presents and Christmas presents, my birthday is in mid-January and my husband's is in Mid-December, and we both got gypped equally as kids, so I think it doesn't really matter what day your birthday is, if it's during that time of year, people combine presents unfortunately. So I'd stick to thinking about your hospital stay. I'd try to aim for a day or preferably two after Christmas.

My brothers birthday is Dec. 21, my ex-husband's is Dec. 27. Both enjoyed having a birthday around Christmas. It made them feel special. As for before or after, it really doesn't matter. Let the baby come when it is ready. It is all up to you, as the mom. You can tell from the other posts, what really matters is whether the parents make the birthday important, and an event apart from Christmas. And since you are the mom, regardless of when this baby is born, you are the one who makes it special. And I can tell you will. As for the busy-ness issue, after is better, of course. Before Christmas there are parties and school functions to go to and gifts to shop for and wrap, cookies to bake, and a zillion other things going on. My ex said he loved having his birthday after Christmas because it was something else to look forward to, something to counteract the post-Christmas let-down that every child experiences. Congratulations on your best Christmas gift ever!

My best friend growing up had a december birthday and while I'm sure they had a small family party on her birthday, she always had a school/friends party in June for her half birthday. This made it easier on everyone, from what I can gather.

-M.

My father's birthday is Dec 24th and my brother's fiance's birthday is Dec 27th. It really doesn't matter. They do seem to get less. We always go to lunch for both of them and no Christmas wrapping!!!

My husbands birthday is Dec 24th. When he was little his mom celebrated his 1/2 birthday which is in the middle of summer with a birthday party all of his friends were invited too. That way he didn't miss out on people being to busy around the holidays. Now that we have a family we celebrate his birthday on Christmas Eve. We have a small birthday cake and celebrate as if it is any other birthday throughout the year. The kids get to open one present when daddy opens his, but other than that we treat it now differently.
My kids cousins birthday is the 26th of Dec and we always just send 2 presents for her. One for birthday and one for Christmas.

Are you kidding me? It's all bad. BAD, BAD, BAD. How do I know? Well, my three sisters and I all have birthdays in December, two on the 21st, one 24th and mine 31st. AND IT'S ALL BAD.

GOOD LUCK!

Hi M. ~ My youngest daughter was born on December 22. I've always made a point of her birthday being separated from Christmas. She has always had a party for her birthday, with absolutely nothing related to christmas involved. I was concerned just like you when I found out she was going to be a christmas baby because my nephew and my grandfather's birthdays are both on the 27th and they both got the birthday/christmas combo as one. I didn't want that for my little girl because my other daughter is a summer baby and her birthday is a big event so naturally we would want the same for the christmas baby. It does take a lot of effort. But what I told people fom the time I knew when she was gong to be born was that it would always be a separate celebration. I didn't want her to feel cheated ever! My first husband and I divorced when my baby was 2 and yes, financially it is tough, but to this day (she'll be 19 in December) she has never had a birthday/christmas related party or gift. My oldest daughter would even get jealous because her sister seemed to get so much because her birthday was 3 days from christmas! My point is, it is up to you what you want for your child and you let people know from the beginning! My advice is don't allow people the excuse of christmas is so close to birthday . . . you know all year what day your child's birthday is and it should be an event, no matter when it falls! My husband is a New Year's baby and that's a tough one too! Good luck and make your child's birthday just as special as that child is. Wishing you and your family all the joy of a new baby!