What to Do About Parties When Kids Birthdays Are Only 1 Month Apart?

This is coming from someone who has a sister that has a birthday the day after mine and another sister that has a birthday exactly a month later. I have always had a combined party and my other sister shared her birthday with my grandpa until he passed away.

I really would have liked to have had a birthday just for me be that never happened. I always felt that I was "punished" for when I was born and to top it off, it was after Christmas.

I small "half" birthday is a cute idea and I do that for my son because his birthday always falls near Easter.

We always got separate parties... and there were 3 of us in June! Apparently September was a cold month! lol. (mine was the 2nd, brother's the 25th, and sister's the 27th.) My brother and sister are only one year apart, so when they were really young they had joint parties on the 26th. But as they got old enough to care about their parties, they got separate ones... after all, it's supposed to be the one day that is all about them. Not so much fun if you have to share it.

Because they are young, I would do a joint party. We attended one for a girl who was 4 and her sister who turned 2. It went fine.
They each had an adult helping them open presents while I took photos and someone else wrote down what everyone brought.

At their age I don't think they will mind having a joint party. Maybe once the older one starts having his own circle of friends from school, have a family and friends party for both, and then a fun party for the older (bowling, lazer tag, etc) with a few close friends. Once they are both old enough to warrant seperate parties, they will have different sets of friends anyway!

My son is June 13th and my daughter is July 13th. When they were younger, they each had their own party, especially for their first bday. It got to be just too much! And all the same people were coming to both parties - family and close family friends, so we just decided to combine them. The party is usually the last weekend in June (they are now 6 and 8 yrs old). We have bigger parties since we only have one - around 40 people or so. It's like a family reunion! I do cupcakes. Last year I did brownie ice cream sundaes! And we do yard games. Then we do something VERY simple on their actual Bday.

while they are young I think one family party is appropriate. and your family and close friends will be fine with that. but when they hit school age then their own parties as it is not really fair to invite a bunch of 2 year olds to your sons kindergarten class party. no one would have a good time lol.

My sisters birthdays are 2 weeks apart and we always had joint parties for them they still at 23 and 21 have parties together

As a twin (with a birthday close to Christmas) I have to say there was a range of age growing up that I really resented never having a birthday for me - it was always shared. When they are young a joint party is probably fine, but as they get older you might start asking them if they'd like something special just for them. Even if you do a joint party, maybe on their actual birthday let them take just one friend and do something special? Just a thought :-)

We always do cake on the actual birthday. As for a friend's birthday, I'd probably do one party in between the birthdays.

For me, I'd have a party for each and combine it with any near holidays. Ex. Easter is on April 24 this year, so if the April birthday was near then, I would have an Easter themed 1st birthday.

M.

While they are still so young it's not really a big deal- just do a joint party. When they are older and have their own friends, then separate them. My husband (and his twin) are only a few weeks apart from one of their nieces (she's only 5 yrs younger). Starting when they were little kids, the "family party" was ALWAYS joint and the "friends parties" were separate, right down to my husband and his twin having am/pm parties b/c they were in different classes with different friends.

If you're just talking about a family party, then it's fine to do joint parties. My kids are 4 years and 6 days apart and when they were younger, we had a joint family party for them, but the friend parties were separate. When your kids get older, you'll likely be doing a friend party for each kid, and then just invite the age appropriate friends who they are close with. For now, I'd include family friends in with your family party, and not invite those kids if you're having a party for the preschool friends of the 3 year old for now.

My stepsons' birthdays are only a month apart - they always had a small celebration (cake, immediate family only, etc.) on their actual birthday but usually had a bigger combined party (roller skating, bowling, etc.) with friends and more family at the mid-way point. They are only 13 months apart in age, so all their friends were the same age too, so finding an activity that all could participate in was not a big problem. Really, whatever you decide to do is fine, whether it's 2 smaller individual events or 1 larger one.

My 2 children's birthdays are 3 weeks apart - I always always had separate parties for them - they are 2 different people and each deserve to have their own special day in my opinion! My sister-in-law's 2 boys also have birthdays 3 weeks apart (and close to my two), and she has always done a joint family party for them, with separate "friend" parties for each as they've gotten older. The ultimate disaster was the year we attempted to combine all 4 of them...no one was happy, since the party fell on a random day in the middle! LOL. I say try to keep them separate if possible - they will appreciate it especially when they get older.

i agree that they probably wont mind a joint party this young, but might as they get older. i never had to share a bday but had to share alot of other parties (like graduation) because my cousin (who is like a sister to me) is 4 mnths older than me, i resented it growing up, but now that i am an adult i find it kind of funny, our weddings were even a mnth apart

No, it wouldn't be too much to be invited to two parties in the same family. The parties are for two different people, after all. It's a lot of work for you, of course, but that's part of your job description. :^)

In our family we have a "birthday season," too. Three of the four children and my husband had (and still have) birthdays within a three-week period. That's a lotta cake! Now that the children are grown, they don't mind a joint party - but the Birthday Queen for that party is really a granddaughter, whose birthday falls the day before her daddy's!

As a matter of fact, my sister's birthday and mine were less than two weeks apart. Our parents gave us each a celebration - nothing extravagant, as I recall, but we could invite our own friends and have that time where we were the most special person in the family.

This year you might ask your three-year-old if he would be agreeable to sharing a party, but please don't make it any sort of fixed idea. As your boys grow, they may surprise you - maybe - by wanting to have a birthday party together for some reason, but let it be their choice.

My kids are 4 and 2 and exactly one month apart. we have always done a joint party in the backyard. all of our family is out of state so we definitely would not invite them to 2 parties so close. we also do a larger party, rent a bouncy house. at this point a 1 year old probably doesn't need too many "friends." the friends are usually mom and dad's friends anyway. we also do something special for each of them on their actual b-day. as they get a little older we will separate the friends party and let them each have their own with one family party. this year we plan on taking our 4 year old and her 2 closest friends to an activity on their own (like horseback riding).

My son and daughter have birthdays that are a month apart. Right now my daughter still has family parties, so it isn't a big deal yet. But we will just have individual parties for each kid. And since my son's birthday is near a holiday, the party has to be earlier which will make their parties two, maybe three weeks apart. Birthdays are special. I want them each to have their own special day, where they don't have to share the limelight or compromise on birthday themes. I don't think our friends would mind coming to two separate parties, we have never minded when we get invited to theirs.

My girls are Feb 23 and March 18th. I do one combined family party. I think the family appreciates not having to do 2 parties. It is also nice for me because then I just have to pay for things one time and I'm done. Don't get me wrong I love to entertain but between Christmas just ending, other birthdays and Easter.....it's nice to do just one. We have a large family so I know that everyone is happy to do both on the same day.

My girls get separate friend parties. You won't have to worry about the little one's friends for a while, but maybe have some friends over for a small party for your 3 year old.

*First Birthdays were never celebrated with another birthday.