How Can I Make My Child’s Birthday Special When It Falls On Christmas Day?

Having a birthday on Christmas day is special. Not only is Christmas the “most wonderful time of the year” for you, it is extra-special for your child. Still, there are certain things that you can do to make your child’s birthday special when it falls on Christmas days.

One of the best things that you can do is to distinguish the birthday from Christmas completely. You can make a point to celebrate your child’s birthday perhaps on the weekend before or after Christmas. It is not uncommon for children who have a birthday in the middle of a week to celebrate on a weekend, and this is often a good option for children whose birthdays are on Christmas as well. Christmas decorations should not be used for a birthday party, either.

Another way to keep Christmas and your child’s birthday separate is to think about the gifts you give and the way you give them. If you wrap her birthday presents in Christmas paper, it is certainly convenient, but can take away some of the specialness. Also, if your child has a Christmas list and gets things only from that list for her birthday, it can take away from the birthday as well. On the other hand, if your child wants a larger and more expensive gift, it is probably OK to give it to her for both her birthday and Christmas, as long as she understands that she probably wouldn’t have been able to get it at all if she hadn’t been born when she was.

Some families have found other ways to make their child’s Christmas birthday special. Some families choose to celebrate a Christmas birthday in June, so that the birthday has its own time altogether. Other families, for whom religion plays a strong role, treat it as a special celebration, as the shared birthday of their child as well as Jesus.

The most important thing that you can do to make your child’s birthday special when it falls on Christmas day is to make sure to talk about it with your child. Find out how he feels about it. Ask him what bothers him about it, and what doesn’t. Try to figure out together what ways you can make the birthday more special.

Posted in Christmas, Holidays