Christmas dominates the month of December. Between dinners, presents, activities, cookies, parties, and yet more food… It’s overwhelming!
But that sort of complicates things for anyone born this month.
My birthday is next week and it causes my husband no small amount of consternation every year when he has to come up with 2 gifts in a 2 week span, even though I always tell him I don’t want anything. And apparently I’m hard to shop for because I want boring practical stuff like new cookie sheets or long t-shirts.
Although it’s been a number of years since I was really excited by my birthday, the proximity to Christmas never really bothered me. When I was a child I relished the fact that my birthday came 2 weeks before Christmas. My mom always put the up tree early in the month and I loved that she put my birthday gift under the tree. I felt extra special to have the tree all to myself. It’s still my tradition to put the tree up a few days before my birthday! It also never occurred to me that my gift was wrapped in Christmas paper and in fact, I think I was about 9 when I realized that wrapping paper came in something other than Christmas themes!
But people with December birthdays, especially those closer to Christmas often get shortchanged by the complete overshadowing of their day. People are busier in December so children’s birthday parties are harder than ever to plan. Why does every other person in the world get special birthday wrapping paper while we get Santas and wreaths? And who wants joint Christmas-birthday present anyway?
So to all my fellow December babies out there: Happy birthday! And cheers to a wonderful day just for you!
Do you have a December birthday? What’s the Best/Worst part about it?