I personally know the struggle.
My birthday is on December 30th. Five days after Christmas and one day before New Year’s Eve. Growing up, I remember the joy that my friends had when it was time to plan their birthday party. It was an event to look forward to when things weren’t so hectic. There were cupcakes in class and maybe a party on the weekend! I, on the other hand, was worried that people would not show up to my party due to the chaos of the holidays. Oh yeah, and no cupcakes for me; I had Winter Break. My mom tried her best to schedule something, and it was always fun, but it was definitely hard.
Now, as I look forward to my 29th birthday, I can look forward to attending a holiday wedding, because hey, it’s the holidays!
Always sharing “my day” with something or someone else can be a little disheartening, but I’ve gotten used to it. Honestly, all I ask for every year is that nostalgic box cake that my mom makes for me. Yellow cake with chocolate icing please!
So, while you are checking your naughty or nice list and planning on attending all those festive holiday soirees, remember the little ones that need a bit of celebrating too!
A little phone call would be nice or maybe even a card, but please, and I repeat please, no buying two gifts and giving them at Christmas as a birthday / Christmas gift. If you want to be a real “Birthday Scrooge,” just get a “bigger” gift and send the love when exchanging gifts for Christmas. As a side note, children know if that gift is really bigger. Yes, I may like the practicality of that idea now as I am getting older, but as a child you want to be acknowledged on your special day, and that means separate gifts for separate occasions.
This holiday season, sing a carol, wrap a present, and spend the holidays with the ones you love, but most importantly remember that even though it is a busy time of year, there are two very important words that mean so much to the little ones that share a birthday month with Jesus … “Happy Birthday.”