Half birthdays

[ridiculousridiculousness]

Settle a disagreement for me:

Half birthdays...for or against?

Today has been our ds 3 and a half birthday. He's had cake and a day of choosing what he wants to do, eat etc.

One of us was all for this. The other against it (but still enjoyed the cake!) and claim it's a fad that will disappear soon.

We sort of do half birthdays. Ds1's half birthday is on my sisters birthday and she always lets him have a turn blowing out her candles. We've never provided the cake or candles.

Last year when DS2 was 6 months old I made a cake. Well, a half cake. Mostly because I fancied a bit of cake though!

Isn't going out for tea and cake making a big deal of it though? confused

Not really. We go out for tea and cake quite a lot. But that’s the one day of the year we’re guaranteed to go out for tea and cake.

I mean, I've literally never even known it's been my 'half birthday'?

It’s not exactly a challenge to work out. Even if you don’t have a child born on the same day and the weaning advise is from 6 months.......

Behave.

For normal birthdays no way. Why give yourself the headache or the embarrassment when they ask Granny can i get xyz for my half birthday.

I have attended a 41st and half birthday party. Birthday girl has a Christmas birthday and was going through chemo previous summer. Summer was easier for people to travel.

I'll admit to wishing my eldest a happy 15 1/2 birthday a few days ago. Only know when this is because she enjoys teasing the youngest about how we can't celebrate their birthday because we are too busy celebrating her half birthday.

No utterly bonkers. One of my nephews is a Christmas Day baby and they have his party on 25th June but that's as far as I'm prepared to go!

My eldest is a December 22nd baby, she has her birthday in the summer because, well it's Christmas. We STILL don't call it her 'half birthday' it's her 'no one is around at Christmas so let's celebrate with external friends and family (including her school friends) in June/July and then immediate family only on your actual birthday.
In the summer only external members get her gifts, not us. Her presents from us come on the day of her birthday.
Other than for this reason, I would never, ever do a half birthday. How confusing for the child especially as they get older where everyone else just has one normal every 12 months birthday.

It’s not exactly a challenge to work out. Even if you don’t have a child born on the same day and the weaning advise is from 6 months.......

I think you've misunderstood me?

At no point did I say it was a challenge.

What I said was, "I mean, I've literally never even known it's been my 'half birthday"

If I was the sort of person to 'make a thing of it', as you and your DC are, then I'd definitely know because I'd be thinking about it IYSWIM?

Ff's really? i simply cannot be bothered real birthdays are a big enough efforts.

@ridiculousridiculousness, no one is hiding anything, TRUST me. You're in the minority here. It's not a 'thing' at all.

Fad and an overly indulgent and unnecessary one at that.

Or perhaps nobody else does

Exactly!!!

Never heard of it
And now I have - it still won't be happening around here.

Nooe, never heard of anything like this....Way to go bringing up another Snowflake though!

When I lived overseas in a forrin land people did 1/2 birthdays for the 1st 1/2. Big party and a cake etc.

The first time I encountered it i was speechless.

Half birthdays are not a thing, and to take it and celebrate it with cake seems really overly indulgent.

I do this for both of my children. Happy Half Birthday, cake, candles and a small present for both children so both get a new book or magazine or stationary bits that I would have probably bought for them that month anyway.

Why not, it's fun. We don't actually need an excuse for cake and small gifts in this house any way but the children love it!

Having now read the full thread I'd like to point out that the way we celebrate a half birthday is nothing like the way we celebrate a full birthday.
The children come home from school, I've baked a cake, as I do most weeks. Candles on top, probably just the 3 of us as dp still at work.
2 new books left on the table. Job done, everyone goes back to staring at screens and ignoring each other.
Half birthday celebrations probably last 30 minutes maximum!

Genuine question Cuppaand2biscuits why do you do it?

@Boobiliboobiliboo
May I be nosy and ask what a truly awful birth date is?

When I am attempting to find something fun for my son to do in December days before Christmas to celebrate his birthday, half birthdays start to look very attractive.

Perfectly normal in this house. We also do 1/4 birthdays, 3/5 and 5/9 birthdays. We buy a fuckton of presents, give the kids a day off school and eat our bodyweights in cake to celebrate.

@Cuppaand2biscuits do you serve said cake with Tongue sandwiches, lashings of Ginger Beer accompanied by a very exited and licky Timmy (heaven forbid you forget his ice cream cornet!). Only time I've heard of such was in books like 'Mallory Towers' or 'St Clare's' when they were looking for excuses for a particularly spiffing midnight feast. I remember asking my mother what this was; she was equally bemused.

I would only do this with a Dec/Jan birthday but not generally.

Half birthday celebrations probably last 30 minutes maximum!

So why bother at all?

Genuine question, out of curiosity.

Where/how did you hear that a 'half birthday' was a thing and what made you start to celebrate it, even if for just '30 mins'?

My kids are born (years and) exactly 6 months apart. So there is cake for their half birthdays ! Having said that, it's only as a note. As in , 'it's x's birthday so it's half a year til yours!' It's not a special thing on its own .

The only one u know to actually half birthday as a thing, has a Christmas day birthday. So that's cool