Due date / birthday on Christmas day

[silvercuckoo]

I have a heavily pregnant (38-39w) friend who is extremely anxious about giving birth around Christmas (her due date is on the 18th, but with both of her older children she was induced at 41w). Mainly for the reason of her DS future birthdays seeming as an irrelevant event with all the Christmas hype.
Her family has a tradition of going to her parents' house for the festive season (they are in Ireland and the rest of the family is in the UK), which adds another layer of complexity.
I see that it really affects her at the moment - she goes to the hospital daily with "signs of labour", hoping they will admit her. There's also not a single folk remedy she didn't try to induce the labour.
Can you please tell me your experience of (you or your dc) having a birthday on / around Christmas day? What are the positives - e.g. better selection of presents, parents off work and able to spend great time together? What can be done to make it really special?
Her other concern is, of course, that only junior medical staff will be made to work the Christmas shift on the ward, but there's nothing that can be done about this.
I am just collecting ideas to reassure her next time we meet (this Sunday).

I'm a midwife, it's business as usual staff-wise over Christmas. No greater percentage of junior staff than on a random day in July. Best of luck to your friend.

My youngest is born on the 23rd and my SIL on the 25th.

In our family because we buy so much crap throughout the year and I like to keep birthdays special you don't just get a bunch of presents for your birthday. You get a birthday box, which is just a normal cardboard box wrapped in wrapping paper, field with streamers and confetti and other party stuff. I then write little notes and number them and stick them on the flaps and each note leads to a 'present' in the box. These presents can be random or silly or expensive but they all have a meaning or use for why I have picked them out written in the note. Besides their birthday box they get one big birthday present that they want and some balloons and that's all they get in terms of presents. This isn't specific to the Christmas birthdays, it's true for everybody, but it certainly helps keeps those born at Christmas feeling like today is also their day.

They get to pick a restaurant that all we go to both the weekend before and after christmas for a family dinner.

For DD I also let her have a party during the year because everybody is always busy during the Holidays. She typically likes a Halloween party or a end of year pool party.

Dd turned up on the 23rd. I know people with Christmas birthdays too. You just develop new traditions and you make it work. We make an effort with dd to ensure all relatives post her birthday presents to us instead of giving them when they see us and it works fine. I know some with Christmas day children keep a room Christmas free so have breakfast with birthday cards and presents then open the door to the living room and Christmas.

And as another midwife, no worries about staffing, it is just another work day. The only difference is we tend to all bring food in and have a staff buffet so actually, the staff is probably far better fed and watered than on a normal day.

My birthday is on the 19th and apart from people not being available for parties, it is quite good really.

My mum always made sure I had birthday and Christmas presents (never one to do as both). We usually put the Christmas tree up on my birthday as well I really loved that.

DS was due on Christmas day - I really didn't want to have him then since I had a 3 year old at home and thought it would be awful for her to have her mother away giving birth on the big day ! I asked the obstetrician if I could be induced a week early and he was agreeable - so DS was born on the 19th.

I never saw and good aspects to a Christmas season birthday - some relatives tried to get away with "one gift to cover for both" which I found very cheeky.

When he was at school we always had his birthday party on the 19th November, so his friends would be around to attend. And on his real birthday, we always restrained ourselves and kept the house non-Christmassy until after his birthday , so it wouldn't seem like we were just fitting him in. I still feel bad having a tree up now, even though he is an adult and doesn't care !

Have a ds born Dec 24th who is 6 and for now they love ❤️ having a Christmas Birthday! We have a big birthday party earlier in Dec and on the actual day a special present, birthday breakfast etc.

My sister was born on Christmas day. We always did a big half birthday celebration for her growing up over the summer. It was so much fun and she had the novelty birthday.

My daughter was born on 21st. That Christmas was mental. Everyone was off so we had loads of visitors and I ended up exhausted. I would advise she limits visitors. We had her birthday party first week of December this year. On her birthday she is having a trip to the Christmas markets and going on the rides. I like the fact that everyone is up for a party in December and was worried she may have been born first week of January which I actually think is worse!... My daughter is 5. Her birthday this year is the last day of term, she gets to have a fun day at school with the party and it's worked out pretty well. Usually by the summer she is in need of a bike /scooter so we just buy her that when she needs it. She can't really wait till her birthday. I hope that throughout her life she will always have a party and sparkly frock to enjoy on/around her birthday!

Christmas Day birthday here. It's horrible.
Nearly 50 years old and I truly don't know what it feels like to have a birthday.

I have always had birthday and Christmas presents, but all in the same pile, with my sister moaning that I had more presents, or was opening presents for longer.

Never known what it's like to be the only one opening presents, to be able to go out, on my birthday, for my birthday, to be able to do what I want on my birthday rather than to consider everyone else, no one has any money or time in the run up to my birthday to do anything and no money after Christmas to do anything yet everyone expects me to enthusiastically join in with their birthday plans.

In short, nothing good about having a Christmas Day birthday. Not much your friend can do really though other than really think about how to make that child's birthday as special as any one else's.

Thank you all for the ideas and reassurances. Great to hear from midwives that Christmas is business as usual on the maternity ward too!