To find it a bit upsetting that my Dec born dc gets shit presents...

[grinchmas]

From relatives. I know it's an expensive time of year but it's the same date every year, hardly shocking.

I put a lot of effort into all my nieces and nephews birthday presents throughout the year and wouldn't dream of wrapping their present up in Christmas paper or spending £3 on a present "because it's Christmas soon". Every birthday so far this has happened!

I'm probably being unreasonable, but I just feel sorry for my dc!

My brother’s birthday is early November, so not remotely Christmassy.. but my parents still occasionally got him a big joint present.

That wasn’t ideal.

My DGC has his on the 20th. I send a present in the post, even though I see him around Christmas. That makes it more special for him.
The problem is planning his birthday party when his friends are busy going to family things, Christmas trips etc. It's tough, I agree.

Very early January here. Used to quite enjoy spending my birthday money in the sales as a child/teen - felt I got more for my money. Did slightly resent getting batteries for Christmas then something that ran off batteries for my birthday from relatives though!

My sister has a birthday 4 days after Christmas Day.
She always got an expensive joint present for both from my parents on Christmas Day.
The day 'her birthday Part 1.'
A few days later, more presents (despite the joint one already received) - her birthday part2'
She didn't miss out believe me!

everyone’s in the celebratory mood!

Well yes - for all the Christmas and NYE parties they’ll have. As a child I never had a birthday party, not even with friends round the house because of their own family commitments. That’s not changed as an adult - there is no good time to arrange something (even if I wanted to) because before Christmas everyone is busy with their kids, having work nights out/friends Christmas nights out, kids Christmas things, then the weekend after Christmas when my birthday usually falls people say they’re “saving themselves for Hogmanay”, or they can’t afford to do anything (again, fair enough).

As I said upthread, I wouldn’t say I hate my birthday. I just don’t care about it in any way, just like I don’t care about New Years Day or the May bank holiday.

My brother’s birthday is on Christmas Day. Now that IS a rubbish birthday!

We have a young family members birthday xmas eve I always make sure he has a seperate gift wrapped in birthday paper with a nice card. I just buy it before the xmas hype kicks in. People saying Christmas is expensive etc need to plan better and buy the gift earlier in the year if needs be. I think it’s really mean to forget someones December birthday especially if effort is made all year round for other.
I had a couple of late November birthdays and 3 December ones all are celebrated individually.
Happy Birthday to all with birthdays coming up i hope your day is remembered and enjoyed

We have several Xmas birthdays in my family, all get separate birthday and Christmas presents. Unfortunately ILs are more shite and MIL regularly forgets DDs birthday, despite always being generous for her summerborn siblings.

DSis says no-one wants to celebrate her birthday. By that she means friends, she's always at home for her birthday and DM still bakes her cake every year, I've not had a cake baked by my Mum for my birthday for 30 years!

Myself,my husband our youngest all have December birthdays as an adult yes it’s annoying that no one wants to or can do any get together as they all have Christmas plans. Growing up I didn’t ever have joint presents, my family made a point of it which is why I’ll never do that to our daughter. When she’s of school age I may do the half birthday celebrations for parties

Ok now I feel bad!

We have just come back from giving s friends little boy his birthday and Christmas present. It was joint. But I spent the combined amount to buy a much bigger present than he would have ordinarily had. So I basically put the money together and bought a massive Duplo set. I wouldn't have bought something so big for just a birthday or just Christmas.

Is that ok?

Is that ok?

I think it is. I sometimes even suggested to my parents to combine gifts when I wanted something big or more expensive, especially as a teen. December birthdays help promote mathematical and negotiating abilities.

My ex was born on Christmas day and quite frankly he got more than double the presents.
His mum and dad would but him a very expensive Christmas gift, say more expensive than anyone elses, then they would but him lots of birthday gifts too.
He always got more than two gifts from them. His siblings would do the same. They would visit and everyone would be sat around and his family would be saying " here is another gift for x, oh and because it's Christmas I thought I'd buy this as well. "
I always had a party for him too where I cooked food and bought all the drinks and decorations, usually held on Christmas eve and it was always well attended.

Christmas baby here. Joint presents, Christmas wrapping paper, nobody to go out with as they have no money and family staying. My family have also folded it into the Groundhog Day Christmas trail "shall we come over? I can bring a ham, crackers, an entire cheeseboard, chocolate log. I hate it every year. I tried a half birthday in June but everyone ignored it.

Yep, my birthday's next week and I always hated it. My ex husband once got me an all in one Christmas and Happy Birthday card! Wtf? Some of my friends with DCs near Xmas arrange for them to have a birthday celebration in the summer too. I thought this was a bit odd at first but they love it and I think I would have loved this as a child too.

I'm December 21st. Always been very matter of fact about it, no self indulgent whinging. It is what it is. The most irritating thing is that because people don't write birthday on the envelope, I end up opening cards way too early thinking they're Christmas cards!

My sil is Xmas day, she generally celebrates it on 15th Dec though but she is the same 2-1 gifts etc. I always buy her two and one is birthday paper!

My nephews birthday is Christmas Day? Some people even forgot his birthday 😢.

He celebrates it in January now which is a bit better

My DS has a Christmas birthday. We celebrate his half birthday in June instead. He had a bouncy castle in the garden for his party - wouldn't fancy that in December!

happygelfling we do that too. DD does rather well out of it. We make a big fuss as a family in Dec and then have a 1/2 birthday and party in the summer. On her 1st bday SIL suggested a "joint" birthday-christmass present. I politely declined and the suggestion hasn't been made again; DD gets separate bday and christmas presents just like SILs non dec born DC.

Yanbu, I thought we'd avoided all that with DD having a November birthday but no, she still got fecking Christmas things for her birthday wrapped in Christmas paper. Her birthday is six weeks before ffs. Completely unimaginative.

OP yanbu - it's not even about the cost of the gift, it's the lack of thought.

widgetbeana unless you okayed it with the parents first, I'd say not OK. A small child doesn't understand what a gift costs, just that it is one gift and not two. I doubt it'll make a huge issue on Christmas Day to them having one less gift to open but if that is in comparison to a sibling it could upset them.

I have an early January birthday, which as a kid my parents always made very special, and still try to now, even if I can't be bothered. Once I understood the cost of things I quickly worked out I could get amazing joint presents but they were always asked for. I never got birthday presents in Christmas paper and I always had a party. It's only since I've been a 'proper' grown up that I have experienced people being lame about my birthday, and although it shouldn't matter, it can make you sad if none of your friends will do anything. Now, I find it all a bit much so soon after Christmas so try to keep it low key. One big birthday I had a summer party for and I expect I'll do that again for the next big one.

Because of this I always try to make the effort for people with December and January birthdays. It's not hard to treat them like a birthday bay any other time of year

My DDs bday is 27 Dec and in effect its meant about a week of celebrations and gifts with visits to family and friends, early and late gifts. There has never been any combined gifts, though there is occasionally Christmas gift wrap on birthday gifts from disorganised people (who always apologise, so are aware).
My bday is a few days later and it was never an issue for me and was actually very useful if I wanted a larger present because I could request a combined Christmas/birthday gift.
The main disadvantage is not being able to go out for dinner on my birthday. A few years back I booked in advance and when our group arrived the restaurant was closed. Massive disappointment. Nothing much else open and since then I haven’t felt like going out for a birthday meal since. 😿

@puppymouse. I tried the half birthday thing once but as I’d half expected, without a lot of promoting, which felt rather greedy, it was largely ignored.
Next year Im going to save up for a simple pub lunch ( which I will pay for) and host family and friends in June. I’ll have a significant bday this year at NY and for all the reasons set out in this thread don’t intend to especially celebrate it

I have a mid Dec birthday. It never bothered me to be honest, quite nice to have it when festive everywhere. Remember quite a few ‘joint’ presents though.

Generous combined presents are fine. I have bought my mum a laptop as a joint Christmas/birthday present and her birthday isn't until April! She will get something small to open on both days as well but there's no point buying her less expensive tat when a new laptop was what she really wanted, but that's too expensive for one present.

What isn't fine is buying tat and then only one lot of it because the days are so close together (well maybe only one lot of tat is a good thing).

That said, it can work the other way. DH always buys his sister (birthday 23rd Dec) a birthday present as well as a Christmas present because their being so close together makes him remember But she rarely gets him a birthday present!