By Glypie Grider
Christmas babies always get the short end of the stick. Your relatives try to double-gift, your friends are never around, and you definitely don’t get as many presents as non-holiday babies. We holiday babies can get pretty bitter about the situation, but all we want is a little respect on our birthdays.
I was born 14 days before Christmas so I can usually round up my friends on my birthday, but my sister, born four days after Christmas, is usually snowed in at the house with no way out during the holiday season.
People whose birthday falls on Christmas Day have it worse than anybody else. The Cardinal’s managing editor, Chris Brown, divides Dec. 25 into “Christmas in the morning” and “my birthday in the afternoon.” But gift givers tend to forget about the afternoon.
If you are a friend of a December baby, you might want to stick to the following rules this year, or else your friend might start combining your Christmas and birthday presents, too.
Rule 1: Never give a combination gift.Things are tough and budgets are tight during the holiday season, but use a credit card – that’s what they’re there for! I would rather get two mediocre gifts than one combined gift.
Rule 2: Do not wrap a birthday gift in holiday paper. Don’t be cheap just because you have extra Christmas paper lying around. A birthday present should be wrapped in birthday paper.
Rule 3: Give a birthday card, never a Christmas card. Do not under any circumstances give someone a holiday card with “Happy Birthday” written in it. (This is on the same principle as the holiday wrapping paper.) You don’t have to get a Hallmark card, but a special note – without the Santa or snowflake confetti – is welcome.
Rule 4: Always wish the person a Happy Birthday first and Happy Holidays second.There’s only one thing I really want to hear – “Happy Birthday!”
Rule 5: Never give someone a leftover pumpkin pie as a birthday cake. Just because the pumpkin pies went on sale after Thanksgiving doesn’t mean one can replace a frosty chocolate cake.
Rule 6: Don’t give holiday-related gifts.
Don’t torture your best friend with a gaudy Christmas tree candle, carol CD or ornament. Buy what you would normally buy for someone’s birthday, like a DVD or book.
It’s about showing your loved ones you care, which is also in the holiday spirit – just don’t tell us December babies that it is.
