Everything you can do to make your kid’s winter birthday feel special

It's not easy being a November, December, or January baby. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and beyond, it’s common for birthdays in these months to get overshadowed by holiday parties and winter vacations. 

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In fact, it’s even been reported that people with December birthdays receive significantly fewer birthday gifts over the course of their lifetimes, with gift-givers often combining birthday and Christmas into one gift. While we believe that any gift is a good gift (and a reason to be grateful), this can still leave little ones feeling left out or less-than, compared to their siblings or friends with birthdays in less event-packed months.

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Here are some tips to make sure those Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn kiddos in your life feel extra-special on their birthday. We’ve also included some etiquette for friends of holiday birthday kids—pass this along so everyone can learn how we’re doing things a little differently this year ❄️🎁🥳

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For parents planning a holiday birthday

TIP 1: Treat it like a summer birthday

Birthdays in the winter months often fall during school breaks or amidst family trips, similar to those in the summer. Make sure your child still feels special on their big day by following these tips from summer birthday parents:

• Plan ahead (like, really far ahead!). Reach out to the parents of your kids’ favorite buddies as soon as possible, to assess if they are going to be around that time of year. This way, you avoid making big plans only to find out their besties are going to be out of town that day—before it’s too late to change it.
• Send a save the date well in advance so you can get their birthday party on people’s calendars, sooner rather than later. You can also opt to send a save the date only to close family and friends that you want to lock down asap. 
• Gather parent emails and phone numbers early in the school year so you can send a digital Invitation (easier than wrangling people in person!) and track RSVPs.
• Coordinate with their teacher to bring cupcakes to your kid’s classroom during the last week of school before break, so their entire class can sing “Happy Birthday” and celebrate them. Bonus points if you make this a surprise.

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TIP 2: Let them pick the theme

If they are old enough to have their own interests and opinions, we recommend asking the birthday kid what theme they want for their birthday party. Who knows, they may want a Moana theme in the dead of winter, but at least they’re happy, right? 😆

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If they want a holiday-related theme, try an out-of-the box concept! Some of our favorites include: 

• Gingerbread & jammies: Wearing cozy pajamas and crafting up some gingerbread houses? Now that’s a good time.
• Cookie swap or cookie decorating party: Nothing like a party where everyone walks away with more sweet treats than they know what to do with. 
• A merry little birthday: Your chance to lean extra hard into the spirit of Christmas with your decor, food, and activities. You could even hire a Santa to collect Christmas wishes and give out party favors! 
• Winter wonderland: Think all things snow and ice. As an activity, have kids make paper snowflakes to take home. You could even incorporate the Disney Princesses for a sweet ice princess theme.
• The Grinch: Turn your home into Who-ville and screen your kid’s preferred version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Send the perfect Invitation to match! 
• Ice skating: A perfect winter birthday theme and activity rolled into one.  

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Check out even more fun holiday birthday themes on our Instagram:

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TIP 3: Consider throwing their party earlier in the month

If the birthday is after mid-December, consider throwing their birthday earlier in the month (prior to December 15), when friends are still in town. Or if it's on Thanksgiving weekend, take an advance on the celebrations and throw it the weekend prior. At the end of the day, your child probably won’t remember what date their party was on, but they will remember that they had an amazing celebration with all their friends.

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TIP 4: Avoid gift-combining!

Avoid combining holiday and birthday gifts until the child is old enough to request it themselves (if they want a bigger ticket item, for example, they might ask to combine the two occasions’ budgetary power). Just make sure these expectations are agreed upon ahead of time. Which brings us to… 

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TIP 5: Soften any potential blows in advance 

A lot of kids might not be able to attend their party, so making sure your child is aware of this ahead of time helps to ward off potential birthday blues.

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For friends of holiday birthday kids

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TIP 1: Avoid gift-combining!

Okay, so this was already Tip #4 above, but it bears repeating. Even if you’re not able to give your niece, nephew, or friend their gift until Christmas, this doesn’t mean “combine gifts” — it means “the more gifts the merrier”! 

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TIP 2: Set a calendar reminder

It’s easy to forget a Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve birthday in the midst of all the holiday planning, especially if you’re going to be traveling. Set a reminder in your calendar at a time that works for you to call and sing them Happy Birthday, so they know you’re thinking of them. They’ll feel EXTRA special that you took the time to call amidst the peak holiday rush.

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TIP 3: RSVP promptly & accurately 

This is an evergreen tip for all parties, but especially for ones taking place over the winter holidays. RSVPing early ensures that the parents throwing the party don’t over-buy or under-buy on supplies and food, and helps them set expectations with their child over party attendance (so they aren’t disappointed if it’s a smaller party than they expected).

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⭐️ Bonus tip 

This is a big one, and it goes for everybody: 

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Remember what it was like being a kid!

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If you’re reading this, you may be at an age where you don’t have a lot of concrete memories of childhood. Or maybe you have no idea what kids are into these days (Labubu and Minecraft, who?!). 

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Even so, the feelings associated with childhood remain universal as ever. The uncertainty over where you stand in the world. The unbridled joy stemming from the love of friends and family. The magic of your birthday and the excitement of a party that was all for you. Think about how you can bring that joy, love, and magic, into your kid’s special day, and they will be so grateful — even if they don’t tell you how grateful they are until 20 years later when they have kids of their own 😆