By Kira Walters, News Editor 

Most people would assume having a birthday close to Christmas is great because. . . yay! More presents! But no. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

I’m sure some people have heard of the horrendous concept of Happy-Christmas-Merry-Birthday presents. Well, I have personal experience with this one because my birthday is Dec. 22, only three days before Christmas. This is the idea of combining a birthday present and Christmas presents together into one. So, in actuality, you are getting fewer presents.

Now, I don’t, and never really did, care about the amount of presents I got, but what I did care about was birthday parties. When I was little, none of my friends could ever come to my birthday party because they were on a Christmas vacation. This would make me really sad when the time came for my birthday party. 

Along with fewer, or “combined,” presents and friends missing out on birthday parties, having a birthday in the winter limits your options for what you can do to celebrate. Friends’ pool parties and beach parties were always the highlights of my summers when I was younger and, unfortunately, that just wasn’t an option for my birthday. 

For my birthdays, I usually just went out to dinner with my family and a few friends. I often had sleepovers the night before my birthday so we could stay up till midnight.

I enjoyed this, of course, but I envied my friends with summer birthdays. I always wanted a pool or beach party and, unless I wanted to get hypothermia, it was not a possibility. 

Having a birthday close to Christmas is unfortunate, but it is no one’s fault. It’s a wonderful time of the year, but not for a birthday party or anything a young child would find amusing. 

As I have gotten older, I admit that I have learned to appreciate it more and more. If there was snow, it might be a little better, but still – I enjoy getting to do Christmas activities on my birthday like looking at lights or decorating. Plus, I will never have to go to school on my birthday, like many people I know. There are so many fun things to do during the days leading up to Christmas and I have really learned to love it.

For people with Christmas birthdays, there are so many things you can do. While our options may be more limited than people with summer birthdays, we can celebrate the holiday season on our birthdays by doing things like baking cookies, or having a nice dinner with friends and family. It may not be ideal, but we get to enjoy time off on our birthdays, unlike many people. 

Junior Kira Walters can be reached at 24walterski77@daretolearn.org