That's what a former boss of mine used to say instead of Happy Birthday. Only within the last few years have I begun to appreciate the significance. And yes, it truly SUX to have your birthday the week before Christmas. First you have to wait ALL YEAR to get any presents, then they all come at once. Second, your birthday gets lost in the shuffle. Parties never come off because everyone is BUSY with the holidays. The weather is crappy (great rationalization to move to the Southern Hemisphere!). Forget anything that's not Christmas themed. My mother was the only person who NEVER wrapped my birthday present in Christmas paper. Sometimes she had to use the comic section of the newspaper, but NEVER Christmas paper.Finally, DO NOT get me started on the people who try to pull the old "This is your birthday and Christmas present COMBINED" scam! Of course your old Aunty has the perfect cure for that one. I just smile and say, "Really? This is YOUR birthday and Christmas present COMBINED." And when the person looks shocked and says, "But my birthday is in July!" I simply reply, "Too bad."
So I just got home from my Annual Holiday Cruise. Okay, this is only the third year (in a row) that we've done it, but it sounds waaay impressive when I write it like that.
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all you other December Babies! May you NEVER receive a combined birthday and Christmas present.
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9 comments:
I feel your pain, Cindy, especially as we share the same day as our birthday!
My mom was also very careful to make both celebrations seperate, but it does totally stink to be a week before Christmas.
I love your response to people who tell you "This is your Christmas gift and birthday gift COMBINED." LOL. Way to go. Give them a taste of their own medicine. lol.
Hey Susan, my bday twin!
Thanx for stopping by and comiserating. And YES, I highly recommend giving THOSE people a hearty dose of how it feels to be on the receiving end. But then, I'm a mean and nasty old woman! ;-)
Also SUPER CONGRATS on your very recent sale! Now THAT is a wonderful present, birthday or Christmas doesn't matter!
AC
I read you loud and clear, Aunty Cindy! My birthday is Dec. 5th, but I had the same thing happen to me. Never had a birthday party, because "your birthday is too close to Christmas!" I like your response to the "combined" problem, though! LOL
Thank You Aunt Cindy for the lament! as a december 9th bdy girl, I know how it is to, never get a party because of the holidays, have the "combined" bday/xmas gift, and to top it all, I married a man with a december 7th bday and since we only had his parents to cause celebration (mine rip), I got my gifts on HIS bday. Oh Woe is Me...lol
Glad to meet others with at least the same probs as me. Happy New Year. Karen V.
Yvonne and Karen,
Thanx sooo much for dropping by and commenting! We December babies must stick together! And Karen, your HUBBY is too? I sure hope your anniversary is in June or July so you have something to celebrate some other time of year.
HAPPY HAPPY 2008 to EVERYONE!
AC
Aunty Cindy,
No one understands this the way another December baby can. My birthday is December 20th. After 59 years I am still smarting at all the times I heard the birthday/ Christmas gift combination claim. One year I worked up the nerve to ask my cheap Aunt Ceil, "if this is supposed to be 2 gifts in one, why did Patty, Tommy, and Susan (my cousing) get the same gift? Aren't they getting birthday presents this year? The worst part was it was just a crummy pair of pajamas.
Twilightgrace,
GRRRR! I'm angry on your behalf!
I'm afraid I really have done the "this is YOUR present combined, too." I've always been a bit too mouthy, and I just couldn't help myself. :-P Got their attention, I will say that, if not exactly their good will.
I hope you had a NICE birthday this year, with presents wrapped in something OTHER THAN Christmas paper.
For the past 2 out of 3 years, I've celebrated my birthday on a cruise to Mexico. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this! The dining room staff (usually good-looking men) fuss over you, and sing to you, and bring you your own little cake. Oh, and they discretely never mention age. Now THAT is my kind of birthday!
Thank you all for visiting my blog and please come back again in 2008!
AC
Aunty Cindy, I LOVE the way you think. My bday is two days after Christmas. I turned 50 this year and think this is the first year ever I didn't receive a package wrapped in Christmas paper. (Not that that's my hang-up - mine is the combined gifts...) I printed out your post and showed it to all my December/early January birthday friends and they had exactly the same reaction I had. "TOO BAD!" Ha!
But I REALLY do feel bad for the Christmas babies!
Hi Gumbeau!
Thanx a BUNCH for printing my "words of wisdom" (very big grin) and showing them to sympathetic souls. Yes, I'm afraid the after-Christmas crowd doesn't fare any better than us right before Christmas kids. My nephew was born on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) and he suffers the same slings and arrows as his dear ole Aunty!
Congrats on hitting the BIG 5-0! And remember the words of a slightly younger mechanic I once dated, "It ain't the years, honey, it's the MILEAGE!"
AC
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