As someone with a December birthday (I'm the 10th, just in case anyone is taking notes), I feel more than qualified to make this very important announcement.
It is NOT ok to wrap birthday gifts in Christmas wrapping paper!
There, I said it. And my goodness, does it feel good to be able to say so!
I know, it's such a pain to have to go and buy birthday gift wrap when you probably have a few rolls of festive wrap in the house already. I appreciate that. But hear me out. If you read my list of reasons and still think it's perfectly fine to use Santa wrapping paper for your best friend's birthday gift, then I'll admit defeat, but here goes.
December birthdays have to wait ALL YEAR for any gifts! That's 11 months with nothing.
December birthdays get forgotten. Like, all the time. It can sometimes feel like everyone else is in a Christmas bubble and any December birthdays are a mild inconvenience.
You wouldn't wrap a gift for your friend's February birthday in red, heart covered, love themed, soppy gift wrap paper intended for Valentine's Day, would you? Or your sister's July birthday gift in "Number One Dad" Father's Day wrapping paper?
December birthdays often end up with joint birthday/Christmas gifts. Of course, if the gift is worthy of joint-gift-status (i.e. doubly thoughtful) then that is absolutely fine, but all too often, our birthday gets missed and Christmas gifts get labelled as "a joint present". If that's the case, at least wrap it in birthday gift wrap.
It can be hard to celebrate a birthday at a time that everyone is so busy. Try gathering your nearest and dearest together to celebrate when they all have commitments on different days-pantomimes and parties have a habit of getting in the way. Also, have you ever tried booking a venue for a birthday party in December? Imagine going out for a birthday meal and being surrounded by drunken office workers in Christmas hats on their Christmas works do, listening to nothing but Wham and Mariah. That might not be quite the aesthetic we'd hoped for.
Basically, December birthdays are hard. They are completely overshadowed by Christmas and it's always cold and wet. Help your nearest and dearest December babies feel loved and appreciated by wrapping their birthday gifts in a way that says "I see you, I remembered your birthday and I get it."
Please don't get me wrong, I write this from a place of love and gratitude. I know gifts are never mandatory, and I certainly do not want to come across as ungrateful or unappreciative. But I do feel that someone needs to speak out, stand up, and put an end to this oh-so-common birthday crime!
