I Must Confess: I hate having a January birthday.
Yes, earlier this month I celebrated another birthday! According to one article I read, I’m now considered a “senior” rather than “middle aged” but my response to that is a great big raspberry: PFFFFTTTTTTT.
But I digress.
I’ve always felt cheated because I have a January birthday. Here are ten reasons why…
10 Reasons I Hate Having a January Birthday
1. When I was a kid, I never got to celebrate my birthday at school like so many of my friends did, with a cake or just generally being made a fuss of. In hindsight, I was actually pretty lucky to have holidays every year for my birthday (for at least the first 19 years anyway!), but it didn’t feel that way at the time.
2. Of course, early January is peak summer holiday season here in Australia. This makes it rather difficult to have a party or other celebration, with so many friends missing in action!
3. Even if folk are still around, they are exhausted after all the excitement of Christmas and New Year. Which also means …
4. … That they are also broke after Christmas and New Year, so can’t really afford another night out to celebrate …
5. … Let alone the cost of your present!
6. Speaking of presents, I hate receiving JOINT birthday/Christmas presents. People don’t do that for folk whose birthdays are in July – so why should I get this sort of scabby treatment just because of the poor timing of the anniversary of my birth?!
7. And, please don’t wrap my birthday present in Christmas paper. It’s just not right and doesn’t make me feel special at all.
8. Even the weather is against the January birthday-ite. It’s generally hot as Hades; and the day nearly always ends with a thunder storm!
9. Having a Summer birthday means that I have never received a pair of slippers, a dressing gown, a jumper or a pair of PJs for my birthday. I am so jealous of my sister with an April birthday. I feel so deprived!
10. And finally, there is such a long, long time between my birthday and Christmas … about 352 days to be exact. That means no celebrations most of the year, and even worse, NO PRESENTS (thank heavens I have kids, I love the way that Mother’s Day breaks up the drought!)
You know I’m joking (mostly), right?!
Looking like a hot mess at Seaworld for my birthday treat in 2014
Although when we were planning to have children, I swore black and blue that I would do everything in my power to avoid a December/January birthday for my precious babies!
Luckily they were born in May and November … it was a bit close for Miss 25, but she just wasn’t interested in arriving any earlier 😉
When is your birthday, and do you love or hate having it at that time of year? Did you try to avoid having a baby in December/January or am I the only nutter that was worried about it?!
NB This post was originally published in 2014; I’ve revised and updated it for 2022.
Mine’s in September exactly nine months after Christmas Day 🙂 I always have mine in the school holidays which is fantastic. Because September is the first month of Spring it has a positive feel to it. Happy birthday Janet 🙂
My son is in this category & one year the maid in Bali was the only person who remembered his birthday (and only person who gave him a present on the day – bad parents gave him pressies at his party before we left)
Lol, my birthday is right at the start of feb, so I feel your pain!!!
February isn’t the same. There’s a pay day in between.
Oh Janet this made me chuckle … and yes, I got that you were joking (mostly!) My sister’s birthday is just after Christmas too, and I’ve always felt sorry for her too, except that living in the UK she always gets double woolly scarves, slippers, socks etc! Maybe I should get her to send you some and you swap? Lol! My birthday is a respectable distance away in March.
Happy Birthday Janet! I hope you had a great day out at SeaWorld despite the crowds and heat. My birthday is 4th Feb, so like you it is fairly close to after Christmas and my hubby always suggests he buy me a combine Christmas/Birthday gift which I hate. I believe that even if your birthday falls on actual Christmas Day you still should get 2 pressies. Otherwise it just isn’t fair!
Happy Birthday Janet!! My middle son’s birthday is a little too close to Christmas so he often gets forgotten. Those who do remember do give him a birthday gift though (he is only 4 so I am sure like you, he has a lifetime of birthday pain ahead of him) xx
I hope somebody gave you PJ’s or slippers for your birthday preferably some nice french slip-ons. Happy Birthday xxx
A very happy birthday to you Janet! My husband’s birthday is next week and I have to admit it can be hard to come up with something awesome for him following christmas. Which reminds me, I really do have to get planning for him…!
December 30th here and I am nodding my head at every single reason you’ve listed! And yes, I deliberately tried to avoid having a Dec/Jan bub although if I’m completely honest that was also a lot to do with not wanting to be pregnant in the heat of summer!
My birthday is March 16 and at school I was the last person in our class to have a birthday (I went to a small school and there was only 6 in my class) so the start of the year was pretty busy for parties and presents.
One of my friends birthdays is the 23rd of December and the last two years we hve gone out for drinks for her bday and while it’s awesome to have a girls night out, it’s hard with it being so close to Christmas.
It’s a dud if your birthday in January and you still get pressies wrapped in Christmas paper! Anyway many belated happy returns for your birthday!
Well I was born on the Bathurst races long weekend, in yes you guessed it Bathurst. To make matters more interesting my dr lived at Mt Panorama and well it’s possibly a blog post in itself. Needless to say, everyone was pre-occupied for the first five years before we moved away from Btown but things (aka birthday parties) weren’t celebrated for me. You see, apart from the Bathurst weekend, two weeks before I was born my mother’s sister (18) died in tragic circumstances and that time of year and my birthday was a depressing time for my mother and her side of the family. Gosh another blog post there. I’m clearly in over-sharing mode tonight!
Oh Janet, your 10 reasons why you hate having a birthday in January are the same as my 10 reasons why I hate having a birthday in December. I’ve told my family that I’m relocating my birthday to June and celebrating it then, lol. I think my pet hate was years ago having some birthday and Christmas presents combined, thankfully nobody does that now. Happy Birthday to you x
Thanks Shelley. When I was at high school, my friends must have got sick of me complaining so surprised me one year by celebrating my birthday on 1st April – April Fool’s Day!
On the plus side, pool party every year!! Yay!!!!!!
Except I’ve never lived in a house with a pool! Bummer!!!!
So? We had a terrific pool party for our daughter’s 12th birthday at the local council pool. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
I didn’t even think about having a baby in Jan/Dec but my middle boy is Dec 17 – so his is a shocking date also – SOO close to Xmas, on his 5th birthday I’m going to give him a party in November. I’m a Feb 15 girl and yes as a kid I would have liked a mid-year birthday but as I’m older I’m not so worried xx
yep I don’t envy you a January birthday at all. I am in March and that is ok though sometimes Easter interferes. I think May or June are the perfect birthday months
Oh wow. And I thought people born in January had it better.
My birthday is in June and growing up it quite often fell in school holidays which also meant I couldn’t see my friends, and living about 70km out of town also meant that no one wanted to come for a play date or party! Also in June it’s so stinking cold and miserable that no one ever feels like doing anything or going out! Guess all our birth dates have pros and cons!
PREACH IT! This is so spot on I can’t even…. LOL.
My birthday is in January, actually its not next weekend, buy the weekend after and feeling your pain. My partner had never got me a present for my birthday as we are always skint and facing another disappointment again. I did go on to have a daughter who’s birthday is next Friday, I already got her presents before Christmas and she will never feel my pain, not from me anyway. My sons birthday is Feb but like pointed out there is a payday so all good for him. X
My eldest son was due January 3rd but arrived on the 18th December! I make sure not to put the Christmas tree up until after his birthday party but it is hard when some family members are on holiday so never come to his birthday party. Luckily he thinks it is great at the moment as he just turned six.