Birthday celebrations in your family and country? ... - Page 3

bri20 · ‎03-10-2016

I always made a big deal for my kids' birthdays. I still do - LOL

My husband and I have the same birthday. Our preference is to go away for the weekend or something like that instead of gifts to each other.

We always have a special dinner though, whether home or in a restaurant.

bri20 · ‎03-10-2016

I just realized that my daughter's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year. That will be fun!

Hayfield · ‎03-10-2010

Yes, we do celebrate birthdays, but in different ways. Growingup my mother always had a nice family dinner and made me my favorite, her homemade apple pie! When I had children we also celebrated their birthdays with kids parties. Now they're grown up we continue to celebrate but not in a party & balloon type way, it's dinner, a card. When my children went to college, it was a card and money in their accounts and now we get together for dinner, when we can. DH & I don't exchange gifts but we usually do something special, either for the day or weekend. My birthday is next month so we're doing our vacation on my birthday, so no presents, the trip is my present. We'll be spending my birthdy with DS since I rarely get to spend my birthday with him. Every family has different dynamics, especially once the children are grown, has SO that may celebrate birthday's and holidays in different ways. I think it is difficult when traditions change but I've learned that I need to "go with flow" and not dig my heels in when it comes to my grown children. I try not to let it bother me but if something is really, really important to me, if I say something, they're pretty good about it. That goes both ways though, I have to respect their lives and their opinions too.

IamMrsG · ‎08-29-2010

RE: "When I hear someone say I don't care and I don't want anything I am inclined to think one of two things. Either they are lying or awfully stupid!!"

@Kitlynn I want to explain to you why some people can sincerely decline birthday and Christmas gifts.

Trust me on this: I most definitely am neither lying nor stupid. Rather, I am blessed. I have family that I love and who loves me. Let's just say I have every material thing I have ever wanted and leave it there without embellishment. Why on earth would I ask or expect more?

I hope that someday you will understand and be able to feel genuine gratitude and contentment without a need for More.

Strive for respect instead of attention. It lasts longer.

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

@chrystaltree wrote:
Is it just your dil's family that does that or is that the culure of the country? To be honest, in my family we always made huge deal out of kids burthdays but less, much less for the adults and it seems the older the adults get, the smaller the birthday celebrations. There's no right way or wrong way. Families do things differently.

Yes to this! I have three friends who spend their whole birthday week celebrating and having different events all week. I have other friends who never mention their birthdays. I have one friend who posts things to her Facebook page year 'round with the note: "In case you're wondering what to get me on my birthday." I have other friends who are Jehova's Witnesses and they celebrate no holidays at all. School was hard on them as kids because if someone else brought in cupcakes for a class birthday, they were not allowed to participate. I don't know if it's the same for all Witnesses, but they always left the room when someone was having a class birthday celebration.

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ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

@Imadickens wrote:
In my family, everyone except my dh had a birthday between the end of October and Christmas! It wasn't the money as much as find gifts for two holidays so closely together! So, once I got married we made an agreement that birthdays had a $10 limit. Just something to show you were thought of! Plus, we did not buy expensive cards! A handwritten note was perfect. We still had a cake for each person because we all enjoyed that!

Now, we still don't go way out but we do make sure everyone has a special day! That person chooses where we eat dinner and there is always a cake!

Oh my gosh, it's the same in my family! Finding someone birthday AND Christmas presents so close together is tough. Sometimes I will buy something early and hold on to it only to forget I did so and find it in January.

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Kitlynn · ‎03-09-2010

@IamMrsG wrote:
RE: "When I hear someone say I don't care and I don't want anything I am inclined to think one of two things. Either they are lying or awfully stupid!!"

@Kitlynn I want to explain to you why some people can sincerely decline birthday and Christmas gifts.
Trust me on this: I most definitely am neither lying nor stupid. Rather, I am blessed. I have family that I love and who loves me. Let's just say I have every material thing I have ever wanted and leave it there without embellishment. Why on earth would I ask or expect more?
I hope that someday you will understand and be able to feel genuine gratitude and contentment without a need for More.

First of all I apologize if I offened you in any way as that was not my intent. I also have to say that I forget that people on the forum don't know me personally and when I typed this it was because I do think that everyone should celebrate every birthday they get as life is a gift. Secondly I am actually a person who doesn't really care about getting material things at all and everyone who knows me personally knows that about me so when I say what I did they all know it is exactly the opposite of how I really am. I am big on family, friends and have a genuine appreciation for them in my life and just look at it as a gift. I am the person that arrranges the family reunions and stays in touch with a large extended family. I also stay in touch with the friends I grew up with and have had those friendships for fifty five years. I will make every effort in the future when I post to be very careful of how I write things and remember that when I am joking it doesn't come out that way in the written word. Thank You for reminding me of this I do appreciate it.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@bri20 wrote:
I just realized that my daughter's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year. That will be fun!

That happens periodically with my BIL's b-day.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

In my family, our b-days were always a big deal. My DH's family, not at all. We use to exchange gifts and then the older we got, we realized it was getting too difficult to buy and we were more interested in just spending the time together.

Now we go out to dinner, to an upscale restaurant of the b-day person's choice. Luckily, with the exception of my sister and a cousin, the b-days are all spread out throughout the year.