Our Half Birthday Conversation
Our dinner table conversation starter, kicked off by my 8 year old son Otto:
“For my half-birthday, can I go to an arcade games place with all my friends?”
Considering Otto’s actual birthday is at the end of October, I don’t think his birthday ticks the half-birthday boxes. His cousin Toby would certainly fit the bill, with a birthday on the 22nd December. Maybe this is where Otto’s half-birthday idea ccame from? Every year we talk about how difficult it can be for his cousin to celebrate his birthday with friends at Christmas.
We’ve never celebrated half-birthdays in our family, so this is a randomly new idea. It sounds delightful! All of our birthday months don’t seem to fit the “criteria” for a half-birthday celebration. The main reason why you would celebrate a half-birthday is because your birthday is close to:
- Christmas
- New Year
- 6 months milestone
- End of calendar year and end of school year, which means that friends will be on holidays.
The conversation leans to my 11 year old, Oscar. The excitement of a half-birthday celebration for him quickly escalates. We do a speedy let’s-do-the-maths calculation from his birthday date on the 30th August. Plus 6 months. Equals. February 30th! Not even a leap year would fix that.
Will we celebrate Otto’s half-birthday in April? Sure! We may not do the invites and make it a big fanfare, but it’s a great reason for him to have a morning tea get together with his closest friends. As for Oscar, he’s worked out that he would like to celebrate his half-birthday on the 2nd March…
How do you celebrate half-birthdays in your family?