Christmas is a joyous time and it’s where families can come together to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. In a similar way, birthdays are cheerful and a time where we can celebrate the day where our loved one was born. But what would it be like if the two days were combined into one?

Mrs. McMillen and Ms. Wiggs know what it’s like to have their birthday on Christmas and they both share their experiences with what that’s like, and how they celebrate with their families.

“When I was younger, we would separate Christmas and my birthday so we wouldn’t always do it on the same day,” McMillen said. “My birthday parties were like the week or two before Christmas so that it wasn’t always mixed in together or kind of forgotten about. As an adult, I don’t really care that much at all; it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. I don’t have birthday parties or anything. We usually just eat birthday cake at dessert time on Christmas. When it’s time to have Christmas dessert, we sing happy birthday.”

In the same way, Ms. Wiggs describes how on her birthday, when she was younger, she and her family would celebrate Christmas first and what they’re early mornings would look like.

“So when I was a little girl, we would always sleep underneath the Christmas tree and when we woke up, there would be all these Christmas presents under the Christmas tree,” Wiggs said.

“On Christmas, we do a big Christmas breakfast. Usually, we get together with family but sometimes, we’ll get together with my family at home and then we’ll go to grandma and grandpa’s house.”

Some people may agree that having your birthday on Christmas is something that you wouldn’t enjoy. Having combined presents isn’t always fun and there are a lot of nasty colds during this time.

However, Mrs. McMillen has a different take on the idea. Her family would always separate her birthday in order to ensure that she wouldn’t be forgotten, but as she’s gotten older, she doesn’t mind that her birthday is celebrated on the same day beloved by everyone.

“A lot of people hate it and think it would be terrible to have your birthday on Christmas, but I really, really like it,” McMillen said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. I like Christmas and I like that everyone gets presents on my birthday so it doesn’t really bother me. It still feels kind of silly because I’m an adult but my parents are really into it so I still get into it and they like to get me presents.”

Christmas and birthdays are a time to spend with family and friends, and to just connect with each other after long periods of time away from each other. Ms. Wiggs easily relates to having distance with family since her father was in the army and she didn’t always get the chance to see her whole family.

“My dad was in the Army and we had to move a lot so the best gift, I would have to say, is when we moved back home from Germany and getting to be with family for Christmas because we wouldn’t be able to get with family for a couple years.”

Both Christmas and birthdays bring out the happiness, reunion and fellowships of families and friends and for Mrs. McMillen, this was the exact joyous time she got to experience with her husband’s family.

“The year before I got married, I got to celebrate Christmas with my financé’s family – my husband now – on Christmas Eve and then we got to celebrate with my family on Christmas so we got to go to so many celebrations and I love Christmas so much,” McMillen said. “So having my birthday and Christmas made me obsessed with Christmas. I honestly don’t even care about my birthday, just Christmas.”

Additionally, Mrs. McMillen discusses how on every Christmas, her husband’s family would take a trip up to Colorado and go skiing. However, since her daughter was too young last year and she’s pregnant with twins this year, the McMillen’s are going to have a blissful Christmas at home.

Ms. Wiggs also tells what the best gift she ever received was, which happened to be the same Christmas where she and her family got to move back home from Germany.

“It would be the same Christmas – it was when I was turning 16. It was an exciting birthday just to be with my family and getting to hang out, and I remember the gift that I got that year was a Sony radio/stereo and it had a CD player,” Wiggs said. “The CD’s were just starting to come out. They were fairly new so it was super cool.”

Being able to spend time with family and friends makes for a great time, but it’s also the key to having the best time during holidays and birthdays, which is why it’s important to remember the company you have and how thankful you are to have them in your life because they are the real reason why having a Christmas birthday is so amazing.