Multiple Birthdays
One of the most common complaints that multiples mention is that everything has to be shared from the very beginning. One subject that is always brought up is the fact that even though parents do their best to treat each child as an individual, this often gets neglected during a birthday party. Siblings are taught to share everything anyway, right? Think about this: how would regular siblings react to having to share their special day? Here are a couple of tips for making this special day a little more personal for each child.
Although it might be a little more expensive, make sure that each child has their very own cake. This doesn't mean that you have to go out and buy two large cakes. You might want to try getting one big cake and two individual cupcakes (or mini cakes if your bakery will oblige). This way, each child gets their very own candle.
Sing 'Happy Birthday' to each child. If your guests went to two birthday parties, they would need to sing it twice. There's no difference here. You child should have the opportunity to hear the song just for them, as anyone else would. This takes two minutes and makes a world of difference.
Many guests will ask if they can buy one big present for both children. Although this might sound like a wonderful idea, you might want to step back and think about this a bit more. One of the best parts of having a birthday is the opportunity to open up your own gifts. This is something that shouldn't be shared unless you have spoken to them and they both agree.
Don't be afraid to celebrate this special event with two very different themes. I know it's always nice to have everything color coordinated, but it really should be left up to the children whether they would like a similar theme or not. If they decide against it, just accept it and move on. You wouldn't ask your singletons to pick something else because their siblings don't like it. This is no different.
I like to spend that special day with the birthday child and since this cannot be done with multiples, I pick a day to be with just one twin. I make it their day and do activities that they enjoy. This might even be just going out with the child to pick out their birthday theme, or even enjoy a nice lunch together.
Individuality is something that is very important to twins and birthday parties should not be an exception. Make sure that each child shines on their very special day!
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