11 Birthday Gifts We’ll Be Giving All Year
In this edition of The Gift, we’re making the case for going big on January birthdays. Plus: a medieval-looking cheese cutter and the best present for most people.
Ah, mid-January. The holiday decorations and twinkling lights have been down for a couple of weeks, and the festive feelings have faded. We’re new people now. We have resolutions. We’re recommitted to a more ascetic life, fueled by more fiber and protein and deep breathing exercises — and it is, in fact, all we can talk about.
Thus, many of us are also the absolute worst party guests for anyone trying to celebrate a birthday in January.
I know this conundrum intimately. Several of the folks I hold nearest and dearest to my heart are January babies — my dad included. And though I absolutely love him, I find myself dragging my feet to his birthday dinner each January 4, especially after a long season of holiday parties. It’s not his fault, and it’s not for lack of affection on my end, either. It’s just hard to get into a celebratory spirit when the couch looks so inviting on a long winter’s night.
But he, too, complains about his fate. As a kid, he would often receive an “extra-big” Christmas present that would also serve as a birthday gift. (His younger brother, a summer baby, never suffered this indignity.) The fact that this feels like a recent memory to him, after seven decades, tells me just how poorly we might be treating our January babies.
The least we can do for our loved ones is to make their birthdays feel merry and bright, even when no one is in the spirit. Here are a few ideas that turn even the doldrums of January into a celebratory affair — all of which, of course, would make fabulous birthday presents year-round.
