Bookmas Eve

Heads Up: This is not an actual house related post but, it’s pretty important (to me) which is why I’m sharing this with you.

Note to all potential parents: if your kid is born 10 days before or after Christmas, make up a different birthday (preferably a day in the summer).

Those of you with birthdays between December 15 and January 4 know EXACTLY what I’m talking about, in fact, I guarantee you are smiling right now because you already know the thing I’m about to bring up.

The dreaded “Merry Christmas/ Happy Birthday” present.

Yes, these items actually exist.

As a kid, these gifts are pretty easy to spot by knowing the three types of combination presents to watch for:

• When at a specifically Christmas family function, you see a present wrapped in birthday balloon paper. Total combo gift. 
• A few days before or after your day of birth (depending on when Christmas is in relation to your birthday) you receive a gift in the mail covered in Santa Clause wrapping paper. The timing is key as the gift acts as a belated/early birthday gift and Christmas present (which is ALWAYS pointed out in the card). 
• And a gift wrapped in both birthday and Christmas wrapping (even a novice can pick this out of a lineup- major props to those that could pull this off).

Packages hidden beneath sheets of wintery images are tricky (think snowmen, holly & berries, poinsettias) as they could contain either. However, the dead giveaway is usually the size of the tag on front and if there is enough room to write a combo greeting or not.

But I can one-up all of you. My whole life, I was unlucky enough to receive the absolute WORST gift to a kid under the age of 16 (because after 16, people stop sending you stuff all together):

The “Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday Brooke & Ashley” present. 

Super cute vintage photo (I'm the one in the blue)

SIDE NOTE: My sister, Brooke, had the opportunity to meet one of our favorite authors, Sarah Vowell (essayist, voice of Violet in “The Incredibles”) a few years ago, who is also a twin with a holiday birthday. The two immediately connected over this exact topic. As a result, Ms. Vowell inscribed the following message on the inside cover of Brooke's copy of  The Partly Cloudy Patriot:

Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday Brooke & Ashley

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

-Sarah Vowell

As if I didn’t already have an identity complex having a clone growing up, now I couldn’t even have one day to call my own.

So why am I relaying all this information to you? Because it explains the new holiday I now celebrate (thanks to my husband): The 12 Days of Bookmas.

The first year we celebrated Christmas as a married couple, Josh felt that everyone should be excited about their birthday, even if it did fall close to the holidays. So he brainstormed a way to celebrate Christmas AND my birthday in a totally unique way.

Thus “The Twelve Days of Bookmas” was born.

This new and sadly not formally recognized holiday combines two of my favorite things (books and the holidays) with something I normally disregard (my birthday) to make the final product an EPIC EVENT!

So tomorrow, on December 22, Bookmas begins. Each day, for the next 12 days I receive a book-related gift. While I always receive a nice assortment of reading material, past gifts also include small book-related things like bookmarks or a bag of peanut M&M's (my fave) to consume while reading.

I am literally bouncing at my computer as I type these words, unable to control my excitement this Bookmas Eve. It sure makes approaching 30 (which Brooke and I will turn on January 2) more fun.

If I woke up to this on Bookmas morning, I would probably faint from happiness.