I think the kids would rather have their own days. With their friends, it would probably make sense to have a joint party (few kids celebrate on their real birthdays anyway, since the parents usually pick a convenient Saturday to host all the kids), so they would get to celebrate as twins with their friends. If their family recognized their birthdays as separate, I think it would do a lot to let them know that they are being viewed as two, distinct, valuable individuals. I think if the parents picked the 31st or the 1st, it would always feel to the other twin like their day just got erased in the interest of convenience.

It was bound to happen, but that's really really special! Rather than trying to pick a single day, why not let them each have their own day? At least for the first several years while they're still children, you can even have a really great two day celebration over New Years at the same time other people are in "party mode." If you look at it as an opportunity rather than something to compromise on, I think it can be a lot more fun.

I only have a singleton and she runs me all day. I don't know how people with multiples do it. I give them lots of credit.

As for the birthdays, well its nice to think that they should have their own day, but logistically it's a lot of burden to put on the parents and the people attending. If relatives live out of town, then its nicer to have one party so everyone can celebrate. Even for relatives that live in town, do they want to give up every new years eve and day to celebrate the birthday of these kids? probably not. If the birthday parties were separated by a week or two, is it really reasonable to expect the same people to come to both of these parties. In the early years it may be a novelty but as they get older, it won't be as exciting. Parties are for the kids but the people attending them are the ones you also have to think about.

Also, its quite a financial burden to not only care for twins but to expect to have separate parties for them every year. This is huge expense; one party simplifies that.

I have a friend whose birthday was close to a siblings. Their parties were always together. In a recent FB post she said, the best thing about their birthdays was having them together. The worst thing about their birthdays was having them together. I think that will pretty much sum up many twins. As adults when they can't celebrate their birthdays together, they may think back nostalgically to the days when they had such fun having birthday parties together.

In my own life, my husband's birthday is on the 29th of the month. My daughter was born on the 30th of the same month. I think her birthday party will obviously be a bit more important than his but I think as she gets to be an adult, she will probably like that her birthday is so close to his. It will be something they alone share.

Wow, I have always fantasized about this exact scenario, as I am a New Year’s Eve birthday girl as well and wondered what would have happened if I’d had a twin born a few moments later. My former boss’ twin girls actually had a similar birthday surprise in store for their parents as they were born on 31 Dec 1999 and 1 Jan 2000, technically placing them in different centuries. LOL. I never asked them how they celebrated their birthdays, but I do believe they kept the birthdays separate, allowing each child to enjoy the exact day that they were born on. And to be honest, I think that would certainly be the best way to celebrate the birthdays. It creates much anticipation for the children knowing that one birthday will follow the other and they will enjoy two days of birthday fun, rather than one. It will make them feel very special to be able to have this opportunity and while each day should be about the respective birthday child, each twin should be able to open up maybe one present so that the one born last does not feel underprivileged about having to wait the extra day for her birthday and the first-born twin does not feel left out during the second birthday celebration. Of course, the birthdays could be treated like those of any other two siblings who share a birthday in the same month or whose birthdays are only days apart. You would give them each their separate, individual birthdays. So they same should be done for the twins who are only minutes apart but whose birthdays have landed on different dates. As for parties on the 1st of January, well, I think most people would understand the importance of attending both birthday parties to make each child feel special. Kids birthdays are during the day anyways and typically do not last longer than 2-3 hours. So there would be ample time for the party goers to attend one b-day, party for New Year’s Eve, recuperate, and then attend the second one the next day. Or the parents could skip the holiday birthdays altogether and delay the party until the following weekend, during which they hold a joint party, especially if some of the guests could not attend two separate parties due to driving distance, job commitments (on the 31st), or other reasons. This may be a happy alternative to having the child born on the 1st of January feel as though he/she is only 2nd choice, since many people do not wish to celebrate anymore on the day after New Year’s Eve.

They weren't born on the same day. i don't know why you would want to have their birthdays on the same day. If your kid is born just after midnight and doesn't have a twin you celebrate his bday on the day he was born right?

This is a super cool story though. I was hoping to have my baby on new years eve. :( He's still not here. My midwife says soon, but no one decides but the baby lol