WHO doesn’t love Christmas Day? There’s loads of free gifts, you are legally required to overindulge, and you have a free pass to fall asleep in front of the television.

But for a small group of people Christmas Day is a constant disappointment, never living up to its promise.

“I’m all a bit bah humbug,” says David Wilson, a post office manager from Cobargo in southern NSW.

“It’s just too hard basket,” says Bern Sokol, a radio producer from Sydney.

But these aren’t Christmas grinches who turn their noses up at good times with family and friends. Many love a mince pie and a glass of bubbly inappropriately early in the day.

No, these are the people who had this misfortune to their birthday on Christmas Day and have always played second fiddle to the little baby Jesus.

CHRISTMAS BABIES RARE

Christmas babies are relatively rare. According the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, August is the most popular month Americans give birth. Conversely, public holidays, such as Christmas Day, are some of the least popular days for babies to enter to world.

Nevertheless some famous names have their birthday on 25 December — there’s seminal scientist Sir Isaac Newtown, actor Humphrey Bogart and singer Annie Lennox. And what about Ariadna Gutiérrez, better known as Miss Colombia, who just last week had the annual heartbreak of losing her birthday to Christmas compounded by winning, and then instantly losing, Miss Universe?

“I think it stinks,” said Mr Wilson, “It’s not celebrated at all and most people, even good friends, forget it’s your birthday.”

“I’ve definitely had less birthday celebrations because people are too focused on Christmas. They’re too busy and it’s a low priority for them.”

Tennille Holgate, an advertising account manager, was the first baby born in Wollongong in her year of birth. She even made it onto the front page of the local papers.

Yet, subsequent Christmas Days would come and go with barely a mention of its special relevance to her. “My birthday was never celebrated on my actual birthday. Instead my mum would try hard to do a another party in November so all my friends could attend. I knew it was a bit unusual.”

Ms Holgate still needs to be reminded the day is partly about her. “Now we do the whole Christmas thing and it comes to midmorning, when all the presents are over, and someone goes ‘oh, happy birthday’ and I’m like ‘oh yer, happy birthday to me.’”

BIRTHDAY NUMBER TWO

Creating an alternative birthday day is a common solution. “I try to celebrate with friends maybe a week before and my mum used to give me the presents early so it would make it special,” said Mr Wilson.

Ms Sokol said that one year she organised a birthday six months early, “But that fizzed out after one year because it feels very strange getting a present in July.”

She hasn’t been tempted to do it again, “I would feel a bit embarrassed because the moment’s gone. I think it would be a bit self-indulgent.”

Even closer to the actual day is a struggle, she says. “ At Christmas no one wants to spend extra money so I’ve actually stopped doing things with friends because it’s just too hard basket.”

CHRISTMAS PUD AND BIRTHDAY CAKE

There’s always the strategy of ensuring a little bit of Christmas Day is dedicated to you. Indeed, Mr Wilson became Christmas host himself, inviting around friends who, because they were far away from loved ones, weren’t able to be with their families on the day.

“I’d have an orphan’s Christmas for people who had nowhere else to go and we’d have a champagne to mark my birthday and then Christmas lunch sometimes with both a birthday cake and Christmas pudding.”

Ms Sokol, said that when she was younger she would often end Christmas Day surrounded by friends marking her birthday. “As we’d all spent the day doing our duty with our families and it was a good excuse for everyone to come over and celebrate.

“But as I’ve got older, I think we don’t really want to leave our families on Christmas Day anymore. So we’ll have dinner and then it will be my birthday celebrations and we’ll have a cake and a pinata.”

What about presents, do those born on Christmas Day get two? Generally yes, it seems.

“Presents wise I’ve never had issues,” says Chris Young from Orange in western NSW. “If anything my rellies find it more convenient to be able to shop for my birthday and Christmas in one go. I get the same amount of presents as anyone else, a birthday present and a Christmas present, but they just come on consecutive days.”

But well wishers can still slip up.

“My pet hate is when people give you a present in Christmas paper and go ‘Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday,’” says Ms Holgate. “It’s a bit poor form, I wouldn’t wrap their birthday presents in the Christmas wrap I found at the back of the cupboard.”

GOOD SPIRITS

All say they would have preferred to have a different birth date. But there are up sides, “It’s summer, people are in good spirits and it’s a real plus to have your family around you loving life. From that perspective, it’s great,” says Ms Holgate.

“I think it would be worse if it was a couple of days before or after Christmas,” says Ms Sokol, “It would be too close and you would have already have seen all your family already.”

Sharing his birthday with the festive season hasn’t dampened Mr Wilson’s spirits but it has led him to go cold on another celebration. “I love to celebrate Christmas, but now I’m not sure I like people making a big deal of their own birthdays.”

Meanwhile, Ms Holgate says some people have had some odd ideas about how Christmas babies should get round having their day dominated. “Some said I should celebrate my conception date and I was like, ‘hell no, my parents don’t have sex.’ I’d find celebrating that day a little bit strange.”

Besides, she said, the blame lies partly with her. “I think I was actually due in January so it’s all my fault anyway.”