Those of us born on one of the other 364 days of the year likely agree that having a birthday on Christmas would stink. Think of all the presents you get jipped out of, right? All the focus is taken off of you and placed on the birth of (ahem) someone else. The handful of people I know born in December all mention fewer gifts and smaller parties, but for Anita Jenious, whose birthday is on December 25, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Absolutely love it,” she says. “The whole world is decorated for your birthday, and no one ever forgets it.”
    Her family always distinguished the two separate occasions, and that’s all she could ask for. Each year, there were two sets of presents waiting for her under the tree, and one half was always wrapped in brightly colored, birthday-themed paper. Despite the plentiful spread of Christmas goodies that already filled their home, her mother made sure to always have a homemade birthday cake. One year, the possibility of no birthday cake at all left her with one of her most treasured birthday memories.
    “It was about three days before Christmas ... I was 11 years old. I came in from playing and saw my mom on the phone, and she didn’t look too happy,” recalls Anita. “She had one of those little half aprons on, and she held the phone to one ear while waving the other hand around in air. ‘I know it’s the holidays, but I don’t care! My oven’s broken, and my baby’s having a birthday. I’ve gotta bake a cake! Get somebody out here, and have him out here today!’ It was really something to see.”
        When Anita asked her mom what was wrong, her mom said that Sears told her they couldn’t get a repairman out until the following week. “She was starting to look a little sad and said, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna cook your birthday cake.’ I said, ‘Momma, I really appreciate your arguing with the Sears folk for my birthday cake, but how do you think the rest of the family’s gonna feel about no Christmas dinner?!’ Then we both broke out laughing.” In the end, someone came on Christmas Eve and fixed the oven. “I got my cake, and we had a great Christmas dinner!”