Boxing Day triplets ... almost. Amy Harrison, 26, with her twin brother, Tom (centre), and older brother Andrew, 29. Photo / Supplied
Boxing Day triplets ... almost. Amy Harrison, 26, with her twin brother, Tom (centre), and older brother Andrew, 29. Photo / Supplied
While many of us will be recovering from Christmas over-indulgence tomorrow or hitting the shops to take advantage of Boxing Day sales, Amy Harrison, her twin brother, Tom, and their older brother, Andrew, will be blowing out birthday candles.
The siblings were all born on Boxing Day, as were two of their cousins.
The trio are among a select group of Kiwis who celebrate their birthday on the stat day. Last summer, another 102 babies joined the group by being born on Boxing Day. A further 98 were born on Christmas Day and another 112 on New Year's Day.
For the Harrisons, they wouldn't have it any other way.
"For us birthdays aren't that personalised, it's more about being together," said Amy. "I remember one birthday I celebrated without my family. All the attention was on me and I didn't like it."
The strange thing was none of them were due to be born on Boxing Day.
Conceiving naturally wasn't an option for Amy's parents so all three were fertilised with an experimental treatment called gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT), similar to in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
The eldest, Andrew, was due to be born in February but ended up being two months premature.
Then, just weeks before the twins' birth, their mum was told by her doctor it was likely they would also be premature.
"Mum was told the hospital only had one ventilator [as they were living in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe at the time] and she would have to choose which one she wanted to live or give birth somewhere else."
So, the family packed up their things and moved to South Africa for the birth.
"Mum always said she ate too much on Christmas and that's why we were born on Boxing Day," Amy said.
An unexpected problem that has come up from time to time is when her dad gets a call from their credit card company telling him there has been some unusual activity on his account.
"But it was just mum getting all our Christmas and birthday presents in one go."
Over the years, the family had come up with a number of traditions to keep the celebrations going.
From a "Boxing Day bash", where friends and family are invited to bring around leftovers and "just hang out", to each getting a "birthday dinner card" they could use any time of the year, it all goes to show that being born on Boxing Day together has its perks.
THE CHRISTMAS BABY:
Tracey Clemett, who was born on Christmas Day, celebrated her 53rd birthday this year. Photo / Supplied
Today, amongst all the Christmas madness, Tracey Clemett, from Methven, celebrates her 53rd birthday.
And she wasn't alone - Happy Birthday is also sung to her niece.
In fact, the tune was also belted out for another one of her nieces born on Christmas Eve, a third niece born on Boxing Day and her nephews on New Year's Day.
"It is a very crazy time in our household to say the least."
Clemett said being born at Christmas wasn't part of the plan - she arrived a couple of weeks after her due date.
"Mum always used to say she managed to enjoy her Christmas lunch and even had time to pod the broad beans before being rushed into hospital in the afternoon to have me at 10.30 at night," Clemett said.
When she was younger Christmas was celebrated in the morning and her birthday in the afternoon, but now it just merges into one.
"Mum was always really good at making me feel special but I never really had many birthday parties ... I had one when I was 5 and one when I was 30 and then 40 that I had on New Year's Eve."
Tracey is one of the rare group of babies born on Christmas Day. Photo / Supplied
The 53-year-old from Methven, near Mt Hutt, said she remembered getting one ski for her birthday and the other for Christmas.
"And then the next year I got the boots."
But there's one thing she won't allow: don't wrap her birthday presents in Christmas paper.
Lucy Herbert will be 24 on New Year Day. Photo / Supplied
THE NEW YEAR DAY BABY:
The countdown into the New Year has extra meaning for Lucy Herbert as it marks the moment she becomes a year older.
Lucy, who will be turning 24, is one of the 11700 New Zealanders who celebrate their big day on New Year's Day.
This year she will be celebrating by cruising around the Bay of Islands soaking up the sun with friends.
She said one of the perks of being born on a stat day was her friends were off work and everyone was in a good mood.
Although she was expected to be one of the last babies of the year, her dad had other plans.
"My dad didn't want me born on the 31st because when it came to playing sport, I would have been the youngest in my age group every year, so mum had to hold on."
In recent years, when it came to celebrating her big day Lucy was usually with friends recovering from the night before.
"It is a perk never being at work and there also being something fun on but the downside is usually people are hung over on my birthday.
"I tend to celebrate it on New Year's Eve and encourage people to party on through the night."
Looking back, her fifth birthday sprang to mind as the most memorable as it was the year of the turn of the millennium. "I was with my family and we went up Mt Hobson to watch the fireworks which was pretty cool."
