Having a birthday that, defying the principles of probability, seems to fall on the same weekend as Valentine’s Day every year, a father born on Christmas Eve, a brother born on Devil’s Night, and a mother and husband born the same week in April, increasing the odds that at least one of their birthdays will fall on the Easter weekend, I know a thing or two about the troubles of a holiday birthday.

Tips and tricks for making your loved one feel special on a day that was special before they happened to be born on it:

• Holiday themed birthday parties get old fast. I have had approximately 18 heart-shaped birthday cakes and my brother has had approximately 15 costume parties.

• Don’t make them compete with the holiday; don’t have a party on the same day as the holiday. I can’t tell you how many times a friend has cancelled on me because they found a date for Valentine’s Day.

• Holiday themed birthday presents get harder to appreciate every year. Hearts are fine and all, I just don’t want them on everything I own.

• Use the most obvious birthday paper you can find to wrap presents – this becomes especially important at Christmas. And never put birthday presents under a Christmas tree or in an Easter basket.

• Don’t downplay the holiday; provide two complete and separate events. My dad tells stories about getting to open one Christmas present early for his birthday, meaning he had one less present than his siblings on Christmas morning. However, I tell my husband he doesn’t have to take me out and buy me presents for both my birthday and Valentine’s Day; he finds a way to make each event uniquely special.

• On the other hand, some people like to celebrate their birthday by doing absolutely nothing; don’t expect these people to get super enthused about holiday activities.

• Keep the celebration low-key. One problem with having a birthday party on a party-holiday like Halloween is that people expect a bigger party. They drink more heavily, shout obscenities more loudly and draw moustaches on your family portraits more frequently than you wanted them to at your small, sophisticated birthday dinner party.