Dear LPG grandmas, granddads and all other readers,

I would like to start by wishing anyone reading this post today a Happy Birthday if the cap fits, and if history reflects the findings of the office of national statistics there are more birthday girls and boys today than on any other day of the year.

Did you know that your grandchildren are most likely to have birthdays during the two weeks either side of this very day, today being the most popular of them all?  Apparently statistics show, at least over the past twenty years that today is the day when midwives will be working at their hardest during 2019 according to the office of national statistics records.

So, while Christmas present-buying duties will be just over the horizon in the minds of many readers at the moment, it appears that quite a few Grandparents will be trying to work out what to get for the youngsters’ birthdays at about this time too.

It turns out that Christmas is the reason for the September/October peak in the birthday stakes.  Apparently in the parts of the world where it is a big celebration, Christmas has a lot to do with the peak in the autumn birth  rate because, while it is thought that the December holiday generates the highest season for family break-ups, apparently a lot of making up is done during that holiday period too.

Taking into consideration the expected age of LPG readers, I think that I can speak for a good many when I say that when we were young enough to be starting our families, we were lucky to get Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day off, so there was little time for all that canoodling.  We were busy getting the Christmas dinner and presents ready for the big day and ended up so tired after that that when we went to bed we went immediately to sleep! The only plan for Boxing Day was the prospect of getting the house looking tidy again and after all the cleaning up and washing up we needed a good night’s sleep to prepare for work the day after.

But those three days off have more than doubled over the past twenty years with so many employers opting to close down work operations altogether and give their workers the whole week off.  There is little public transport and not a lot on the television except old films.  It all makes perfect sense really.  The bit between the two holidays has a lot to answer for.

 AV, Mottingham

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