For most people, their date of birth is an important part of their identity.
Not only does it determine your star sign and all that, it is also the one day of the year that you look forward to every 12 months – because in these special 24 hours everything revolves around You.
But unlike the rest of the world, these two children are turning a year older and still don’t know that their parents swap their birthdays every year.
According to Abbie Guy, 26, and her husband Callum, the best way for them to give their little ones a great birthday is to tell them what day they came into the world.
Every Jeck is different, right?
Abbie and Callum have found a unique way to ensure that the father doesn’t miss his children’s birthdays. (SWNS)
The mother and her 27-year-old husband, the Carlisle United midfielder, say that after all these years, their five-year-old daughter Ava and three-year-old son George still don’t understand how much back and forth there is.
I’m sure many parents reading this have panicked just thinking about this scenario and all the confusion that will undoubtedly arise as the children get older, but the couple insists their deception is for the greater good.
To ensure that despite their hectic schedules they could both be there and celebrate with their two little ones, Abbie and Callum had the bizarre idea of swapping their birthdays.
To be honest, it’s mostly their father’s fault because, due to Callum’s football career, he is often training or playing on his children’s birthdays.
To counteract this problem, the two decided to simply tell Ava and George that their birthdays are on a different day than they actually are, so that all four of them can celebrate together when the 27-year-old has the day off.
Abbie explained: “It must have been Ava’s second birthday when my husband couldn’t make it because he had an away game. That’s when we started.”
“We never wanted him to miss this again, and we never wanted Ava not to be able to have her dad with her on her birthday. As they get older, I fully realize we can’t do this forever.
“But while they are still so young, we want to experience as magical a moment as possible together with the whole family.”
The couple has children Ava (5) and George (3). (SWNS)
The housewife and mother from Nottingham explained that she actually got the idea from her mother, 49-year-old Carla Bentley.
Abbie’s mother also had a demanding job that caused her to miss birthdays, so she had done this dance before.
The 26-year-old explained how the birthday swap went: “August 13 was Ava’s fifth birthday – Callum was at work because there was a game coming up, so we told Ava that her birthday was the Sunday before.”
“On Sunday Ava woke up and opened all her presents. We had a big birthday party with 20 of her friends in the soft play area and a family meal in the evening.
“Callum’s parents came to celebrate, she got all her presents and cards – it was her birthday.
“Then on Tuesday, her actual birthday, we treated ourselves to something nice and went out to eat with my friends.
“But we didn’t give gifts or send cards or anything, and I didn’t say ‘happy birthday’ or anything like that.”
Abbie said they tend to move their children’s birthdays to Callum’s day off – either the day immediately before or the day after.
She shared the details of her birthday swap idea in a TikTok video that subsequently went viral, drawing what she admitted was a “mixed reaction” from social media users.
Abbie and Callum believe that the best way to give their children the “most magical day” is to “lie.” (SWNS)
“But most people have actually been quite positive,” said Abbie. “Lots of people have said ‘Oh my God, why didn’t I think of that?’ and NHS staff and other people in demanding jobs have talked about their experiences, for example celebrating Christmas on Boxing Day instead.
“I think people generally understand that a child would prefer to celebrate their special day with both parents if possible.”
Even though this has been going on for three years now, Abbie is confident that her children will take it well when she finally tells them the news.
“Ava and George are so young, dates just don’t mean anything to them at this age,” she added. “Ava knows her birthday is in August, but that’s all she knows.”
“I will get through this one hundred percent as long as I can.
“It’s like ‘no harm, no foul’ – I really think it’s the best thing you can do to make sure they have the most magical day ever.”
