OUT WITH THE OLD

How does one go about choosing a new birthday? My old birthday is a week before Christmas, and although it's very atmospheric having Happy Birthday sung around the Christmas tree, it's a bit of a pain when it comes to booking celebratory meals out - always fighting to get served against rowdy office Christmas party outings and having to pay top-whack for a mediocre slice of luke-warm turkey. Then there's the birthday cards. The house by then is already heaving with Christmas cards so there's no space to show off my lovely cards. And I feel sorry for friends and family having to fork out for birthday presents at a time when their bank balances have already been hit bystocking up for Christmas.  So I've decided to change my birthday, and that's a problem. Too much choice already. Do I go for midsummer and swap turkey for burgers on the barbecue, or what about Spring? But then am I celebrating the birthday I've just had or the one that's still to come? And I don't want to steal anyone else's thunder by choosing a date just before their's, so already the choice is dwindling. I think this is going to call for numbers in a hat and then pull one out - unless I decide that it's all too much hassle and just buy an extra turkey - again.