Beware the December Baby

The holiday spirit's a bit stiffed by the birthday mayhem.  Nala turned two years old this week and we threw a party for her at a local gym.  I made a quinoa flour butterfly cake, which she adored!  One parent even asked for the recipe, which made me feel good since Kaio's birthday cake this year kinda flopped.
The kids had a great time running around and climbing like wild monkeys.  We made them goodie bags with wooden crafts, finger puppets from Ikea, and fake tattoos.  Now today we've been making thank you cards for the folks that came.
The only bummer, which I expected, is that most of the presents are not keepers in my book and are going straight to Toys for Tots.  Disney Princess Memory Flash Cards, Toy Story TM something, Little People Castle, and cheap plastic stuff from China.  I'm worried about the potential toxins in these.  This year I made an Amazon wish list for each of the kids and sent to family, hoping this would ward off the toxic commercialized toys.  It, urr, helped.  But the Zuzu pets and pretend plastic cupcakes still ended up being gifted (the Zuzu pets are pretty cute, I must say).  It didn't help at all with the gifts from friends at daycare, of course, and I'm wondering if maybe I should have said something in the invitation.  Like, "wood toys only please."  But that just seems so pretentious.

The other issue with this December birthday is that in all the planning, I lost two weeks of Christmas prep.  Didn't send out Christmas cards and half-heartedly decorated the house.  Now, I'm scrambling send care packages and order gifts off the internet.  One of my friends suggested celebrating Nala's half birthday instead.  That way it would not blend with Christmas.  I think that is a fabulous idea.  Then we could have her birthday at a park instead of inside!  But, Mari thinks it is totally insane to change someone's birthday just for convenience!  I guess it does sound a bit absurd, but i really think it would be best for everyone.
Well, my lesson learned is better birth planning.  No more conceiving in March - May.  I'm going to aim to have my next kid born on a warm month.