My twin nephews are turning 5 this weekend, and I’m pretty pleased with myself that I managed to hunt down a birthday card that covers the both of them. (I’m not 100 percent sure that it’s a twin-targeted Hallmark product, but it’s got two identical cartoon animals on it, and vague language about a twice-as-fun celebration, so close enough.)

As I said, they’re turning 5, and they’re boys. So to generalize, these kids aren’t going to care too much about the card — they’re going straight for the presents (which I’m still working on, and no, a joint gift ain’t gonna cut it). The card will go straight to their mother. And while I’m sure she’ll appreciate it, not all mommies like the idea of a single card for multiple siblings:

My girls have only had one birthday and all the cards were joint cards. All their birth congratulation cards were joint cards, too, which made it very difficult for putting into baby books.

Which is the heart of it: I doubt most kids mind at all. It’s the obsessive mothers who are playing mommy to the hilt who bug out over this sort of thing. Also, as I alluded, I think little boys have less attachment to the frilly extras like birthday cards; if they were girls, I might think twice about lumping them together. And this is strictly applies to their early years; as they get older and really start asserting their individuality more, I think individual cards will be more of a requirement.

I guess I should be thankful I’m not dealing with triplets.