The Nest Egg #8: It's peak birthday season
Plus an easy answer for relatives who ask what your kid needs.
Por el equipo de UNest · 5 min de lectura
Hi there,
If it feels like every weekend this month has a birthday party on it, that is not your imagination. September is one of the busiest birthday stretches of the year, so there is a good chance your kid knows a few of them.
This week: the numbers behind cake season, an easier answer to "what should we get them?", and a quick market read.
Let's get into it! — Mitch, from The Nest Egg team
💡 FOR PARENTS
Why every weekend in September is a birthday party
If you have been singing happy birthday a lot lately, there's a reason. September is the most common birth month in the U.S., and nine of the ten most common birthdays fall in it. September 9 tops the list, averaging 12,344 births a day between 1994 and 2014. If you're wondering what the other common birthday is, it's July 7.
Count back 38 weeks from September 9 and you land on December 17, right in the thick of the holidays. Researchers think shorter days, more time indoors, and a busier party calendar explain most of the surge. The Knot's survey data adds one more clue: December is also the most popular month to get engaged.
The rarest birthdays are the ones you would guess. Leap Day is the clear winner, followed by Christmas and the Fourth of July, since hospitals avoid scheduling inductions and C-sections on major holidays. You can check where your kid's birthday ranks at birthdayrank.com.
All this to say there are a lot of parties this month, and a lot of relatives asking what to bring. Don't worry, we have you covered below!
Birthday statistics: Popular Science, "Why September 9 is the most common birthday," Sept. 8, 2026, citing FiveThirtyEight's analysis of Social Security Administration birth data (1994 to 2014) and The Knot's engagement survey.
🎂 BIRTHDAY SEASON
The gift nobody has to guess at
Most of the people on your guest list want to give your kid something meaningful and don't know what that is. UNest Gifting gives them an easy answer: a contribution to your child's account that is still there long after the party. Send out your link and give them an easy gift to say yes to.
1
Open the UNest app and tap Gifting on your home page.
2
Copy your link and paste it into the invite, the group text, or the Evite.
3
Guests tap, give, done. No app and no account needed on their end.
Photo: UNest. For illustration only; the people shown are not UNest clients. Gifts are invested according to the account's selected portfolio and are subject to market risk. Investing involves risk and investments may lose value.
📈 MARKET, IN BRIEF
Stocks are on a four-year run
S&P 500 CLOSING LEVEL
3,840
4,770
5,882
6,846
7,704
End of 2022 End of 2023 End of 2024 End of 2025 Sept. 24, 2026
The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are all higher so far in 2026, which puts them on track for a fourth straight year of gains. If the year ends that way, it would be the S&P 500's longest winning streak since 2007. Nine of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 are up this year, led by energy.
What this means: Markets still have ups and downs week to week, and there are three months left in the year. For a child's account with years or decades before the money is needed, the long stretch matters more than any single week.
Source: CNBC, "Stock market news for Sept. 18, 2026," Sept. 18, 2026. Chart: S&P 500 closing index level on the last trading day of 2022 through 2025 and on Sept. 24, 2026, rounded to the nearest point (S&P Dow Jones Indices via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED). Index levels exclude dividends. Year-to-date and sector figures in the text as of Sept. 18, 2026; chart figures as of Sept. 24, 2026. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. This is not investment advice. Index figures are not indicative of future performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
🎁 EARN IT BACK
Buying a gift for your kid's friend? Shop through the UNest rewards page and a percentage of what you spend goes back into your own child's account. All those party invites can work for you too.
1% invested
2% invested
2% invested
Rewards rates shown reflect the UNest rewards catalog as of September 24, 2026 (Disney Store 1%, Gap 2%, Old Navy 2%, all active), are set by each partner, and are subject to change. Purchases must be made through the UNest app to qualify; taxes, shipping, cancelled orders, and returns are excluded per each partner's terms. Rewards are paid into the child's UNest account and are not investment returns. Nothing here is investment, tax, or legal advice.
Know a parent who would like this? Earn $20 when they complete three monthly deposits.
How was this issue? 👍👎 or reply to Mitch.
Referral: when your friend signs up using your link and sets up monthly recurring deposits for their child, you receive $20 once they complete 3 consecutive monthly deposits. The $20 is added directly to your UNest account.
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