Love this question
@romania 
Given all the details you bring up, combined with my own personal experiences and knowledge of myself, I'd have to say yes, most definitely, would still choose, willingly, to spend my birthday or some holiday in bondage. I would not consider it particularly tragic or having "missed out" if I would be happily bound and gagged (and have been for some time, and will be for more) during some key event like midnight on New Year's Eve or the cutting into a cake during my birthday.
To understand why, I cannot explain it better than via my earliest memory of all, literally my very first memory in my life, when I was just 4 or 5 years old, about which I wrote a story here:
My 1st Time! Or was it? (m/m, then f+m+/m). I have to say that bondage is literally part of my core being and a necessary stress management and relaxation mechanism. When I get overly anxious, or stressed-out, a few hours bound and gagged does much more for me than an hour work-out at the gym (although both do wonders, the gym alone is not enough, and I'd quickly return to being a bundle of nerves the next day--only bondage alleviates my stress and anxieties for long enough, while the gym helps maintain the physical health necessary for the 'sport' of bondage).
Large gatherings cause me a great deal of anxiety, even if the people involved are trusted, caring friends (and I have more trusted, caring friends than relatives). Being able to put all my trust for my well-being into the hands of trusted, caring individuals is a powerful feeling for me--that's one of the many reasons bondage games are considered part of a wider power-exchange dynamic. There is, on my part, a deep seated need to be able to have utmost trust in people I care for deeply. There are also the relaxing, stress-abating feelings of being perpetually hugged and desired that being tightly bound provides me with. Being kept bound and gagged, yet deeply cared for, by a group of individuals during a holiday gathering would be a dream come true! All my worries and worldly concerns would melt away knowing I can totally trust everyone present. Unable to move or even speak, my focus would be only on what my own heightened senses would perceive, burning them permanently into memory: the delicious aromas of the food I cannot feed myself with; the joyous laughter and banter I cannot directly partake in, but still enjoy; and, if not blindfolded as well, the joyful smiles of beloved friends having a good time. If kept in a corner away from the main party, I'd be intoxicated with sweet anticipation: the sound of a person's approaching footsteps coming to check in on me; the smell of perfume or cologne of the one approaching me mingling with their own personal aromas from partying; the feel of a person's touch as they check the ropes and straps binding me, adjusting to ensure no cramping and circulation issues, and re-tightening anything that might have gotten too loose for my taste, all the while trusting that their hands would never wonder inappropriately beyond preset boundaries; the sweet sound of their voice and smell of their breath as they ask me how I'm doing; their musical giggles as they correctly interpret my muffled groans through my gag; and, if not blindfolded, their knowing smile as our gazes lock.
That said, since that early memory of mine, there have not been for me any other times during large gatherings of family members (just me and my wife in the intimacy of our own home--more about those further down). As we get older, all sorts of taboos and associations get mixed up with the simple game of being restrained. As I've commented on other threads on this forum to which I have lost the links, I wish we lived in a far more open-minded world that would comprehend that enjoyment of being bound and gagged is not necessarily for kinky or sexual reasons, but can be enjoyed in of itself, so long as it's practised with continually enthusiastic and informed consent, in a safe and sane, supportive and caring environment. There are probably some few very fortunate individuals out there that have an extended circle of very understanding friends, a chosen family, with whom large holiday gatherings can include some fun bondage for extended periods, but I don't see how such a thing will ever come to be a mainstream norm.
So while I wish and dream that I could have an extended circle of friends and family that would happily and caringly indulge my bondage fantasies during real-life holiday gatherings, I only ever have done holiday/birthday bondage with just my darling wife in the privacy and intimacy of our own home. Rather that repeat all the details, some (not all) of which can be found peppered throughout some of my stories (both fictionalized and true as I can remember) I've written on the site (see my profile text), I'll just mention that I have done a New Year's Eve once, where I was tied to a chair by my wife, for a couple of hour before midnight and we kissed while I was still tied to that chair at midnight. There was also once a planned birthday weekend where I was going to be kept tied-up in various positions all weekend log, but real-life intrusions turned it into just lasting a few hours on the day itself; at least I got feed some of my birthday cake, leading to a lot of laughter at the silliness of it all. And we also have a somewhat of a Halloween tradition (not an official holiday, but still a big deal in my corner of the world), which is best left to the true story I've written about it.
I hope my answer has provided some insight as to why some may indeed want to spend a holiday or birthday tied-up. All the best for the New Year to all you lovely folk on this site
. Of course it definitely could be one of those things where "fantasy exceeds reality", and I've definitely tried things that were less fun experiencing irl than I initially thought would be fun. However something about being stashed away during the holidays on a vacation to some exotic locale for me sounds like a gift in itself. For me it'd be like a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, but I doubt I'd actually go through or even have the opportunity to go through with it. However it doesn't mean I can't vicariously live through art simulating the ordeal or even writing my own fiction of the subject 