# Have you never had a birthday party? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324 "2009-02-17T22:09:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/41 "2009-02-18T18:13:08Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > **CaerieD** , that’s interesting. No baby or wedding showers either, then, I guess? That seems to be quite an institution here. I finally get old enough that people my age stop having kids and getting hitched, and now my daughters are recieving such invites from _their_ friends. 😉 > > BTW y’all are not going to believe it but today is my birthday. I’m 49! Woo! Happy birthday! When my sister got married, she didn’t have a bridal shower, and only one of my cousins that I’m at all close to has had a wedding. That was after being with her SO for fourteen years and having six children together, so a bridal shower seemed a little late in coming. 😉 My sister never had baby showers, but one cousin did and I went to it. It was mostly family and maybe one or two friends. We’re all closer to our blood relatives than we are to any friends, though, and so while other people might view things as not being a party because it’s only family, there’s nothing odd or lacking in festivity to it for us. Which is why I was so surprised to learn that other people _don’t_ consider family getting together to be a party. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/42 "2009-02-18T22:02:38Z")
I’ve never had a birthday party with friends, but my mom, dad, and sister and any associated significant others always got together with cake and food. I don’t think my mom or dad ever missed one, up to and including my last birthday (my mom passed away so it’s an excused absence.) ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/43 "2009-02-18T22:45:34Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > BTW y’all are not going to believe it but today is my birthday. I’m 49! Woo! Well, 49 sounds pretty young to me and the other dinosaurs over here. [Happy birthday from some of the older party animals!](http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn106/3aaat/file004/bDay.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/44 "2009-02-18T22:57:32Z")
> [@3acresandatruck](#): > > Well, 49 sounds pretty young to me and the other dinosaurs over here. [Happy birthday from some of the older party animals!](http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn106/3aaat/file004/bDay.jpg) That was nice. Happy B-day 90W. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/45 "2009-02-19T00:43:52Z")
Out here in the middle/middle-class burbs, the neighborhood kids who had birthdays did have sleepovers/cake/party hats, and exchanged gifts. In my lifetime, I’ve bought more Barbie dolls than I have pairs of shoes!.. In the upper/middle-class burbs, the kids get whisked off to their equivalent of a fine restaurant, or some facility where they make arts n’ crafts, or a mass expedition to the movies. Presents are, of course, still exchanged…And I’m told some of the parties given for the ‘upper class’ kids are starting to look like showers or weddings, every parent jousting for ‘can-you-top-THIS’? craziness. (wonder if they’re still doing that kind of thing now!). ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/46 "2009-02-19T01:04:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Woah! I didn’t mean for this to turn into a feel-bad thread! Although I suppose we could throw a collective pity party. Sorry, that was more sarcastic than anything. I was fully aware of how unpopular I was as a child and didn’t care. However as an adult I care a lot more than I should. Whodathunk. > [@](#): > > Come to think of it, most adults I know who have parties organize them themselves. It seems a little presumptuous to me, but as long as it’s a fun time, it’s all good. And yes, I agree it comes off as presumptuous. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/47 "2009-02-19T02:25:00Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Also August 27th sucked for birthdays. For me it was always the first day before school began. No one ever remembered…wasn’t even announced on the intercom ☹ > > Oh well 🙂 Try Christmas Day. I’ve had precisely one birthday party. And my six-month old baby had RSV, so I had had no sleep for a week. I looked like a zombied bag lady at my _surprise_ birthday party. Hubby hasn’t tried again since. ---
**Author:** ![JustAnotherGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/48 "2009-02-19T02:33:42Z")
I’m sure I must have had a typical kiddie birthday party way back when. But when I hit middle school, my folks started sending me off to summer camp. I think there was a good six or seven year stretch where I was away for my birthday. So, family dinner and cake when I returned. My parents threw a surprise party for me in my senior year of HS. (First time I was around for it, so it actually was a surprise.) Since then, we’ve moved. So I wasn’t able to celebrate with HS friends and was away from my college friends. Nowadays, I use my birthday as an excuse to get people together for drinking and barbecue. But it’s sorta-hobbit style; I provide the food and brew. (I don’t do presents, though.) ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/49 "2009-02-19T04:51:34Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > So what kind of party are you having? > > Happy Day! Thank you! So far, my daughter fixed me a nice dinner, my hubby did the dishes, and I had a piece of cake. Oh, and I went to the gym before. That’s a lot for old people! > [@tdn](#): > > If there isn’t a clown surrounded by raucous conehead midgets, it doesn’t count. 😉 Well, that works - dad and us five kids. 😉 > [@CaerieD](#): > > Happy birthday! Thank you! Yeah, I know what you mean, my family can throw a big party all by ourselves. > [@3acresandatruck](#): > > Well, 49 sounds pretty young to me and the other dinosaurs over here. [Happy birthday from some of the older party animals!](http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn106/3aaat/file004/bDay.jpg) Awwwwwwww! So cute! Thank you. I’m grabbing that for wallpaper. I’m sure my old scaly skin looks just like theirs. > [@Omegaman](#): > > That was nice. Happy B-day 90W. Thank you! (sorry about the hijack) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/50 "2009-02-19T05:40:59Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ve seen photos of me at one I had when I was 1, 2 and/or 3, but nothing after that. Actually, I guess I did have a sort of pary once at the U of Hawaii. I was sitting around in my furture wife’s dorm room on my birthday one year when a married couple we knew – the wife was a fellow student – walked in with a surprise cake, candles lit. ButIt was just the four of us. I guess that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-never-had-a-birthday-party/486324/51 "2009-02-20T01:52:32Z")
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