I liked my birthday (in April) because it was the one day that I made sure I took off from work. I’d enjoy the day without anyone yakking at me. Other than that, it was not a something I thought much about. My sibs might send a card or give a call. Mom definitely called. Not a big deal until Mom (at age 89) moved in with me. When she wished me Happy Birthday in person after all these years, I cried. I was not expecting the rush of emotion.
I’d like to say it’s just another day, as I don’t look forward to it, nor like to bring it up (though I’ll do so if asked), but I do set aside a small treat for the day. It’s only for me, and nothing anybody else would understand, but it pleases me.
Meh now. Some celebrations.
16 I could drive.
18 I could drink, NY was 18 back in the day.
21 Drinking age.
25 I actually noticed my car insurance going down along with being able to rent a car - work related.
40 Bitter, I was supposed to move up to a different bicycle racing age group. Bastards changed it again for the next season.
None Mine’s near or on Thanksgiving, plenty of celebration and eating for me.
I don’t want a party, but I do make a cake and have a special meal of some sort. Birthday wishes are nice too. At my game group on or near your birthday you can suggest what board game to play.
I mean you can always suggest, but it carries MUCH more weight if it is your birthday pick.
Brian
For me it’s mostly just another day. I expect to get at least a text from my brother and sister, maybe a card but definitely not a phone call. There’s hardly anyone in the office anymore post-COVID, and I may even be working from home that day. If my wife wants to take me out for dinner so I don’t have to cook, that’s nice but probably unlikely.
It’s just another day to me. Oh, my friends may buy me a pint at the sports bar or race book, but that’s about it.
I kind of miss the old days. It would be nice if somebody made a fuss.
My birthday isn’t that big a deal to me, but I do get a little miffed about one aspect of observing it that has developed in the last few years.
I have a pretty big extended family of in-laws. Twenty years ago, I had one SIL who had a birthday close to mine. The family would go out to dinner to celebrate our birthdays and my SIL and I would alternate picking the restaurant. Same with the cake. Great! I enjoyed it.
In the past five or six years, there have been births and marriages (and prison releases, but that’s another story) enough that there are now eight in-laws who have birthdays close to mine. I no longer get any say in where we go for dinner. I don’t get to choose a cake. I’m the older uncle who, oh yeah, also has a birthday close to Tom’s, Dick’s, and Harriet’s. Better bring an extra card and a $10 Amazon gift card from Walgreen’s.
This is exacerbated by the fact that one of my BILs is (IMHO) a total jerk and waste of space and HIS birthday sort of stands alone. When they celebrate his birthday, he chooses the cake, restaurant, etc., and gets treated like the second coming of JC.
I’m not bitter…really…rassen-frassen.
Our birthdays are pretty easy to remember for our friends. Ducky is one day shy of an April fool, and I was born on Thanksgiving (my birthday hits it this year). All parents are dead; he has a brother and I have a sister, but we don’t give two shits whether they acknowledge our birthdays or not. Celebrations are playing the slot machines at the local racino.
My wife and I usually go out to dinner around our birthdays; The Keg will give you a free slice of Billy Miner Pie on your birthday, so that’s a popular destination.
I wouldn’t call that a “big deal”, though.
No. My mother, wife, and mother in law all insist on giving me gifts, which I appreciate, but I want no cake (I don’t like cake), no songs, none of that. And espcially no acknowledgement at work, beyond a “happy birthday” from cow-orkers.
My 55th is this coming Tuesday, and I asked for, and will receive, a Chelsea FC shirt and a meatloaf dinner. I also took the day off and plan to spend it playing World of Warcraft until my eyes pop out of my head.
Happy almost birthday! Enjoy!
Thank you, you are too kind.
PM me your birthday (year not necessary) and I promise a fuss will ensue.
My wife bakes a tray of “from scratch” brownies on my birthday in lieu of a birthday cake.
Birthdays were always big deals when I was growing up. My birthday is in the summer. I’d have an outdoor party with the neighborhood kids - games, lunch, cake, ice cream, and gifts. Then that evening, I’d have the family party with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We’d have cake and ice cream and gifts. My mom did that for me and my sisters during our elementary school years. As we got older, it was just the family party in the evening. At some point it turned into dinner along with the cake and ice cream.
Now that we are in our 60s, my sisters and I get together for lunch. Everyone in the family always remembers each other on birthdays with a text or a card. My friends and I do too. I work in a small office, we all know when each other’s birthdays are and either send a text or an in-person happy birthday.
My husband and I usually go out for dinner or order a pizza for our birthdays and anniversaries.
There’s nothing wrong with having a day for yourself. Everyone should feel special at least once a year. 
My mother had 4 days that she celebrated every year: the birthdays of her children. Yes, it was a medium-sized deal: we all made an effort to get back home or be in contact on her big days.
Our parents were mediocre parents: not good, not bad. But those days were a harmless bit of joy for her.
I usually go out for a nice restaurant dinner with the wife and kids and then we have cake at home. We don’t eat out a lot, so it’s a nice treat. Also, it’s in February, so there’s not a lot else going on.
We don’t do birthdays at my office, which is fine with me.
This.
I avoid even discussing it at work, ‘cause I’m too busy to care, and I don’t want to have to put on that “mask” of gratitude when I just want to get caught up on things.
Now that I’m getting closer to fifty (not quite there yet), and post-COVID, all I want is a day to just relax, contemplate a few things (specifically, what I want to do in the next 5-10 years), play some video games, and just control a slow day. The past handful of years have not gone this way, usually interrupted by something my wife wants to do to celebrate. Seriously, all i want to do to “celebrate” is an unbroken set of burpees: one rep for each year of my age. Otherwise, go ‘way!
Tripler
Bah humbug.
I vote for this as well.
When I turned 50, I took my kayak and paddled out to an island off the coast to camp by myself for three days (including my actual birthday). Surprisingly, my wife and extended family didn’t seem to think it was odd. I met a family camping on the same island and happened to mention why I was there for those particular days. They showed up later at my campsite with a single cupcake with a camping candle on top. It was very touching and an excellent way to celebrate.
Naw. Birthdays just weren’t a thing in my family until there were grandkids, and by that time I was long gone.