Do you celebrate your birthday?

I don’t. Others do and they invite me to the party.

My birthday is so close to a major holiday that what I usually end up having is a nice dinner with a few friends, either a few days before or after. This year, a couple of pals threw a drinks thing for me at a bar and 45 people showed, which was weird. I’d never gotten that much attention for my birthday before, and I was a little embarrassed.

I do very small quiet celebrations, like a nice dinner with my guy or something like that. I like to mark the day as milestone of having lived another year, but I really don’t like trying to make a big deal of it.
I just don’t understand people who think their birthday is some super amazing wonderful thing. Dude, you successfully made it out the birth canal (or however you were born), just like every other person. The worst, to me, is people who insist on birthday week or even birthday month, where their loved ones are supposed to do shit for them just because they were born. Ugh.

When I was little I liked birthdays, and I still make a big deal out of them for the kids in my life.

Not really. The wife and I (kids never wanted to go) would go out to dinner, maybe.
I reckon my birthday will be even less exciting this year.

@Likeradar I disagree a bit. I love celebrating other people’s birthdays. I think it’s fantastic that everyone should take a day every year to appreciate and celebrate their own life. Sure, everyone does it.. but that doesn’t make it any less amazing.

Happy Birthday!!! Hope you have a wonderful day.Well we always do something. I buy my own present though. LOL I am in charge of the money anyways.
We go out to eat to my favorite resteraunt or atleast eat cake. I love Birthday cake for breakfast.

@TheOnlyNeffie Happy Birthday!

I usually get the hell out of dodge with my better half. This past birthday, we went to New York. The year before, Chicago.

My family used to do the birthday get-together thing, but, no one seems to want to make an effort now.

My family does birthday parties to the extreme, mainly for the young kids to enjoy. I know the kids eat it up, because my niece was dating a guy with a small child and for his birthday, he asked itf he could have a “family birthday” like the other kids got.

@TheOnlyNeffie If other people are into their birthdays, I go along with it. Even if someone close to me feels the same way I do about birthdays, I like giving a small token of appreciation that they’re in my life, like a little gift or a meal.
I think the problem is that often, people who are into birthdays aren’t just taking a day to appreciate their own life- they’re often making demands on people that they act a certain way, go a certain place, and buy them certain things. Ick.

I am often forced to. I look at it as a chance to see people I don’t normally get to anymore.

I try to ;)

No. My birthday was always a horrible, horrible day growing up, and it continued to be until just a few years ago. I take the day off, hole up in my apartment with my favorite movies and a good book, and just veg. Sometimes if I feel up to it I’ll take a friend out to dinner, but it’s always just a regular dinner that’s slightly nicer than normal.

I will, however, accept gifts (though not on the actual day) and I go out with my sister to birthday dinner the day after my birthday – her birthday is 2 days after mine, so that in between day is “our birthday” and we just catch up and have fun and sing happy birthday in whispers to each other over desert.

I do celebrate. I grew up in a family where your birthday was the most important day of the year. However, I don’t usually have a party, it is usually just with my husband, maybe a couple of friends. See my birthday is early in the year, and after Halloween, Thanksgiving, Holiday parties, and New Years, people are done with the whole party thing, including me.

Nope.

Last year, I threw a birthday party. Sorta. It was my first birthday party ever.

My birthday is right after Christmas. I threw an anti-Christmas party a week before Christmas and invited a ton of people. I cooked for three days, worked my butt off collecting and chopping firewood, bought a ton of booze… it was a great party. Took me four days to clean it all up.

Turns out my husband had arranged for someone to pick up a cake, and they sang “happy birthday” to me. No one knew it was close to my birthday until they got there.

Ah, well. Maybe this year someone other than me will do something. I mean, I’ll be 25. That means something, right?

@Seek_Kolinahr You need the half-birthday party so that it doesn’t get overshadowed by Christmas.

@papayalily Wanna know what’s funny? My little brother’s birthday is exactly 6 months after mine.

I can’t even have a half-birthday. Even if that idea wasn’t a completely obvious attempt to force people to give a damn.

HAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I celebrate mine every year! =) I just enjoy celebrating my friends’ birthdays more. =P

First HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I like celebrating anyones birthday, it’s a celebration of life. I call my mom and thank her for her gift. No matter what the birthday persons agenda is, if they are important to me I always acknowledge it with a little something. And Yes, I celebrate mine even if it’s by myself. (;^)>

@doublebogie I like your attitude.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes everyone, that was sweet. :)

I never used to like birthdays. I was always hoping my parents would forget.

Finally, I’ve decide it’s ok to be celebrated just because I exist. We didn’t do much. I had my dance group sing happy birthday (they do an incredible job—better than anywhere else), and then we had a snack with some of our friends after the dance. The waitress, upon finding out it was my birthday, insisted on singing it again, and of course, this time, the song was it’s normal horrid self.

Oh. And my parents didn’t call! I wonder if they forgot? Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

@TheOnlyNeffie Thanks and I’ll tip one for you tonight!!!!!

What is a half-birthday party?

@TheOnlyNeffie

For example, if you’re born on Christmas Day, celebrating your birthday on June 25th – the halfway point – so you can have a birthday party, even though it’s not really your birthday.

They’re usually rife with teapots, tophats, and other tiresome Alice In Wonderland references. (Especially lame when your childhood nickname is “Alyson Wonderland”)

I let others to celebrate it for me. They never forget,and I usually got lots of money.

@Seek_Kolinahr woah.. never heard of such a thing. Thanks for sharing :)

I do. It doesn’t mean I have a big party or anything, but in recent years it’s meant some kind of hang-out day with my friends, going to a restaurant, possibly drinking, etc. Since people are in college now and people start at different times, there’s no guarantee who will be able to do anything on that day, but I still like to do something.

By the way, my birthday’s in 22 days (I’ll be turning 19). :D

@DominicX happy early early birthday, then!

@wundayatta be careful what you wish for, eh? ;)

@Seek_Kolinahr Wow, that’s harsh. I’m normally a fan of stuff like that – I have no problem with people celebrating April Fools in February so that it’s really a surprise.

Now, about that word “lame”. I think what you mean to say is “totally, rockin, AWESOME”. But spellcheck’ll get ya every time on that one.

@TheOnlyNeffie Yeah. But actually it is nice. I just wish they were doing it because they respected my wishes. I’m afraid they did it because they forgot. Which means they might remember next year.

heeeey happy birthdaaaay!!!! :)

I don’t like celebrating my birthday. anyway, I did this year. it was better than I expected :p 4 of my friends were there, and we listened to music. really loud :p annnnd we were running around the house, chasing each other, and throwing empty plastic bottles against the ceiling hahahaha I’ll never forget it. best b-day ever

It is the season for Leo’s to celebrate!

In our family, we always try to take the birthday person out to dinner. It has been a real sore point for me to be separated so far from the rest of our family, but we still do it with the ones we are near.

We often try to visit the family for birthday month because most of them have birthdays in February, and the three December birthdays like to celebrate then also, because Christmas interferes with their real birthday.

This year, several of them came up here to celebrate, and everyone had a wonderful time.

Nah not really. Why celebrate the inevitable approach of Death, anyway? Or maybe I should look at it some other way…XD

@Symbeline I don’t look at it as marching towards death, but rather surviving another year.

@mrentropy Good call, maybe I’ll try that.

We always do something a little special in my family when any of us has a birthday, but we don’t go overboard. Sometimes it’s not exactly on the date. Typically the birthday person chooses the menu and the rest prepare it. Someone bakes a cake, and there are cards and presents. When my kids were little, I baked my own cake; they became good at it by their early teens.

I always hear from a few friends, and my aged aunt faithfully sends a card.

When my in-laws were still alive, the occasion usually involved a large-scale extended-family dinner hosted at their golf club. I was glad when those things ended.

no, never. back when I was a kid or younger person who still drank it was a hoot. some years it even gets by me and wife will remind me.

Hey, Happy Birthday, @TheOnlyNeffie! I liked 28, if that helps any. ;)

I had birthday parties when I was a kid, which were always nice. When I got older, I began downplaying or forgetting my birthday. I insisted my wife skip it. I guess I figured I just wasn’t worth the effort. It’s just me – who really cares.

Then we adopted my daughter and her birthday is only three days after mine – so my wife started throwing double birthdays for us. Now I really enjoy them because we’re like a birthday team my daughter and I.

Thank you @aprilsimnel

@cprevite that’s really cute :)

I haven’t properly celebrated my birthday in three years. I’ve lost a grandparent two days before my birthday in ‘09, and the last time I saw my other deceased grandparent was on my birthday a few years before that. I can’t help but to think about death on my birthday, which makes it an occasion I don’t see appropriate to “celebrate”.

I like to do so, yes, because it’s a good excuse to get presents and go out to eat and (hopefully) be treated to some specialities for the day. My last b’day though was also like any other day and it was the most boring b’day EVER! There wasn’t even cake. sniff

@TheOnlyNeffie: Thank you.

I’m 27, and I must admit, its been a couple of years since I had that magical feeling when a birthday is coming up. Now I measure the excitement in how good the year has been for me and what I have achieved during the year