On my birthday...

Generally, I prefer to conceal the fact that it's my birthday. I just don't want it hanging over my head all day. But if people are going to know about it anyway, I'd want a surprise party. I've never had one (not on my birthday anyway) and they just look so fun. But they're a real pain in the ass to organize and I can't imagine who would be in a position to throw me one anyway, so whatever. Birthday shmirthday.

I have always failed to why birthday parties are given for adults. Especially when they give them for themselves & you are expected to bring gifts. Seems like extortion to me. Now birthday parties for the elderly are a different story, but they don't go around giving them for themselves.

I have a cool birthday because it isn't near any major gift giving holidays. People with their birthday near Christmas get the shaft. I love cards and e-mail, and I like it when people remember my birthday without my having to tell them. It sounds trivial, but to me it means they cared enough to pay attention and remember. My birthday is cool because it is the day the doctor predicted I would be born...all of my siblings were predicted to be born on the 26th of the month they were born, but I was the only one that was right on time. I always was pretty punctual.

I use it as an excuse to get my friends together to out to dinner. Cards are nice and I really don't want/expect presents.

It's just another day.

Since my birthday is at the beginning of January, it's often a way for me to have a holiday-time party without conflicting with everyone getting their parties in during December. And it's also very nice to combine calendar-year and personal-year. I sometimes think that my own birthday reflection is kind of absorbed into the mass New Year reflection going on. I like birthdays. I watch lots of people having birthday-angst and I don't really grok it. I do think this survey is really tilted toward positive answers. Fine for me, but I know a lot of people who would not find a suitable answer here.

I like if Bob makes a special dinner for me and we have a cake. I don't need presents or other things, though.

I don't like to make a big deal out of it, but it does feel nice to get a little extra attention. Everyone else is doing it.

My birthday is also my daughter's birthday. I do not celebrate for myself and could care less if others notice. I however do enjoy watching my daughter opening gifts.

Friends, yes. Family, no. In general, I like to spend my birthday doing whatever the hell I feel like doing at each moment. I like to make my own cake. ***Ah HA! Happy Birthday, Bill!

Gifts. I am complete sucker for gifts on my birthday. And it is not because I need people to give me things to validate their love for me, I just like the idea that someone had taken the time to think of me, and actually formulate some sort of hypothesis about what sort of crap I really like.

...and i like to go to dinner and drink a toast to another year well-spent...

It's just another day for me. I do like the fact that my kids and sisters call. Hey..if they need an excuse, so be it. At least i get to talk to them :)

I go to six flags great adventure on my birthdays (well the past 3 anyway)

The tracking of age is a useful tool, but I just like all the attention I can possibly get from those I love, and if birthdays'll get me more, then so be it.

For a while I made a point of flying (hang glider) on my birthday. I broke that tradition last year, and probably will not fly again this year. *sigh* There's always next year, though!

I hibernate on my birthday. I take the day off from work, and sit and think. Friends know that they should just leave a message on my machine which I'll pick up the next day. For years my family ruined my birthday. One member or another would always manage to get themselves committed to a psych ward that day. (I kid you not) So I got into the habit of not being around on my birthday so I wouldn't have to know. I'm still resentful, (obviously) but nowdays I will let a friend take me to dinner.

Only 66 days until my birthday!

I'll take cake any day. And gifts.

Ron2112- A surprise party? Really? Hmmmmmm....

no, no, I like to get a *lot* of extra attention.... I want to be queen for the day.

where's the "i hide in bed all day and mope" option?

I like to have the day off from work, simply because I don't like people making any kind of a to-do about it. I mean.... time has passed.. big flippin deal. **shadow: I think that is included in the 'I take the day off from work' and 'other' options.

these other options are getting really cool these days...

Usually, if no one reminds me my birthday, I act as any other day bcos I don't remember it spontaneously. About "I like to take the day off from work", man, that's not a question!!!

I like getting e-mail and cards. Sometimes I like to do something special for my birthday.

This was 6 years ago, but... it just seemed like I should put this link in since this picture resurfaced this week for me:

Some friends (who were also SC users) made this cake for my birthday...

http://i.ugtz.com/gallery/misc/bill_cake

... it makes a little more sense if you were around before the look and feel of the site changed (it used to have these green-circled blue lettered buttons for everthing...

I've never had a surprise party either.

I like it!

I like cheesecake on my birthday.

Are any of the users who made this cake still at SC? I like the cake as it's so representive of SC!

I like presents and attention, but I hate party and presents. Oh yes, and I like to get drunk.

I like the extra attention, cards, gifts, e-mails, the day off from work and going out for dinner.
September 3 is pretty close again...

I think that Enheduanna helped make it.

I love attention and presents on my birthday! I like a lot of these other things as well.

I did help make that cake!! Topper and I decorated it, and I think romkey baked the cake itself. We made the Miata one for Tim, and the icing made everyone pee blue. And we made the stained-glass window one for Jen.

Too bad there is no option for "I don't like extra attention on my birthday" but oh well.

That was really cool! I have a picture of Jen's cake somewhere too.

Were you even using SC yet at that point?

fudge birthdays, except children's b-days

I like getting gifts, but I'm uncomfortable about having to ask for something special. Sometimes there's something that I want. Other years, I've told my mother that I'd rather she made a donation to a charity or something. That's what I wanted for my 18th birthday. I don't know whether she doesn't believe that I'm serious or that she's unwilling for some reason. I got some (very nice) pieces of art for my 18th birthday instead. I don't remember what I got for my last birthday - I think we agreed that my parents would contribute to the money I was going to pay to do an international build with habitat for Humanity but that fell through. The year before I got a digital camera. It makes it harder because my birthday and Christmas are on top of one another (my birthday is the 22nd) so I can rarely think of two things that I want (that aren't way over-budget anyway!) But I do like getting little gifts - little thoughtful things. My older brother once bought me a daylight lightbulb because I sometimes get a little down in the winter. My friends bought me a watch because my old one was getting all tatty. That's the kind of thing that I like.

My grandmother is already harrassing me to know what I want for my next birthday which is 4 whole months away. It's because it's my 21st so she wants to get something special. She'll probably want to get me jewellery, but I'm not a big jewellery person so that's out. Maybe I should make a survey about it....

Anyway, I quite like my birthday, especially as it's 2 days after my brother's, 4 days after my dad's and 3 days before Christmas so it's a real celebrations season in my family I prefer other people's birthdays though. It was my friend's on Sunday and she happened to be in Oxford for it. Another friend and I had plotted ages ago to buy her a vintage 1950s pink dress (she loves pink). We had great fun getting her measurements without her realising what we were doing. I made an underskirt to go with the dress as well (the night before her birthday - I was up until 4am!!! ). She (the birthday girl) and I made a wonderful cake with spiky green royal icing and rabbits the day before as well I love other people's birthdays, much more than my own.

I wasn't--I think it was only the second time after phi and topper's wedding that I'd been up to romkey's place. I didn't really know anyone that well yet, but it was lots of fun!

Cool!

I like to get gifts and maybe a cake but just be with hub and kids. I don't like anyone else making a big deal or coming over or anything.

I could easily pretend they don't exist, but a party is nice for those "landmark" birthdays.

I like most of this stuff.

I like my birthday, but a big deal is not usually made of it. I HATE people singing happy birthday to me - i used to cry and run away when i was a kid.

I hear ya. I hate that song too.

I hate that New Years song as well where everyone has to hold hands. I'm a grouch.

Usually get myself a new gun,take off of work and spend the day at the range w/friends. last year I bought a puppy, it was a nice change of pace.

O and party, but thats an everyday thing around here.

I like to not work.. but that's not necessary..

but that's about it.

cake 'n cake

I used to work somewhere we got "birthday pay." Time and a half for working on our birthdays.

I like to go out to a bar or the quater and get plastered. And get presents (free crap is always cool). But other than that, I want ppl to leave me alone and pretend its just another day.