Happy Birthday to me! :o) It’s that day of the year again where I get to have a great day with my friends and family. One of my friends is taking me out to lunch and my Dad is taking me out to dinner tonight. Free food, can’t beat that ;o)
Growing up, we didn’t get presents on our birthdays. We did get to pick a special meal that my Mom would fix. And of course, she would bake whatever birthday cake we asked for. :o) Good memories of Mom’s fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting. Yum! :o)
Now that I’m an adult and have gadgets coming out my ears, I want to share a few of them with you on my special day. So respond to this post with your own favorite birthday memories and Friday I’ll choose 3 people at random to win one of these prizes: RiteAlarm Clock, a Lancetta C-Car Smart Keychain or a Moppel LED Bendable Light Figure.
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I remember when I was (I think) 12 my parents threw me a birthday party – I was able to invite my closest friends (probably about 8 or 10?) and we all went and played miniature golf and videogames. Afterward, they all came to my house for cake and ice cream. We had such a fun time, it always sticks out as the “best” birthday party of my childhood. It was also great that I got a Lego Castle which I had lots of fun with.
I remember getting a toy car on my fifth birthday. But the one I remember best was my 13th birthday, when I got to have a party and invited a bunch of friends from school. I got a new camera (used 110 film and flash cubes; remember those?); I asked one of my friends to take a picture of the group, and he held the camera backwards; instead of taking a picture of us, he took a picture of his nose!
When I was 8 years old I had a birthday party at school. The teacher allowed 30 minutes for punch and a cupcake for each kid (as well as napkins – furnished by my mother on her way to work). The store bought cupcakes were enough 1 for each kid. My sister was sick at home with a neighbor babysitting until mom came home. I saved my birthday cupcake for her. On my way walking home from school (times were different in those days, walking home from school the half mile was no big thing for a kid that age). I was challenged on my walk home by 2 older kids. They pushed me and knocked me down. I tried to protect the cupcake with my body. It got a little smushed as I kept it clean holding it to my chest wrapping my arms around it. I walked into my house and offered it to my sister as I stood there with a streak of icing on my shirt. She got teary eyed and hugged me. She has since told me that it was the best cupcake she’d ever had and she still thinks about the offering whenever she sees cupcakes.
Happy Birthday to both of us!! Today is my birthday too!
I remember when I was a kid I used to invite a pile of my friends over and we would camp out in a clearing in the bushes behind our house (I grew up in the country). We used to have a great time getting into all sorts of trouble. I remember we would get up at 3am go back to the house and raid the kitchen of all possible snack food which we would carry back to our tent to gorge on.
During one of these forays I dropped my mini-maglite and lost it. We search and searched and couldn’t find it. 10 years later my parents actually found that flashlight. I scraped the expanded corroded batteries out, put in a fresh set and it turns out the flashlight still worked. Despite looking very well worn and aged from lying out exposed to the elements for a decade.
When I remember my birthdays, there is one that comes to mind, but it is not the one that most people would think of as the happiest. It was 3 days before my 8th birthday when I found out my Grandfather died, we later learned that he was to be buried on my birthday. So my immediate family loaded up the car and drove down to be at the funeral. That day I got a happy birthday’s from my mother, father and brother as we dressed for the funeral. We attended the funeral and then headed over to my aunt’s house afterwards. When we got to the house, I was surprised with a chocolate cupcake that had a big fat hurricane candle in the middle. There was a tiny celebration of my birthday, and lots of remembering my grandfather.
While it is not the happiest of birthday stories, it is the one that is the most memorable to me.
My birthday is 1 week before Christmas, which is both good and bad.
It’s good because if there was something expensive that I wanted, I could combine it with my Christmas gifts. But with my parents being a lilittle tighter with money around the holidays, it meant less money for my birthday. Regardless, I was born when I was born and there’s nothing else I can do.
As a fellow Hoosier, I can often remember many birthdays and Christmases where we had snow on the ground and cold winds blowing outside. But I can remember many times when the weather was nice and sunny. I remember riding my new bicycle one year wearing jeans and light jacket. That was before I was a gadget freak, but those were good times still…
Oh, I almost forgot
#HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! #
Happy Birthday. My birthday is in a week, number 40! WooHoo!
My best birthday is actually fairly recently. Birthdays as kids are always fun, and sometimes memorable. Birthdays as a dad, I have found out, are incredible. Last year on my birthday, my then 5 year old daughter woke me up a 6 am to sing me Happy Birthday. It was the best wakeup ever. After a perfect(in a dads eyes) breakfast, I was informed that I had the day off of work. I was ordered in to the car for an adventure with my family. After a morning at the zoo, we had a wonderful picnic by the lake. Then a nice bike ride along the creek ending up at my favorite fish restaurant where friends and family were waiting for a surprise dinner. I never stopped smiling all day and even now, in reflection, I have happy tears in my eyes.
Happy Birthday.
The all blur together, so I’m not coming up with a favorite.
This year my mom sent me a remote control insect-tank thing she found in clearance some where. My 3 year old daughter was very excited about helping unwrap it, but she didn’t like it once it was open. She was hoping for more My Little Pony stuff. 🙂
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
I have a really crappy birthday date (12/23); right before Christmas, which SUCKED as a kid. I always got the really crummy combo-presents that were supposed to cover both occasions, but never did.
Oh, goody…socks! How wonderful! Happy birthday you 12 year old crazy guy… (socks suck as a b-day present, BTW, even at 41…)
Happy Birthday Julie,
My birthday memory is about food as well.
We’d always get to pick dinner as well and as a youth I’d always pick “fondue.” We had our own fondue set (hey it was the 70s) and Mom would make all the stuff for my birthday.
Even today my family and I go out to a fondue restaurant in our area (The Melting Pot) and it reminds me of my youth.
It’s my mom’s birthday today, too! My favorite birthday was my 34th…I invited a bunch of my friends and my brother (who came here from Boston) to play paintball at the local place (then called “Survival NY”). We played for hours on end, and then my brother and I went out for dinner. It was a great day, definitely my best birthday ever. My birthday went largely ignored when I was a child. The last two years I have spent my birthday geocaching with my cousin. This year, I am not sure what I am going to do…it’s this coming Sunday. I’ll be 41.
I hope this is your bestest birthday ever! 🙂
Mark
So cool! We have always had family birthday parties with a several course dinner together everyone pitching in The birthday person would have many small gifts to open but each of the family members would get one gift too! Our three boys will accept no substitue for this event! It really helped them learn to conduct themselves while dining outside the home Happy Birthday To You! Wish me luck as I venture off to a MMM degree for physicians at Carnegie-Mellon University in Healthcare Informatics
Worst birthday: Dec 29th in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. About 5 degrees out. I’m ten years old and having movies and burger king, and when we try to get home the bus is late and I have to give my socks to some kid whose wearing “party” shoes in 2 feet of snow!
Best birthday: Dec 29th in Winnipeg (I don’t live there anymore even). I’m 27 and my brother throws me a huge “kids” party to make up for the crappy winter b-days I’ve always had. Hot dogs, chips, and he gave me a strawberry shortcake doll!! What a sweety, made up for all those years.
Happy birthday to you, and enjoy the fact that it’s June, not December!
Maria
Hi Julie,
Happy birthday!
My most memorable (but not necessarily fondest memory) – it was my 8th birthday then, and had just moved to a (then) remote and suburban town. My parents wanted to make me feel special that night, so we headed out for a 45-minute drive to the nearest cake shop. We got a modestly-sized cake, and I was ecstatic with joy. I sat at the backseat and held the cake on my lap.
On our drive back home, my dad had to swerve and hit the brakes hard to avoid something on the road. At that exact point, my hold on the cake box loosened, and thw whole thing landed -plop- upside down!
And that was my most memorable birthday celebration ever. 😀
My earliest pleasure was to receive from my mother a fresh lemon meringue pie to eat ALL BY MYSELF! It shocked and delighted me that I would have my very own pie for my birthday…and everyone else in my family would “eat cake”! Of course, they had Devil’s food cake! But, I thought I was the most special boy in the whole wide world. After many tangy bites, I shared my precious pie, and a tradition was thus born! Paul Dale, lemon meringue pie eater extraordinaire.
I remeber one year getting a new bike for my birthday. It was very unexpected and I have never been so surprised! Birthdays were always sort of a big thing in our house, as we did not get much else during the year. My mom still tends to go a bit overboard and still thinks sI need to go “school shopping”, even though at 38 I am a little old for it. We have triied to continue the great birthday presents for our kids, though, and they seem to appreciate it.
I remember when I was sick at the hospital thinking if a can make it to my birthday I will survive my illness. That day came and I celebrated with all my family and I’m here reading your posts everyday!!!
Happy Birthday and my best wishes!!!
Happy Birthday and my best wishes!!!
I’m from Germany and just read this entry on June 5th. So it happens that I send you all the best on my own birthday which is today, June 5th.
So you will probably read this on June 6th which is my sister’s birthday.
Oh, I forgot. I’m 20 now and my sister’ll be 17.
Since I can remember every year at my birthday and on my sister’s birthday my grandfather called an played “Happy Birthday” on his piano for us over the telephone. Afterwards he and my grandma said Happy Birthday.
Now that I’m 20 they still do this ritual and I’m looking forward to it every single year.
cu
Georg
Thank you for all the Happy Birthday wishes and wow, great stories guys!!!
I’ve enjoyed reading all of them. :o)
I actually did receive a several birthday cards and a few birthday presents yesterday. Two shirts, a crystal sun catcher and a bottle of scented oil that you put these long sticks in, that somehow disperse the scent in a room. Sort of like a candle, but without fire :o)
Happy Birthday, Julie…and keep up the good work!
It has to be my 10th birthday at the McDonald’s “Coboose.” Not sure if they even do that any more, but I remember that being a blast, and I’ve got the pics to prove it.
It was my fourth birthday so I don’t rmember much but I have been told the story many times. My mom also cooked anything we wanted for our birthdays. I guess even at four I loved food she asked what would you liek for b-day dinner expecting to hear hotdogs or mac cheese, I asked for ” Cornish games hens and wild rice stuffing and spice cake for dessert.” My mother had to find a recipe as I never she had never cooked it and didn’t know where I had eaten it but she made it and I loved it!
Thanks Mom!
Happy Birtday Juile!
Aloha
Joe
With our difference in timezones, i sometimes get abit confused. Hope you have/had a lovely day! Happy BDay!
Happy Birthday!
One birthday I had all my friends over and we slept outside in my stilt house. I lived in West Texas and didn’t have any trees big enough for a tree house so me and my dad built a club house up on long poles.
The winners are:
Noah Bast
Jerad Heffner
TraderJoe
i head to office at 6 in the morning…thinking that i shall have a awsome day……
end of the day i sit back in my apartment cutting the cake alone and singing happy bitrday to me and blow the candle to kill the intoxicating lonliness….
Today is my birthday and what wonderful day it has been…..
amit:
Sorry you had to celebrate your birthday by yourself. :o( I hope the rest of your week is a million times better. :o)
Hi Julie,
I don’t know if you are still giving out presents, but anyways, I hope you had a great birthday. I remember my mother giving me a present and a balloon on my 39th birthday. I will never forget it because it is the last birthday present that I got from her. So when it is my birthday, I have a silent celabration for her, because she was an angel sent from heaven.
Hope you had a great one!
Virginia Chojnowski