Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with birthday

Having a very selfish birthday?

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:48:46 -0800

Should I celebrate my birthday alone in a nice vacation spot or with my bf back at home? My bf and I will be heading to a nice vacation spot for the holidays this year. Since my birthday falls at the very tail end of our vacation, I was hoping to stay in the vacation spot a day longer and spend my birthday there. Unfortunately, my birthday also falls on the very first day back to work after the holidays. My bf is adamant that it is very important for him to be back for work rather than stay an extra day on vacation. (He is the sr mgt at the company and they will be doing a kick-off of sorts after the holidays.)

If I let him know he should go back in time for work, but that I will be staying an extra day on vacation (despite having to spend it alone, without him), would this be a selfish request?

I know that he'll find my request strange and will not want me to be alone on my birthday, but I'd like to see what the common sentiment is on balancing self (wanting my birthday to be in a nice spot) versus the relationship (going back early because of my bf's work situation and celebrating with him that night).

Help me give my husband a 40th birthday he'll never forget

geekgirl397 — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:05:02 -0800

Good "experience" gift for my geek husband's 40th birthday? My husband turns 40 in a few days. We already have too much "stuff" and he's not very materialistic in any case. We're both geeky techies, and he loves music. Last year I bought him a great guitar, and he's already taking guitar and voice classes.

I want to buy him a great "experience" that he wouldn't treat himself to and that will be special and memorable.

We don't have any kids and we do go out fairly often - although I'm not a night owl so it tends to be quiet restaurant meals etc. We already have a 3 week trip planned over the holidays, but that is to visit my family in England.

I'm thinking something involving vehicles and speed - he likes to drive, but we live in Chicago and don't travel much by car (and have a small city car in any case). He did some flying in his youth - in another life, if he had had better vision he would like to have been a fighter pilot. He's a slightly reformed risk-taker, and I'd like to give him a taste of his reckless youth in relative safety.

One thing I thought of was maybe a session in a race car at a track .. I've done some searching on this and found some packages sold at the Chicago Speedway but I don't know how good they really are and it quickly gets very expensive.

My budget's a bit flexible but ideally I'd spend less than $1000 - but if I were to go more than $200 or $300 I'd want to be sure it was really worth it.

His birthday's coming up in just a few days, but as long as I have the gift planned I don't think it's important that he "redeem" it before then or before our UK trip.

All thoughts and ideas welcome!

Help me roast a friend.

ieatwords — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:45:41 -0800

I am roasting a friend for his birthday in a couple of weeks and I need some one liners and zingers. I know that there are a lot of one liner websites out there but I wanted actual human input. My friend is turning 30 in a few weeks and I'm wondering if any of you have any one liners, zingers, or insults on the following subjects:

1. Turning 30
2. Being bald
3. Unemployed
4. Being in a long relationship and unable to commit to marriage.

Feel free to add any general insults that could tickle a drunk audience.

I have some very specific things I'm going to joke about in regards to my relationship with him and his personality but need some comedy to fill in the gaps. Your comedic genius is greatly appreciated!

I need suggestions for my Logan's Run party!

Faint of Butt — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:58:02 -0800

What be fun and appropriate to do, eat or drink at a Logan's Run party? There doesn't seem to be any acceptable way for me to avoid turning 30 next month, so I may as well make the most of it. I'm going to have a birthday party, but before the big day I'm also going to have a get-together exclusively for my under-30 friends, planned around a commemorative screening of the best 30th birthday movie ever made, Logan's Run. Unfortunately, I'm not intimately familiar with the details of the universe, so I've come to seek suggestions. What would be some suitable activities, food and drinks to have at such an event?

What is a better gift for my recently laid-off girlfriend?

smoothvirus — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:09:41 -0800

One for the ladies - should I get my unemployed girlfriend some nice jewelery, or some nice green cash? So I've been dating my current girlfriend for more than three months now and things are going really well. But, she got laid off a couple of weeks ago, and she's worried about paying her rent come January if she has not found anything.

I have been in the jewelery store looking at some nice things in the $100-$200 range but have not purchased anything yet, her birthday is tomorrow. I am planning on taking her to a nice dinner tomorrow, but now that I've thought about it a bit, she might appreciate a little cash in lieu of a nice pendant.

Just for the record, her job search is going well, she has four interviews just this week. She's never been laid off/unemployed before, but I have and I never got that many interviews in a week. So I'm proud of her. She's been very worried but I have been very reassuring. I know she'll be fine.

Slick ideas for a seven-day countdown?

Shepherd — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:21:32 -0800

Help me count down from my wife's birthday to her Special Surprise. My wife's birthday is on Friday, and I've cooked up a pretty nifty gift... that I can only give to her the following Thursday. It's a surprise, and a good one.

I'd like to find neat ways to count down from her birthday on Friday to the surprise on Thursday, so that her birthday isn't a huge heap of nothin' but "yes but something good is coming HONEST."

I've got a few ideas on how I can give her something every day, but there are probably better ways to count down than what I have in mind, so I'm throwing it at the hive mind to see if it sticks. Restrictions:

1. Time. I work full time, I'm exhausted pretty much at the end of the day, and I'm already committed to making a cake and a birthday dinner, both of which are kind of out of my comfort zone as it is. Thursday is also already booked as a dinner-with-friends night. So I need to prep this Tuesday and Wednesday.

2. Money. Got none. Blew it all on the Big Surprise. I mean, I can scrape up $10 to buy some art supplies or something, but I can't afford to buy anything substantial.

3. Indoors stuff only. She's moved up from down South to be with me, and the weather right now in Quebec is, well, bullshit: cold and nasty without any of the benefits of snow or sun.

A tough one, I know, but I'm sure there's a great idea out there somewhere. Start with seven of something and remove one every day? Something additive? Seven micro-gifts of little dollar value, one for each day? Hope me hive mind!

Now We Aren't Quite Six

easy_being_green — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:03:47 -0800

I'm going to a birthday party for a five-year-old tomorrow, one of my students. His mom said not to bring a present, but I was hoping to put something fun in the card. I love A.A. Milne's poem Now We are Six and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a similar poem about turning five.

Where to celebrate 21 years in Chicago?

elisabethjw — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:04:21 -0800

I'm turning 21 next Tuesday. My friends want to take me to a bar. I want to avoid the mediocre college bars. Tell me where to go! We're doing the traditional 21st birthday (finally!) bar thing, except with a few self-imposed limitations because I hate huge crowds and noisy rooms. And dance clubs or anywhere where dancing is heavily prominent. I have only a few requirements:

Not so busy/loud I can't hear the conversation at my table (this is on a Tuesday night, granted, but it puts places like Hop Leaf out of the question). Definitely would be interested in piano bars, jazz lounges, etc. but not somewhere that has a specific showtime (so not a comedy club or something) because we are bad at showing up places in a timely manner.

Somewhere that would be fun. This is a really wobbly term but I generally mean more than your standard sit-down-and-drink bar. I really like the idea of The Map Room (and they're having International Night: Sweden on my birthday!) but it's just not feasible, transportation-wise.

Won't break my budget. I am in college and I am poor. It doesn't have to be dirt-cheap but at least modestly priced. If they have a great deal on Tuesdays/the 24th, even better.

Easily reached by Evanston. Ideally off the Red Line. I won't go further down than Belmont but bonus points if its further north. I love Edgewater and Andersonville.

Thanks!

What's a good non-geeky present for a scientist?

daelin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:12:49 -0800

GiftFilter: What would be a great present for someone who loves science, but not in a geeky/campy way? My boyfriend (a 2nd-year undergrad in biochemistry)'s birthday is coming up and I am completely stymied as to what to get him - the only thing he's really mentioned is that he would like something science/biology-related. The problem is that he's not into science in the geeky sort of way that would appreciate things like this xkcd shirt, giant microbes, or a periodic table shower curtain.

He doesn't read all that much, so books are so-so; I'd get him a subscription to Nature but he already has one. He has aspirations of someday having a basement lab, so the best idea I've had so far is putting together a gel electrophesis box for him, but a) it's a bit pricey and b) it wouldn't be of much use without pipets to load it with and actual gels to put in it.

I'm terrible at thinking of good gifts, so I throw myself upon the mercy of the hive mind. Any suggestions you can offer would be deeply, deeply appreciated!

Toys for little boys

rebeccabeagle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:36:47 -0800

My son's first Christmas is approaching. Six days afterward he will turn one. Help me make an awesome wish list as the grandparents are already asking for ideas. The boy is the first grandchild on my side of the family and the long-awaited first child of the youngest on my husband's side. There will be a mountain of gifts for him this December. Heck, he got a bunch of gifts last Christmas despite the fact that he wasn't even born yet. I'd like to steer the gift givers toward classic, durable toys that he will be able to play with for some time to come. I think Santa will be bringing him a Radio Flyer wagon, and Grandpa is making him a rocking horse. What else should be on the list?

Need family friendly party games!

royalsong — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:43:11 -0800

Birthday Party for a 30 year old. Need ideas for short, 10-20 minute games/activities to do. A dear friend is turning 30 years old and my sister is throwing her a party. We have the hall, food, and invitations set. My sister plans to do a Family Feud and/or $10,000 Pyramid style game show as well as a Roast of the birthday girl.

We still need to plan out prizes for those big games.. but we also need a handful (3 or so?) small games that we can keep the party goers busy with while we set up the larger games.

So I'm looking for ideas or websites for short party games. These games need to be family friendly (young and old will be there and the birthday girl is a very 'proper' type of person) and able to work with around 50 people.

on the cheap would be for the best, as well.

I'm sure there are a bunch of askmetas out there about this, as well as on the web - but my searching skills fail me.

Thanks!

Swimming in a sea of wood and strings.

radioamy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:28:46 -0800

Boyfriendbirthdayfilter: Do you know anything about buying mandolins? Please hope me! My boyfriend is a musician (guitar mostly, dabbles in bass) and has mentioned that he would like a mandolin. His birthday is next week (oops!), and I’m interested in buying one for him. However I know little about buying musical instruments, and nothing about mandolins!

I’m looking to spend about $200. Is that a reasonable amount to pay for a decent quality instrument? Is a mandolin something that I could buy at Guitar Center or do those sound like they came from Toys-R-Us? What should I look for and what should I avoid?

I've looked at two previous questions and through the FAQ at Folk of the Wood but I'm still unsure. There are SO MANY FUCKING OPTIONS! A-style, F-style, A-style with F-holes...halp!

Do you have some advice for me? The more direction the better, because I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of wood and strings!

I live in New Orleans, LA if that's relevant. I'm okay buying online if I need to.

What is the name of this birthday song?

fellion — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:07:33 -0800

Please help me figure out the name of this birthday song. My in-laws sing a variation of Happy Birthday and they don't know where they learned it from. I'd love to find a recording of it, but my Google-Fu is failing.

Lyrics are below. Please excuse the badly formatted stanzas.

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, now let's all bake a birthday cake for you!

Oh here's the sugar, here's the spice
Here are the candles, aren't they nice

Here's the frosting, here's the knife
Never saw such a cake in my life,
Make a Wish!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday now let's all bake a birthday cake for you.

Yum! Yum! Give me some, we'll have lots of fun!
Happy Birthday!

Picking the right flowers

John Smallberries — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:41:15 -0800

My recently widowed stepmother just returned home after a long hospital stay for cancer treatment; the prognosis looks good, thankfully. I want to send her flowers for her birthday, but I know more about quantum physics than I do about flowers, and I was a liberal arts major, if you follow my meaning. I don't know of any floral preferences on her behalf, and can't really ask now. So... are there any specific types that are more appropriate than others?

Two rings become one... or two...

SNWidget — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:36:05 -0800

My wife's birthday is at the end of October, and I want to do something with two rings that we used to wear before we got married. Any ideas? My wife's birthday is the last week of October, and I've been trying to think of something personal to give her. We have two rings that we used to wear before we got married - both silver (at least, I know mine is).

What are some good idea to do with these rings? I've thought of things as simple as tying them together in a nice framed box with a picture of our wedding (which was just in May). But that's about the extent of my creativity.

Any other ideas about what to do with the two rings?

Where to find a terry-cloth bit of happiness, in Japan?

Ghidorah — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:26:39 -0800

Birthday Gift Filter: Where to find a plush, luxury hotel style bathrobe on sale in Japan? My wife's birthday is coming up soon, and I'd really like to get her a big, plush bathrobe for her birthday. The problem is, everywhere I've looked so far (which, admitted, has been a mall and a department store), shopclerks have told me that bathrobes aren't really used in Japan, and therefore aren't sold.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be thrilled. I'm in Chiba, but have no problem going to Tokyo. A lot of mail-order stuff, though, is out, since very few American companies will ship to Japan. If you know of any that do, and won't cost more for shipping than for the gift, I'd love to hear about it.

Where to throw a party in San Francisco?

roxie110 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:03:30 -0800

Suggestions for birthday party locations to rent in San Francisco? I'm thinking about throwing a party for my 40th birthday in October and have been racking my brain for ideas for places to go or to rent. My best guess is about 30 people (could be less or more, probably depending on how cool the event is!), preferably an evening/night event, and those thousand-dollar-and-up uber-swanky places are definitely out. It's quite likely I'd want to have a couple bands I know play, and have some sort of music going (probably from an ipod playlist) the rest of the time. I could set up some sort of bar if the venue doesn't have one--quite a number of my friends are big drinkers, so availibility of booze would help grease the rails!

Every year on my birthday I just have friends show up at a bar (Zeitgeist, Casanova) so I don't have to bother with planning. This year I'm open to trying something a little more special--but ideally I'd like the venue to be cool enough that it will do some of the work of making the party successful. (I don't want a bunch of people standing around just *looking* at each other. Horror!)

Any suggestions would be gratefully welcomed. From looking at past Metafilter postings, it looks like art galleries are a possibility--does anyone know one or two in particular that might do the trick? I'm also open to suggestions for places or party ideas that are very cool but that are outside of what it seems I'm looking for.

Turning 30 in California, after Christmas: what to do?

filthy light thief — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:20:11 -0800

I'm turning 30 this year, and my birthday is between Christmas and New Years. I live in central California, and may not have a lot of time for vacation. I want to do something interesting. What would you recommend to do in (central-ish) California, or possibly the greater West Coast, in the end of December? Sights to see, food to eat, events to attend? Lots of thoughts inside. I've never wanted a big or specifically interesting event for my birthday. Usually it's been family somewhere near home because my friends are elsewhere with their respective families. The only year that felt like it fell a bit flat was my 21st, which lacked the excitement I associated with 21st birthdays (in the US) in general, but it wasn't terrible. For whatever reason, I want to do something interesting this year. The fact I'm turning 30 doesn't seem to be weighing on my mind, but I feel like I should do more to celebrate it.

I've been married for a bit over two years now, and I don't know how much time I'll have off. With that, a nice trip with my wife sounds pretty good, and probably closer to home so I don't spend most of it traveling to get somewhere (unless the trip is part of the fun).

What are some good winter trips in California (and farther)? What have people done for birthdays or celebrations that add some level of interest to things?

In regards to previous 30th birthday AskMe posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5): 1- not looking for travel, and a "treat myself well" day is lacking some oomph, 2- turning 30 is no big deal to me, 3- I'm not looking for some present of significance, 4- closest suggestions so far, and now I realize I don't want a showy, public event (fireworks) or a big countdown (advent calendar), and 5- no desire to skinny-dip in tropical oceans. Thanks!

How to do a unicorn-themed party?

k8t — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:52:50 -0800

Unicorn party! Please help with ideas. My kid's turning 1 and I'd like to do a unicorn themed birthday party (assume that the party will be mainly adults). My ideas so far include using yellow party hats and have a horn decorating table with sparkles and glitter and stuff, having a unicorn pinata, and making cupcakes with some sort of unicorn horn.

I don't care about unicorn themed plates/tablecloth.

Any other ideas? Ideas about how to create unicorn horns out of something other than Bugles or tiny candy corns?

Thanks for making this an awesome party that my son will never remember.

70th BDay Present Ideas?

dzaz — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:41:58 -0800

70th Birthday Present Ideas Needed! My mom is having her big 70 next month and I'm stuck on cool birthday present ideas.

It's especially tricky because:

1. She's in the process of being forced to relocate from the place where she's lived all her life to North Carolina, and she's MISERABLE about it;
2. She has very little interests. She is a compulsive shopper (her joy in life is buying ANYTHING and then returning it...I wish I was joking).

So I had the idea of a family portrait but think that could end up upsetting her more as knowing her, it will serve as a reminder that she's moved 14 hours away from us.

Other idea was subscription to local newspaper and NYTimes, tix to local theater, etc., and those may be fine for Xmas but not 70th birthday. And right now, she does NOT want to celebrate this move.

I can't afford special jewelry or an Hermes scarf, etc. She despises gift cards, doesn't play golf, tennis, anything other than shopping.

So Hive Mind, what do I get her?

Help me figure out how to make my wife's 40th birthday party be a unique & special/memorable event for both her & our guests...

foodybat — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:47:07 -0800

Throughing my wife a 40th birthday party... at a bar (in the Tampa Bay area), with our favorite band... we'll have an area for the catered food i'm bringing... but I need some other suggestions on how to make this event particularly special and unique, not only for the 50 or so guests, but also my wife. We're good friends with the band, & they will bring her on stage throughout the evening to help sing & dance and such...
I wanna make this a unique 40th b-day party.... now, we're going to have food from 3-4 restaurants, etc. I'll arrange some kind of transportation for anyone who needs it throughout the evening (don't want anyone drinking & driving of course). The party starts at around 8 ish... & goes until the place closes...around 1am ish.
Now, after that we may see our other buddy play at a different bar... i could also have, whoever is left standing, come with us to Hard Rock Casino ...

But what i'm really looking for is suggestions on how to make this party stand out & be different ... preferable at the bar... I thought about having a tattoo artist on hand... as one thought. I didn't know if it was practical to give away any party favors.... I could buy some cd's and/or shirts from the band & give them to some people... IDK....

Any others thoughts???

25 and fabulous?

mittenbex — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:09:41 -0800

My 25th birthday is coming up and I've been brainstorming on some projects I can do this upcoming year that I can blog about. Help me come up with some brilliant ideas to keep my 25th year exciting and productive. I anticipate getting engaged in the next few months so I'm sure that will be taking up some of my time so I don't think I can undertake any HUGE projects. Nor hugely financially expansive ones. Also, I've lost about 50 lbs in the last 6 months so I've sort of checked that off my to-do list. (Only 10 or so lbs to go.)

I've been a member of 43things.com so am thinking along those lines. A like pre-kicking-the-bucket bucket list (though I guess you never know!) I just want to make this year an extremely awesome one. I anticipate having kids early after getting married so I want the flexibility to get some stuff done now.

Anybody have any suggestions for must-do awesome things?

I live on Long Island. But travel back to Michigan occasionally to visit family/friends so places in between are accessible to me.

Thanks.

Happy Birthday! Love, Canada

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:32:57 -0800

Birthday surprise from far away - I need help with ideas for a friend in NZ. I've gone through tons of old posts about birthdays, surprises, gifts, and long distance gift ideas, but nothing really helped.

A good friend is going to school in New Zealand. Her core group of friends (4 others and myself) are in Canada. She won't be home for her birthday in November, and we would like to arrange a great surprise for her. Since none of us will be visiting her before her birthday, it might be difficult to set up a surprise from here. We might be able to enlist her housemate to help, but the less work needed to be done on that end, the better.

What we would like:
- have something "ready" on her birthday (i.e. call her to say happy birthday, then tell her to go look in her closet, or visit Restaurant X down the street - and voila, birthday surprise is waiting!)
- something that won't make her feel more lonely (someone suggested we have a party in her honour and take pictures, then send them to her, but I think this would make her feel lonesome)
- something that isn't too expensive - we're trying to brainstorm now in case we need to mail things or contact her housemate, but the cheaper the surprise the better because we're all close to broke

Factors to Consider:
- she is in Christchurch, and none of us has ever been there so we know nothing about what's around, what might be fun to do, etc.
- she is turning 24
- we have a birthday card that we will all sign, so if we need to use it to tell her something (i.e. "you're going bungee jumping!") we can write it in the card
- she finishes school a week and a half after her birthday, and so we don't want to send large gifts or things she'll have to pack up and take with her when she leaves (she'll be traveling for a month or two before coming home)
- she loves hockey, Canada, outdoorsy stuff, word games, and coffee
- we have sent care packages throughout her time away, so anything she has been missing from home, we've sent to her (she has been away since last November)

Any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions? We're a fairly creative bunch but this challenge has us pretty much stumped.

Birthday party favour ideas for kids under 8

yawper — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:16:40 -0800

Birthday party favour ideas for kids under 8? I’m planning a party for my 5-year-old daughter. There will be about 18 girls and boys ranging in age from 4-8. What can I give them as party favours? I like to give one useful item rather than a goody bag filled with trinkets. I don’t want to spend more than $4 per favour. In the past I’ve given jigsaw puzzles, jump ropes, balls, Hot Wheels, and Polly Pockets. We are hosting this party at a pretty pricey indoor playground, and I need to save where I can. But I do want to send the kids home with favours. I can get different favours for the girls and boys, but the average price should work out to $4 CDN or less.

Books are an option, but I don’t know where I could get nice-quality books for that price (and several of the same quantity).

I’m considering crayons and colouring books – but will those work for the 8 year olds?

Any other suggestions are welcome. The party is in 2 weeks, so I may have time to order online. Also, I’m fairly crafty so making the favours is not out of the question.

suggestions for celebrating my 40th birthday?

roxie110 — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:36:08 -0800

suggestions for celebrating my 40th birthday in san francisco? i'm turning (*gasp*) 40 in a couple months and would love to plan something incredibly fun and distinctive to celebrate. each year i have a party at a bar, but would love to do something a bit beyond that this time. i've lived in san francisco for ages and know there are many cool places to go and things to do, but so far i haven't come up with anything that seems right. ideally the event would be accessible to a wide range of friends, and not outrageously expensive.

would welcome any and all suggestions--really!