What to do on your birthday: 20+ Ways to Celebrate it as an adult

This month is my birthday so it seems like the right time to share about what to do on your birthday as an adult.

One of the things my mother said many times about being a mother is that you have to make your own sun.

There is no one else (of course not your child) who will praise you for washing clothes or keeping the mortgage paid or suck out the car, and your job is to make your life happy.

And there is no time that this is more correct than on your birthday after you are an adult.

Maybe no one brings cupcakes to the whole class or even really knows that happened.

If you want your birthday to feel special and fun, chances are you should be someone who finds out what to do on your birthday so that it is celebrated as you want.

What to do on your birthday – 20+ ideas

1. Lunch with friends. This is one of my favorites Things to do for adult birthday celebrations. I have two groups of friends in Arizona that I do. With one, we have a birthday lunch at one of our houses with everyone except girls who have a birthday carrying some food (usually salads, bread, cakes, and drinks). Other groups always go lunch and we will choose a new relaxed lunch every time. This last year on my birthday, about six weeks after we moved, almost all my friends from the group sent me a message that told me that they hoped we went to lunch to celebrate and that made me feel very great.
2. Choose a birthday treat. I have never gotten a pedicure but it is one of my favorite things on earth, so every year, either on my birthday or weekend before or after, I leave all the girls home with Bart and go out for an hour or to finish my nails (I also always use the birthday that I get from my grandfather for this – if not, it’s very easy as an adult to disappear into the vort. That’s a massage or haircut or solo film (one of my favorite treats).
3. Determine a birthday cake strategy. I like to bake, so it’s fun for me to choose a recipe without considering the tastes of others but I myself and spend a little time alone in the kitchen making it. But if baking is not your business, choose a luxury cake in a local bakery (or only in a grocery store!). Or choose a different special dessert if you don’t like cakes. My birthday was only a few weeks after our wedding anniversary, and our first year was married, Bart’s parents invited us for a birthday cover dish and when we arrived, I found that my mother -in -law had asked Bart about my favorite cake flavors and when she told me that I was not a fan of the biggest cake in the world. It was almost 14 years ago, and I still choke a little about how fun it was.
4. Decorate for your birthday. Look, I’m not a Pinterest person in terms of decoration. But some balloons tied to a chandelier or banner in the dining room or fresh flowers in the kitchen really helps to make it feel like a real celebration. And your birthday should feel like a celebration!
5. Do something for other people. If you feel strange asking others to celebrate your birthday, do something for others instead. Take some luxury brown bars or a copy of favorite books or small bouquets and take them to some of your friends with a note that tells them that the best way you can think of celebrating your birthday is to celebrate friends who make your life so rich. Or pay coffee for 2 or 3 people behind you in the queue or donate books to your child’s school class or volunteers in the library or anything that will make you feel extraordinary on your special day.
6. Go out. I like advice by one reader to visit the new state park every anniversary for your birthday. But that can be a low key like walking around calm around your environment!
7. Hiring a local artist to do a painting class for close friends. A reader said, “Everyone paid for their own way, and I gave a fresh cake and the artist taught us a fairly simple bouquet painting. I was worried that people would be horrified by paying in their own way, but I heard repeatedly about how it was the best party they had ever visited and they hoped I did it again the following year.”
8. Tea party and totluck bouquet. A reader said, “Everyone brought a dozen flowers and made a bouquet to take home.” This is a fun idea!
9. Choose something that you really like that children can also do (like pickleball, hiking). If you have children at home, you might have to adjust your birthday celebration to make sure they are child -friendly. Choosing something fun for you and they can be a little complicated but make a pleasant day for everyone.
10. Bookstore tracting. Oh, you know I like this idea! This is the perfect way to visit a favorite bookstore or to get a new one!
11. Read a good book. You may read a lot, but really turn on for your birthday -take a comfortable blanket and a delicious drink or a pleasant snack and set aside time to completely absorb your book!
12. Eat comfortable children’s food. Poptarts? Cheetos? Mac and cheese? Tomato soup? Whatever your favorite food as a child, this is the time to bring everything back!
13. Host koktail/mocktail disguise. If you like a good party with costumes, this is a fun and luxurious way to do it!
14. Have a lunch date with your partner. Bart and I do this almost every year for Valentine’s Day and go to eat in the middle of the day feels very luxurious. Bonus points that lunch is often less busy and cheaper!
15. Something fun and silly with friends (ie adult spelling bees)
16. Get food that is more expensive than usual. If you usually don’t order a pleasant drink or get an appetizer or order a dessert, this is your moment. Or if you eat at home, take a pleasant drink or luxurious cheese or something you usually pass because of the price.
17. Have time alone. I like my own time (and I really like being at home alone). Hire child caregivers, ask your partner to bring children, or exchange with friends so you can enjoy your own birthday!
18. Take a work holiday. If you work full time and your birthday falls on weekdays, this is the perfect day to use your PTO and feel like you can celebrate all day!
19. Exit on the water. Many people recommend going to the beach or rowing boards or floating rivers. It is all a fun way to celebrate birthdays!
20. Go to eat for the third meal. This is fun – even if you live at home, eating outside for the third meal feels like you are on vacation!
21. See the drama in the theater. I like Live Theater – If this is your birthday, this is the right time to shop royal or snack during rest too!
22. Do something full of adventure. This is popular – Go Cliff Jumping, Skydiving, or Paragliding! (I don’t think I like to adventure enough for this!).
23. The host of the party where everyone carries a different type of salsa. We actually only do this for the birthday of a friend earlier this year and it’s fun!
24. Get a barbie cake that you always want. This one makes me laugh – if you never get a barbie cake from your dreams when you are a child, now is a moment to realize that dream!
25. Take a trip. I all for this plan! This can be a big international trip or fast lodging but a little time is a good way to celebrate birthdays.
26. Host a favorite party with friends. Party Favorite things don’t have to wait until a vacation – Birthday is the right time to do it plus everyone home with a gift! If you are new to a favorite party, I have a post about them here.

I want to hear how you celebrate your own birthday – Do you become big or are you pretending to be your birthday or something in between?

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Photo by Heather Mildentein