We’re looking for good birthday stories. Share your most memorable birthdays in the comments below. We’ll choose the best for a feature on how readers have marked their big days.
You get to be a certain age and birthdays start blending together. Some still stand out though—the traumas and the triumphs, impossible to duplicate, clearly deserving of recognition. As a longtime creator of low-budget theater, I like a little spectacle, though there are instances where it was the wrong kind of drama that made these occasions so memorable. The following nine birthdays bested the Malibu Barbies and party streamers of 43 others, leaving the sort of lasting impressions I’ll take to my grave, though I do aspire to rack up a few more contenders en route.
Age 9: Best Maintenance of the Status Quo
Ayun holding The Zoo, a punchbowl full of disgustingly mismatched ice cream flavors. It was the ONLY way to properly celebrate her birthday growing up.
Every girl in my second-grade class celebrated her birthday at Farrell’s, a Gay 90s-themed restaurant in the Castleton Mall. Convention dictated that even cake lovers would opt for The Zoo, a punchbowl of disgustingly mismatched ice cream flavors, sundae toppings, and plastic animals, delivered by two extroverted young men in arm garters, who tore around the dining floor with the Zoo on a stretcher, accompanied by sirens and a pigtailed waitress on bass drum. It was, for all practical purposes, my introduction to guerrilla theater, and a persuasive argument for not underwriting your low-pay acting career in a restaurant catering to children.
Age 12: Most Regrettable
A seemingly minor transgression on my part caused my mother to dump my best friend from the list of approved guests for my upcoming slumber party. It was ruined before it started, but the almost-12-year-old-me was so short on character, I went ahead and had the dumb thing anyway. I’m sorry, Anna.
Age 21: Most Stressful / Most Thoughtful
Ayun with the red balloon her boyfriend (not the guy pictured) gave her as part of one of the most thoughtfully planned celebrations.
My college boyfriend, knowing that birthdays were important to me, thought it would be fun to pretend that he had forgotten mine. I spent the day stiffening my upper lip, inwardly gutted that the only person to acknowledge the significance of the date was my landlord, which may be why I dislike red roses to this day. When my boyfriend finally called to say his rehearsal was keeping him late, I glumly made my way to a kegger at a popular classmate’s. Upon arrival, I was hustled into a side room, where my boyfriend had arranged for a number of friends to act out Winnie the Pooh, Chapter 6—“In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents”. I was given a script with Eeyore’s lines highlighted. At the end of the skit, I was presented with a giant red balloon, just like a certain sad sack donkey. Better than a rose, for sure.
Age 29: Lucky Number
Is a massive potluck brunch a sign of bohemian maturity? My boyfriend, Greg, and I decided to pull out all the (low budget) stops for my 29th birthday on March 29th. It cost 29¢ to mail each of my homemade invitations—an auspicious sign—and one guest brought his toddler daughter, an unbelievably exotic thing to have in our apartment at the time.
Age 30: Most Memorable, Though Surely Not in the Way I Would Have Anticipated
This felt like it would be a much bigger milestone than 21 (see above). My theater company was scheduled to fly into Bucharest the day before, to perform in a festival several hours drive away. Shortly after our arrival, a massive blizzard stranded our bus in the middle of rural Transylvania.
It would have been jollier had we had heat…or food.
It would have been jollier had we had heat…or food. One company member was succumbing to the flu. Another was stricken by her inability to make good on the nutritional regimen her therapist had prescribed. The rest peered hollowly from nests they’d constructed from the entire contents of their backpacks. By the time we reached the festival hotel, a grim Socialist holdover, I was 30 and the only thing I was interested in was a face plant.
Age 40: An Excellent Excuse to Buy That Red Swing Dress with the Halter Style Bodice
Ten years (and two kids) further out from that freezing Romanian school bus, I was getting to be a pretty dab hand at throwing children’s birthday parties and decided that was exactly the sort of festive energy I craved for the Big 4-0.
If only Smartphones and social media had existed back then.
As always, we shook our guests down with a potluck, but made it worth their while by hiring a vintage Hawaiian swing band and renting a quirky two-room museum with a very photogenic chair guaranteed to make even the most reserved adult plus-one channel Lily Tomlin’s Edith Ann. I was pleased—and surprised—by the popularity of the make your own newspaper hat station. Tragically, there are just a handful of photos documenting this highly photogenic event. If only Smartphones and social media had existed back then.
Age 47: Most Shocking
Later I realized that I have whole categories of friends that my husband isn’t aware of.
Wanna surprise someone? Throw her a surprise party on her 47th birthday. It’s possible my husband Greg got the idea from me having done the same on his 37th. It was a genuine ambush, though later I realized that I have whole categories of friends that my husband isn’t aware of. Word to the wise—if you want to make sure all your people receive an invite for your surprise party, make sure you keep everybody’s contact information in one handy, easy to steal file (like a paper address book). Fortunately, all in attendance were extremely talented and game karaoke participants.
Age 50 – The Golden Jubilee
Ayun at her Jubilee celebration with a childhood friend, Cynthia MacCollum.
As you may have gleaned I’m not the type to mark my 50th trip ‘round the sun hiking up some bucket list mountain. Instead, I talked the pastor of a church where some friends and I got together to mess around with improv once a week into letting me rent the parish hall, an atmospheric, high-ceilinged, about-to-be construction site large enough to accommodate over a hundred people (and all the covered dishes their hostess characteristically demanded, as tribute). Other than the homemade photo booth—a conscious ploy to not repeat 40’s lack of evidence—the highlight was the unbridled, non-stop dancing on the part of our teenage guests.
Age 52 – Zoo Redux or Ghost of Birthday Present
Scariest birthday? Ayun (center) and friends wearing freaky facial masks–all in the name of beauty at an overnight Korean spa.
Strange, over-the-top desserts are apparently an Ayun Halliday birthday theme.
My most recent birthday was a marathon of sleeping, soaking, and stuffing myself in a 24-hour Korean bathhouse complex in New Jersey. The sex-segregated, no-clothes-allowed first floor was a great morale booster. How incredibly life affirming to be surrounded by all that unretouched, unconcerned female flesh—wrinkled, firm, flabby, lean, scarred, tattooed, all marked by life to varying degrees. The cumulative effect was glorious, and deeply relaxing to the sucked-in stomach muscles of self judgement. And while Thomas Mann’s observation that you can’t go back home to your childhood is not without merit, the Patbingsu shaved ice confection I ordered in the bathhouse café came pretty damn close to the Farrell’s Zoo of my youth.
yesterday. duh
Tell more!!! We want to know.
I’m old. My birthday was yesterday. I remember it.
Age 0. Mind blown.
My 40th. Very low key because I had our only child three weeks prior. Best birthday gift ever For my 60th in a few years planning to go to Greece with friends and family. Counting the days
Not the feel-good story of the day, but on my 72nd birthday, I was told I had stage 4 non-hodgkins lymphoma, with a 26% chance of surviving five years. My profile picture is me celebrating my 77th birthday and my 5 year survival. Both 72 and 77 were pretty darned memorable! God is good!
That is a feel-good story. Congrats to you. Thanks for sharing this.
My 50th. I was freshly divorced, still quite raw with no family around. My church family had a potluck in my honour.
I loved my 11th bday. Something about the magic of being young enough to be still pre-pubescent yet aging into real double digits. And then there was my dad coming to me that morning with a grand dilemma of a birthday wish come true — my choice of either my longed-for unicycle or a
Raleigh chopper. I chose the bike and regretted it later after he accidentally ran it over in the driveway. Onward and upward….
My 40th was spectacular: I decided I was just fine with never marrying and threw myself a party that rivaled any wedding bash. I rented a space in NYC. Hired my friend’s hubby’s rockabilly band. Had passed hors d’oeuvres, open bar and a champagne toast at midnight plus all my friends and my mom in attendance. My bday is Halloween, so everyone was costumed, dancing and having a blast.
But I would have to say it was the year I turned 50 that was the best birthday ever. The big gift I was giving myself — sobriety. But the icing on the cake was the trip to Machu Picchu my husband planned and kept a surprise until our connecting flight in Lima. He additionally surprised me by connecting us with my best college friend who was there at the same time hiking the Inca Trail with her family!!!! It was the trip of a lifetime and just one of the many, many reasons I love him so dearly. I cannot wait to turn 60 in 2+ years!
Yes, I would say your 50th was my favorite birthday of yours, since I missed the 2 others. Still can’t believe I missed the 40th! But we made up for that in Machu Picchu!!!!
just turned 60 and found out my video was picked and I won a trip to see Earth Wind and Fire with Chic in Detroit all expenses paid…and it fell on my 60th. That will be the best milestone memory!
Wow! What kind of video?? How did you win the trip?
NextTribe Live Nation posted an Instagram challenge of a picture or video of you dancing. I got my girlfriend from work to do a video of us having fun dancing together and we submitted it. They said it was a random pick, but we won!
On a business dinner celebrating my 39th birthday, the big boss turned to me and asked what I wanted for my 40th. Loudly I stated I wanted to be visiting my brother in LA and pregnant with my 3rd child. My husband immediately ordered another drink. On my 40th birthday, I was in LA pregnant!
Terri: This is great. Didn’t know that. That was sweet Patricia!
When I turned 16, my Mom decorated my cake using ‘Joni’ spelling I’d been fussing about changing my name to rather than Joanie. She said no way, I shouldn’t spell it that way…but that cake showed her love and acceptance and respect that I was growing up. My 21st when the guy I liked finally noticed and we started dating…then married. Many times at Disneyworld when my kids were young…usually spring break time. My 40th with brand new friends after moving to MA. My 58th in the Blue Mountains of Australia, my 65th when I received 65 balloons from mom, 65 candy kisses from grandkids and a 6.5 mile bike with my husband. My 66th dog sledding in Alaska, my 69th when my husband bought purple-frosted Easter cupcakes on sale after Easter…so awful but yummy and funny! My 70th was quite special with family and girlfriends since I’d become a widow.
Fabulous. What a beautiful gesture your mother made with that cake. And I love all the things you got in 65 for that birthday. What a life you’ve had. This really gives a picture of your life.
Thank you!
When I turned 25. That was a rough one for me, I thought I was ancient. My cousin made it worse, by pointing out that I was “only” 1/4 of a century old. I worked at WaffleHouse, my boyfriend rented a white stretch limo, picked me up at work, with 3dz white roses. On our way to Cinci, he convinced the driver to stop at Kroger, the bar was fully stocked, but no lemons for the tequila. Hung out the sunroof flying down the highway. Went to the riverside clubs, ate and had a blast. The icing on my cake??..seeing (and being seen) by my ex at Kroger, all hottied up, and in a limo 😉
Love this. What a nice boyfriend. Did you marry him?
No, too shallow, lol
In 2015, my disabled brother took me to Las Vegas for my 57th birthday.
Thank you, David!
Wow. Want to hear more. What did you do there? Had you always wanted to go?
16,& 29.
Please tell us why!!
My friend and neighbor had a huge backyard surprise,Sweet Sixteen,birthday party for me. (Evelyn Burgess), 29,went to a James Taylor concert with my husband. Another surprise.
You must love surprises then.
For years I followed my husband’s career moving from pillar to post. I would jump in, get my children settled, make friends, stretch my introverted self to fit into a new community, and eventually find a new job in my field. It was fun but adds up to some losses as well. When I was turning 40, we were living in South Florida, hundreds of miles from my family. Our church was splitting and I was one of the liberal outcasts. So I was not looking forward to a rather lonely celebration. However, my husband planned one of sweetest birthday surprises. He looked up all my friends from over the years and coordinated with them and my family to reach out with phone calls every 30 minutes…starting at 12:30 am on my birthday! (He actually spared me a few hours of sleep in there) It was a great reminder of loving life and the people you meet along the way.
Is that why you always wear flip flops and hum?
It was a day of disappointment, but it’s still one of my favorite Birthday memories… I was very young and I frequently asked my father when I would be old enough to know how to tie my shoes. He always replied, “When you’re about four.”
So there it was, my 4th birthday just days away and I was so excited. More excited about knowing how to tie my shoes than having my little friends over for a party or even the birthday cake and ice cream.
On my 4th birthday, I woke up, sprang out of bed, grabbed my sneakers, sat on the floor of my bedroom and excitedly slipped a foot into each shoe. Then I just stared at the undone laces, for several minutes. Where is the knowledge of shoe-tying that has evaded me my whole (4-year) life?
I was so confused and perplexed.
I ran across the house to find my dad and explain that IT wasn’t happening like he said it would. I’m finally four and I still don’t know how to tie my shoes. He laughed and gave me a pat on the back, then helped me tie my shoes.
In that moment, I reminded my father that he also always told me that I would be able to whistle by the time I turned four. Yep, you guessed it. That didn’t happen either.
I finally learned how to do both and realized that Dad left out the part where you have to practice a new skill in order to master it.
This is great Bradley. I love the picture you’ve painted.
The day before my 18th birthday, when I was a freshman in college, I went away on a road trip to Pawley’s Island, SC. We stayed up all night and I remember watching the sun rise over the ocean on the morning of my birthday. I felt so uplifted watching it come up and told myself to remember this day and to feel that wonder and excitement for the rest of my life. Not always have remembered that, but I sure try.
I spent my 28th birthday with my dad, in Florida. We went fishing together!
Tell us more? What made it so special?
I don’t think my story would make your magazine–a simple day, really. But my dad died on my birthday two years later, so I’m especially grateful for the happy memory.
Oh, that is very, very nice.