Once a year, after another go around the sun, we all celebrate a birthday. I love birthdays. I like to celebrate stuff and having a birthday is just one more excuse to find something to hoo haa about. Several years ago, I thought I'd spend the whole day of my birthday seeing how many freebies I could cram into one 24-hour period, so I started out with breakfast, found a place for lunch, had a snack in the afternoon, and finished off the day with dinner. All free! (As it turns out, some places give you a week on either side of the big day to get your free ice cream cone or lunch, so I didn't have to eat all that food in one day like I did, but now I know… and so do you!)
I love birthday freebies even more than birthdays!
There are lots of websites out there that list birthday freebies but the granddaddy of them all is birthdayfreebies.com. After a free sign-up, just plug in the zip code for wherever you want to collect your freebies and go get them!
Other places worth checking out are the local restaurants you frequent – do they give away a free dessert on your birthday? Do they credit your rewards card with a dollar amount? It never hurts to ask, and you just never know what you might end up with. Of course, there's always the cupcake with the candle in it and the waitstaff singing some version of "we wish you a happy birthday" because it seems the real Happy Birthday song is copywrited (although there is plenty of controversy over this topic) and most places don't sing it anymore. But really… wouldn't you like to try some place new this year?
Here's a list of a few of my favorite places to celebrate and the birthday freebie they give away just for having another trip around that big bright light in the daytime sky:
Native Foods Cafe – $10 credit added to your rewards card (all vegan so I can eat anything on their menu! The tacos at the right are blackened tempeh with salsa fresca and guacamole – so good!)
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers – free gourmet burger and fries (I like their Gardenburger with an upgrade to onion rings!)
Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes – buy one meal and get one free (I have to find someone to go celebrate with me since I can only eat one meal at a time!)
Qdoba Mexican Grill – buy one/get one (same scenario as Souplantation – anybody want to go with me?)
Starbucks – one free drink of any kind credited to your registered account (I'm not big on their coffee but I discovered Vanilla Red Rooibos Tea Lattes this week – yum!!)
Baskin Robbins (31 Flavors) – free scoop of ice cream (it's a dairy-free sorbet for me!)
While most of the freebies are food-related, there are some other offers out there. It's just that I'm fairly food-focused so that's what I concentrate on… hehehe!
Think I'll go for the 100 free tokens at Chuck E. Cheese this year – I love air hockey! Oh yeah, I'll need someone to go with me – air hockey takes two people <big grin>
Some other websites worth checking out are:
And if you're in the Portland, Oregon area, a list just for you:
Portland on the Cheap: Birthday Perks
Whatever you end up doing on your day, enjoy it! Another trip around the Big Star is a good thing to celebrate!
Oh yeah… if you need a second for air hockey, just let me know…