Birthday Manners

Believe it or not, some people don't like to celebrate their birthday. It can be for a lot of reasons and usually isn't about their age, but about birthday pasts. For these friends, you shouldn't force them to celebrate their birthday with a surprise party. That would be very bad manners. Instead a quiet dinner with champagne and good friends is the best. Of course unless they are alchoholics...then no champagne.

Birthdays are tricky. Some people are very offended when you don't remember. They pout and feel whomever didn't remember isn't really their friend. This is silly because some people have birthdays that are hard to remember, like December 25th when most people are celebrating someone else's birthday!

It's not bad manners to arrange a celebration of your own if you want. But it is bad manners to ask for gifts.

It's good manners to wish someone a happy birthday even if it's beleated or early. It's bad manners to be offended. Of course it's bad manners to go around wishing happy birthday constantly to the same person...that proves you are inconsiderate and won't calendar your friends birthday.

I have a dear friend whom I used to wish a happy birthday to in July only to find out that their birthday was in October! If someone is consistently confusing your birthday, it's good manners to correct your friend if you do it politely.

Birthdays can be fun...especially if your very young and very old. Of course it's always fun to eat cake and drink champagne. So I say, eat cake at least once a week and drink a flute of champagne...it's someone's birthday someplace...celebrate.

xoxoAmanda