by Suzanne Rose

Created on: July 22, 2010

Your birthday is a special day, and you're not the only one who thinks so.  There are many places where you can get birthday freebies, but you have to know the right places to look and apply.  Consider the following tactics.

Sign up for store e-mail clubs

Some different types of stores have e-mail or mailing lists that you can sign up for.  In a lot of these, they will send you something special on your birthday.  For instance, if you register your children's birthday information with Toys R' Us, they will send you a gift certificate for a few dollars to be used near their birthday.  You do not need to spend more than the gift card is worth so it is like free money.  Cold Stone Creamery will usually send out a coupon for free ice cream as well.  There are many other stores that have similar promotions.  Some of them may send you a gift card, a coupon or an actual product or present.  Some of them will send you something in the regular mail, whereas other places will send something through e-mail that you can bring in to the store to redeem.

Look for restaurants where you eat free on your birthday

There are some restaurants that will give you a free meal on your birthday.  You may need to bring in your ID in order to prove that it is your birthday.  Some might require a coupon, but others will just do it for anyone who shows proof.  Some of them may not give a full meal but might give some other sort of discount. A lot of them will give a free dessert.  You can call ahead to the different restaurants to see what they offer.  Also you may want to check to see if they check IDs if you want to go on a day that is not your actual birthday such as if you are celebrating the day on the weekend before the actual birthday.  If you are at a restaurant, then you have nothing to lose by asking them if they do anything for a birthday.  Some restaurants might even give something away such as a hat at a Mexican restaurant or some fun beads.

When it is your birthday, you may get presets from more than your family and friends.  Consider the above tactics to help you get birthday freebies.

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