YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    How to Celebrate Your Birthday for FREE!

    By | Work + Money – Wed, Apr 25, 2012 11:47 AM EDT

    By Discount Dame Terri Storelli for GalTime.com

    Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday!What's a frugalista to do on her birthday? Even the simplest of celebrations, like a coffee date with your best friend and dinner out with your significant other and can run around $50. Add in a lovely little gift for yourself and dessert and you're looking at $100+ for your birthday celebration. But did you know you can celebrate your big day for free?

    To quote Sammy Hagar, "Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new." Make this birthday the beginning of a new frugal year! No matter what part of the country you live in, there are tons of places that offer up great birthday freebies, all you have to do is know who they are and where to sign up.

    Breakfast
    This year I plan on hitting up Denny's for a great free Grand Slam breakfast. You can head to their website and sign up the whole family. No Denny's in your neck of the woods? IHOP offers up a similar birthday club. Looking to score some free coffee? Starbucks has you covered, when you buy a Starbucks gift card and register it online not only can you better track your fancy coffee budget (put $20 on it and make it last all month, I dare you) but you can also earn discounts, freebies, in addition to the free coffee on your birthday.

    Lunch & Dinner
    Now that you have breakfast covered, it's time to move on to lunch and dinner. Many restaurants offer up free sides and desserts with purchase on your birthday, but some actually offer full meals! Check out places like Famous Dave's and Johnny Rocket's who offer up free meals or burgers on to help you ease you into your new age bracket. If fun is what your after look out for birthday offers from Benihana's where dinner is on the house for the birthday boy or girl along with the show and Dave and Buster's where you can score $5 Free gaming credits.

    Related: How to Save on Dining Out

    Desserts
    If your sweet tooth needs satisfying you can find a free frosty beverage at Orange Julius. Love ice cream? Head to Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery for your free scoop...or go big and do both! Is cake more your birthday style? Carrows offers up a free slice for signing up!

    Frugal Tip
    All of these great offers require you to sign up for their email list and many offer great coupon year round. Worried about being overwhelmed by year-round promotions? Give yourself the gift of a second email account devoted solely to "offers". Gmail.com makes it easy to set up a 100% free email account so you can keep your personal account spam free and keep all these offers in one place. Also be sure to sign up at least a month or two before your birthday to be sure you get all your special offers in time for the big day.

    Looking for more birthday freebies? Visit the Happy Birthday section of DiscountDame.com for a full list of the latest and greatest birthday freebies around!

    More from GalTime: