No birthday goes uncelebrated on the internet. Before you blow the candles and cut that cake, check these websites and guides for a happy birthday.
In a world where everything is going digital, why not birthday celebrations too? From virtual birthday parties on video calls to apps that pump up the special day, the internet has it all. You can get a free Happy Birthday song, create a fake newspaper with your details, or check out intergalactic happenings on your birthday.
1. How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party on Video Chat Apps Like Zoom
The first thought that pops into one's head about an online birthday celebration is to do a birthday party on a video call. How do you do that though? And is it any fun? Well, a few people tried it, and they're sharing tips and tricks to have an entertaining remote birthday party video call.
- How to Celebrate a Birthday During the Coronavirus Showdown by The New York Times
- How to Celebrate a Birthday While Social Distancing by Refinery29
- I Threw a Virtual Birthday Party and 46 People Came, Here's What I Learned by Inc.
All three posts are worth reading and offer a range of advice, hacks, and tips. They have a few common words of wisdom for virtual birthday parties.
First and foremost, allow for some advance planning for participants. Ensure most people know each other. Have a common activity, like a drink or food you can all eat at the same time, or a fun dress code like party hats. And whoever hosts the party should have a few topics they can involve all people in, or ask them to prepare in advance.
Naturally, a virtual birthday celebration isn't going to be as fun as a real one. But if circumstances dictate such limitations, then you can still have a merry old birthday. All you need then is Zoom or any of the great Zoom alternative video chat apps.
2. 1 Happy Birthday (Web): Free Birthday Song, Movie Clips, Trivia, and More
1HappyBirthday.com has a customized birthday song maker. Search for your name on the website, and if it's listed, download the free song wishing you a happy birthday. It's not the usual Happy Birthday song, but a different peppy and lively number.
The collection of names is surprisingly large, including odd ones that you might not easily find. In our search, we found most of the MakeUseOf staff's names.
Apart from the song, every bit of audio you want related to birthdays, you'll find on this site. In Movie Birthday Wishes, you'll find famous quotes from movies as audio clips that you can play or download. It collects pop-rock birthday songs, Spanish and Mexican birthday songs, and lyrics for all of them.
1Happy Birthday also hosts a bunch of mini birthday games. Enter any birth date to find exactly how many days, weeks, months, or years old that person is. Get random information and trivia about things that happened on your birthday. Or play the "Younger or Older" game if you like pop culture.
3. My Birthday Hits (Web, Spotify): Playlist of the #1 Hit Song on Every Birthday
Would you like to know which song was topping the charts on the day you were born, or every birthday after that? My Birthday Hits has the answer. And it will quickly create a playlist of all these songs on Spotify.
Key in your birth date and the website generates a grid of the #1 song in the USA on that date each yet. Click any song to open it with an embedded YouTube video, and a bit more information about how long it stayed at the top. My Birthday Hits also throws in the top movie and the top book of that year, if you're interested.
At the bottom of the results page where you input your birthday, you'll find playlist options. You can copy-paste a text file of all songs, and search and add them to a playlist in your favorite music streaming app. Or grab the Spotify track list and add it to a playlist. It's a little time-consuming, but the end result is fun.
My Birthday Hits has a catalog of hit songs going back to the 1940s. So if you're less than 80 years old, you'll get a list of every hit on your birthday (or any special date).
4. What Did the Hubble See on Your Birthday? (Web): Space Events on Your Birth Date
We're just a tiny speck in our galaxy, let alone the whole universe. But while we're exploring the Earth, the Hubble Telescope is exploring the Milky Way, constantly photographing events for over 30 years. What if something cool happened on your birthday?
This official NASA mini-site lets you find the universe's highlight on your birthday. You can only filter by month and day, not by year, which is a bit of a bummer. But you'll quickly forget about that limitation as the site brings up a galactic event with a colorized photo.
The image comes with a short description educating you about its significance. You can also visit the Hubble site link to learn more about it, as well as related trivia. On a day when many consider their own mortality and meaning, it's marvelous to get this big picture perspective.
5. The Birthday Times (Web): Create a Fake Newspaper Birthday Gift
Newspaper pages are a cool way to commemorate birthdays. The Birthday Times lets you create a fake newspaper page from the day you were born, but goes a long way in trying to look authentic. It's filled with little things to bring that era alive while customizing it to you. Add your name and birth date, with the year, to begin.
The Birthday Times has 10 elements, starting with a big headline announcing your arrival. Then the US President of that time visits you, followed by a wrap-up of news events of that year.
Other elements of that year include a sports event, the Academy Awards, musical hits, and even an ad of that era. Surprisingly, more than all the words, the ad provides a unique and cool feel for the era that's hard to replicate.
You can purchase a PDF copy of this newspaper front page for $3.99, or have it printed and sent to you for $5.99. You can't change the text, but if you want to customize the newspaper, you could try making your own through free templates like Make My Newspaper [no longer available].
What About Birthday Gifts?
Online birthday celebrations are great, but the gifts get a little difficult. Sure, if you ordered them well in advance to ship in time, that works.
But if it's last-minute or unavailable, you can send a cash gift online in a creative way. It's a nice compromise that still looks and feels like a gift, not the digital equivalent of cash stuffed in an envelope.