My mom always used to say that my birthday, November 15, should be celebrated all month long. I thought this was just a mother’s bias, but now I see how right she actually was. Usually, us holiday birthday people have our thunder stolen by the ghosts of Halloween or the overdone Christmas ornaments. But this holiday season I have the solution to the problem.
There’s a bunch of restaurants that you can sign up to and get free birthday food coupons all month long. So, while people are spending money on gifts on you and others, you can get some free treats for yourself.
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
It’s really quite simple… Search up “free food on your birthday” and you’ll be directed to websites such as this one where you can sign up to multiple email newsletters to get your coupons. Then all you have to do is sit back and wait for the free food to start piling into your inbox.
#SpoonTip: If you already get a ton of emails, a great technique to consider is marking these emails as important, so you won’t lose them within the black hole of your emails.
Did I mention that once you sign up to all these places, you’ll get free food coupons every year on your birthday month from then on without having to do anything? Talk about making the holidays a whole lot better with yearly birthday coupons.
Since my birthday is on November, I thought I should give you some places you could hit up for the greatest deals for every meal of the day.
Some things to keep in mind before we begin:
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
- All coupons are different. Thus, some coupons are valid on certain days and expire sooner than others. Print your coupons out to keep track of them.
- Not all coupons give you a completely free meal. Some coupons you receive will be completely free, BOGO, buy a drink and receive an entrée, or a free dessert/appetizer.
- Plan your month accordingly because if not all your coupons will go to waste.
- Grab a friend, family member, or boyfriend/girlfriend for the BOGO coupons, so they can treat you on your special day and you can celebrate together.
Breakfast
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
For breakfast, the best coupons that come through are usually IHOP and Denny’s. Denny’s gives you a free Grand Slam (pancakes, eggs, sausages, and bacon) with no purchase necessary. However, this coupon is only valid on the day of your birthday.
At IHOP you get a completely free full stack of pancakes.
#SpoonTip: if you want anything else on the menu instead of the pancakes, just let your waiter know and you’ll pay the difference (I only paid $2 for my breakfast).
Lunch/Dinner
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
At Moe’s you can have a free entrée of your choice with a purchase of a drink. Golden Coral sends you a coupon for one free buffet with the purchase of an adult buffet. Genghis Grill sends you a coupon for one free regular size stir fry bowl of your choosing. Ruby Tuesday always wins my heart over with their coupon for a free birthday burger.
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
That’s not all, you even get coupons to nice restaurants that may exceed your college budget such as my personal favorite, Shula’s America’s Steak House.
Photo by: Stephen Blasetti
They send you a coupon for a complimentary entrée with the purchase of a full price entrée (talk about steak heaven). Check out this article about their 24-oz Porterhouse Steak.
Desserts
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
What person doesn’t enjoy free dessert coupons? I know I have to actually restrain myself or share with someone because the majority of the coupons you will receive on your birthday month will be sugary goodness.
photo by Miguel Morales
Both Cold Stone Creamery and Bruster’s give you a BOGO coupon for ice cream. Baskin-Robbins, however, gives you a free heaping scoop of any flavor you like free of charge. The Great American Cookies will make your mouth water with a big cookie cake slice with a purchase of a drink. Panera Bread will send you a coupon for a completely free bakery item of your choice (yum).
Restaurants such as Olive Garden, Harry’s Seafood Bar Grille, Logan’s Roadhouse, and others will give you a free dessert with your entrée order. After all, who doesn’t love free dessert after dinner?
Free Drink Coupons
Photo by Amanda Raquel Rodriguez
When it comes to your birthday month, you can probably have a free drink every day, for a whole week. Some of the coupons you can get your hands on are the Free Mocha Latta Chill at Cinnabon, free coffee at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy Kreme (also includes a free donut).
The limit does not exist to what coupons you can get on your birthday month. Depending on your location, you will have different restaurants to explore and see if they will give you free goodies.
If all else fails, ask the waiter if they give a free coupon because it’s your birthday month (they’ll probably be even more in the giving mood since it’s the holiday season). I have asked waiters this on multiple occasions during my birthday month, and most of them surprised me with a free dessert of my choice.
So having a birthday fall on the holiday season isn’t as disappointing as people may think. Besides the fact that everyone is already in a celebratory spirit, you can be treated like royalty for the whole month and enjoy free food.
Happy Birthday to you.