12 Readers Share Their Favorite Birthday Celebrations

“To celebrate my birthday, my partner treated me to two nights in Portland, Maine. We stayed at the darling hotel Blind Tiger, enjoyed the most incredible food, and admired stunning views from Cape May. We will back to Portland in a heartbeat!” — Jinesa

“For the past four years, I’ve celebrated with two old friends at an off-the-grid cabin. We snowshoe in, pulling sleds with our gear and food for two nights. There’s a hand pump for water, an outhouse, and a wood stove. The first year, the temperature inside the cabin was -29 degrees Celsius, but we couldn’t have been happier! We felt like ‘hardcore forty-somethings.’ The best birthday gift is this time together, despite our frenetic lives as working mothers.” — Kirsty

“Since I was 16, my dad and I have celebrated at Saratoga Race Course. We now invite my husband, but we are clear that my husband is the third wheel to a dad-and-daughter day. Cheering on the horse with the best name, whooping when we win $6, and strolling the grounds with a cold drink on a sweltering day — it’s all magic.” — Maggie

“Celebrating my birthday by hiking in an African rainforest with my babies is one of my favorite memories.” — Alice

“On my birthday, I had a big lunch made by my aunt, one of the best home cooks I know! It was so much fun spending time with nine nieces and nephews, and my cousin’s wife baked a delicious Victorian sponge cake. I was very happy about the ‘6’ candle, way better than 33 if you ask me.” — Nazeefah

“I was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease a month before my birthday, and it had taken a lot of uncomfortable tests, scans, waiting, and doctors’ appointments to get to that diagnosis. In short, 42 sucked hard. But I am very lucky to have amazing and supportive friends. One of them hosted a pajama party with this amazing cake that a local bakery made in my favorite flavor: lemon.” — Jill

“I didn’t think 41 would be a super special birthday. Wrong. After spending a couple years trying to have a baby (you know, the let’s stop preventing it & see what happens, then turns out you really want it, then it doesn’t happen for a year, so you go to the fertility clinic, you do the the less invasive stuff for a while, but that leads to the really invasive stuff that takes a lot of time & money & energy & emotion & just about everything in ya), my 41st birthday was the very last day of my life in which I had never given birth. My son arrived when I was 41 years and one day!” — Ashley

“I was inspired by Florine Stettheimer’s practice of making a birthday bouquet and then painting the arrangement. My take was scooping up flowers from Trader Joe’s, doing my own arrangement (counting stems to equal the age I was turning), and painting it!” — Diana

“I celebrated my 38th birthday with my first day on set as a TV writer/producer, a dream I’ve been working toward for 15 years. It was one of my best birthdays ever.” — Sarah

“I stole away with my partner, my sister and her husband, and our two dogs to California’s Lassen National Park. Under a nearly full moon, we took the canoe for a midnight cruise. There, in the middle of the lake, we sat and witnessed how the fresh snow dampened all sound. It was just us and the frogs and a resident heron — I can’t imagine a more magical way to turn the year.” — Holly

“In 2022, I realized I’d lived in Scotland for a couple years but still hadn’t taken myself on a holiday — so, for my birthday I planned a solo weekend trip into the Highlands! I took a scenic train route, and one day went to small fishing town, which felt like it was at the end of the world. Breathtaking views, dramatic mountains, a great murder mystery to watch, and lots of rainy walks as I celebrated turning 28.” — Karman

“My birthday tradition is spending the night alone at my favorite hotel, soaking in the tub with a bath bomb, and getting a new tattoo. This is me celebrating 39 years! — Ingvild

What birthdays have you loved? I’m feeling so inspired!!!! It’s actually my 44th today!

P.S. Birthday cheese, and two birthday revelations.