43 Awesome Birthday Freebies and Discounts

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Are you ready for some freebies?

OK, good. Now that we’ve established you are in fact ready for freebies, I sincerely hope you have a birthday coming up sometime in the next 12 months.

Yes? Excellent.

Because there are dozens of businesses that want to give you free stuff on your birthday. Even better, they don’t all have to be claimed on your actual birthday. Some may be used in the weeks before or after your big day. Play your cards right, and you could be enjoying free food all birthday month long. Beyond food, you could be in line for discounts, coupons and goodies from other retailers.

First a couple of tips:

  • You usually have to be signed up for a company’s email newsletter in order to get the birthday freebie coupon. Make sure you do that well in advance, in case your email subscription doesn’t kick in immediately.
  • Since newsletter lists have the potential to fill your inbox with junk as well as freebies, I recommend setting up a separate email account to use specifically for these sign-ups. Live.com is one place to get a free email address.
  • Disclaimer: Companies can and do change promotions without advance notice. However, these were all, to the best of our knowledge, accurate and available at the time of writing. If you find a freebie doesn’t work or if you know of one we missed, please leave a message in the comments below.

Now that the details are out of the way — on to the freebies!

27 restaurant birthday freebies

It seems as if just about every restaurant offers a birthday deal. They are hoping you’ll not only come in for your birthday freebie, but also bring along 10 of your closest family members and friends who will spend big bucks. In some cases, you get the birthday freebies for signing up for the establishment’s rewards card — on the hunch that earning rewards will bring you in often.

If you don’t see your favorite restaurant on the list, check out their website and sign up for their mailing list anyway. You may just get a freebie coupon in your inbox. Plus, it never hurts to tell your server it’s your birthday (assuming it actually is your birthday) to see if they do anything special in-house.

Applebee’s: Free dessert
Baskin Robbins: Free ice cream
Benihana: Free $30 gift certificate
Blimpie: Free 6-inch sub
BD’s Mongolian Grill: Free meal
Buffalo Wild Wings: Free starter of wings
Caribou Coffee: Free “special treat”
Carrabba’s Italian Grill: Free dessert
Denny’s: Free Grand Slam breakfast (no sign-up needed; show ID to server)
Einstein Bros. Bagels: Free egg sandwich with a drink purchase
Houlihan’s: Free entree
IHOP: Free meal
Krispy Kreme: Free doughnut (This article from TheBalance documents the dozen times in a year, including your birthday, you can get freebies from the doughnut chain.)
The Melting Pot: Birthday voucher
Olive Garden: Free dessert
On The Border: Free brownie sundae
Qdoba Mexican Grill: BOGO free entree
Orange Julius: BOGO drink
Red Robin: Free burger
Smokey Bones: Free dessert
Starbucks: Free drink
Subway: Free lunch
TCBY: Free yogurt
Texas Roadhouse: Free appetizer
TGI Fridays: Free cocktail, dessert or smoothie
Tony Roma’s: BOGO free entree or 20 percent discount
Waffle House: Free waffle

13 retail birthday freebies

Food seems to be the main event when it comes to birthday freebies, but don’t overlook retail store offers. Here’s a rundown of some of the retailers offering free stuff to help you celebrate another year of your feet on the ground.

Aveda: Free gift
CVS: Free $3 in ExtraBucks
DSW: Free $5 gift certificate
Smashbox: Free gift
Bare Minerals: Free gift
Kmart (Shop Your Way program): Free gift and $5 in birthday bucks for your child on their birthday
Sephora: Free gift
Toys R Us: Free gift for your child on their birthday
Victoria’s Secret: Free gift
ULTA cosmetics: Free gift
Ace Hardware: Free $5 gift certificate
Regal Entertainment Group: Free movie admission
Famous Footwear: Free gift

More birthday discounts

These aren’t freebies, but they are discounts that are only available to the birthday boy or girl. Again, sign up for the company newsletter to have the discounts sent to your inbox.

American Eagle Outfitters: 15 percent off coupon
World Market: “Birthday surprise”
Hallmark: 20 percent off coupon

How do you like to celebrate your birthday? Do discounts and freebies influence the way you spend your day? Share with us in comments below or on our Facebook page.

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