11 differences American birthday from ours

Agree that celebrating a birthday as an adult is not as fun as it was as a child. Firstly, age is only increasing, and secondly, all this rigmarole with guests and treats is usually so tiring (especially for a female birthday boy) that sometimes you don’t even want gifts.

Фото: Depositphotos

However, after moving to the States, a miracle happened, and I fell in love with my birthdays. And all because they are celebrated in America in a completely different way. What are the differences? Let's figure it out.

1. Birthday Party does not pay

Like our birthday in the United States celebrated in institutions or at home. For American birthday celebrations in a restaurant, of course, a more acceptable and desirable option. Why? Yes, because the birthday boy in this case does not care about anything. For dinner, the guests pay for themselves and they charge for the birthday boy.

Almost all Americans who do not have a significant other celebrate their birthdays this way. And those who have already got a couple, but do not yet have children, also prefer to spend this day in an establishment, rather than calling everyone home. A birthday party with friends, and at their expense - what could be better? Most often, gifts in this case are optional, but if you want to give something special, then no one forbids you to do it.

2. No feast

If the birthday person’s family has children or the restaurant for some reason is not suitable for celebrating the birthday, then guests are invited home. However, at an American holiday you will not see tables laden with food and three courses being served. On a typical holiday, there will be various “goodies” (most often purchased and heated in the microwave) on the kitchen table or bar counter. Guests will come up and independently fill their plate with what they want and eat, moving around the house and communicating with other guests.

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I agree, it sounds very strange, because we are accustomed to hot and fatty holiday dishes, which are sometimes difficult to handle even with a knife and fork. Let me clarify, usually only portioned snacks are used for treats, the range and selection of which in the frozen section of any store is simply huge. Therefore, creating a holiday menu in America is a piece of cake, and to prepare it you just need to heat everything in the oven and put it on dishes.

Alcohol (most often beer and wine) and soda (sweetened carbonated drinks) will be on a separate table, and guests will take and pour everything themselves. In the middle of the evening they can bring pizza, and at the end - a mandatory attribute of the holiday - a birthday cake with candles and the Happy Birthday song performed by all guests.

3. Cleaning after the holiday, not before it

Remember our saying: when guests come, you need to do the cleaning. So, in the States everything is different. If the birthday is celebrated in the home of the birthday person, then cleaning will be done after the event, and not before it. The owners will not “lick” every corner and sort out the rubble of things in order to create the appearance of order before the guests arrive; here they treat everything more simply and do not strain themselves. Let's just say that if there is no daily established order in the house, then the arrival of guests will not be a reason to restore this order. But after the crowd of guests wandering around everywhere and chewing, they will just restore order.

Фото: Depositphotos

4. At work the birthday is not exposed

Remember our birthdays at work? It’s always been the easiest thing with sushi lovers—order a couple of sets and you’re done. However, not everyone likes sushi, and therefore you also need sausage, cheese, sandwiches, and slices. And after work, another champagne - and away we go... I always didn’t like celebrating this day at work, it’s very troublesome and expensive. But in the States, birthdays are not celebrated at work. Firstly, not all colleagues are as friendly as ours; very often, co-workers may not even know about your birthday. Bringing holiday treats to work is not accepted here. If you have a close relationship with your colleagues, then they can surprise you, and a piece of cake with a candle or even a whole cake will be waiting for you on your desk. However, it is better not to count on this.

5. Holiday surprise

I don’t know, maybe we already have this, but in the States they often throw a surprise party on birthdays. A party in honor of the birthday boy is organized by a loved one in secret from him. Any venue can be chosen, but usually where the hero of the occasion happens most often: the birthday boy’s house, the party organizer’s house or place of work. The organizer gathers friends, relatives and acquaintances of the birthday boy in a certain place, and then, under some pretext, brings the birthday boy there. The moment the unsuspecting birthday boy walks into the room, everyone jumps out and shouts “Surprise!” This is a great way to cheer up the birthday boy and do something nice for him. We buy simple snacks and something sweet: cake or cupcakes with cream. The point of the party is to please and surprise the birthday person.

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6. Easy cleaning after the holiday

After reading the previous points, you probably realized that cleaning up after an American birthday party is much easier than ours. Well, first of all, there are no dishes to wash. Guests place all snacks on disposable plates, which are thrown away after use. It’s the same story with glasses - disposable paper ones, or guests drink directly from bottles (beer) or cans (carbonated drinks). After the holiday, you need to vacuum up spilled food (if any) and take out the trash. Agree, it can’t be compared to washing serving dishes and plates that are greasy from meat and Olivier, and then rubbing the glasses.

7. Gifts open at guests

According to the American tradition, birthday gifts (if the format of the party requires it) do not open upon delivery, as we do, and add up to a special place reserved for them. Each gift must have a card with the name of the donor. At the end of the party comes the moment of opening gifts. The birthday party reveals gifts in the presence of guests and shares his impressions. As a rule, these are only positive and enthusiastic reviews and words of gratitude, regardless of what was presented to him.

Фото: Depositphotos

8. Attach checks to gifts

Another American feature is to include receipts from the store with gifts, the only “but” is that they do not have a price, but are marked “gift receipt”. If the gift you chose for the birthday person is not suitable, he can always exchange it for something more suitable. For many of our compatriots, this option is still unacceptable. When I told my mom about this, she didn’t even believe me. But for me this option seems very logical. It's better than putting another vase on the shelf when you need a new teapot.

9. Gift order

I don’t know if we have something similar now, but when I lived in my homeland, I didn’t hear about it. If the birthday is going to celebrate his birthday with chic (this also happens, but rarely) and invites a lot of guests, then it goes without saying that there will be a lot of gifts. In such cases, the birthday usually does not allow this matter to take its course, and in advance takes care of that he was given the necessary things, thereby facilitating the process of choosing gifts for guests. To do this, he starts a page on the site of some large supermarket (in America it is most often TARGET or IKEA) and from their assortment marks goods that he would be glad to see as his gift. In the invitation, which will be presented to guests, there is a link to this page of the birthday man, and each invitee will be able to choose from the marked items something for a gift. When a product is selected, the donor marks this product, and other guests understand that this gift is already presented by someone. If all the proposed gift options are not suitable for you (for example, only very expensive items are left for you), you can simply buy a certificate from this store for the desired amount. A birthday party will collect a couple of such certificates (after all, not only will such a thought come to you) and buy himself a designer horse head, which he dreamed about, but none of the guests decided to buy it. This method of choosing gifts is used not only for birthdays, but also for other major celebrations, such as a wedding.

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10. Thank you cards

Another mandatory American tradition, which we do not yet have. After each birthday, the birthday man must sign and send or give thank-you cards to everyone who gave him gifts. It turns out this attention for themselves attention. I spent the time choosing and buying a gift, and the birthday boy will take the time to thank me. Do not thank the donor for the gift is considered bad form.

11. The restaurant is cheaper to mark than at home

Another American difference: in the States it is cheaper to celebrate your birthday in an institution than to arrange it at home. In our country, everything is exactly the opposite. As I already wrote, in the restaurant the birthday boy does not pay the bill, his friends sort of arrange this holiday for him. And if you invite guests to your home, the cost of disposable dishes, snacks and alcohol fall on the shoulders of the birthday boy.

The original column is published on the website.Yandex Zen”And reprinted with permission of the author.

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