April was not only my Birthday month but it was also the month that Chad was born.  (Luckily though, I am an Aries and he is a Taurus so we don’t clash too badly!)  I am ALL about Birthday freebies and it seems that more companies are jumping on board to give you gifts to celebrate your special day.  Last year I posted about the freebies I got from Sephora, Aveda and Benihana.  This year was even better!

First, if you join Sephora’s email list you get a voucher in the mail for a free gift.  And they aren’t just little samples of face cream, mind you.  Last year I got a three pack of Benefit’s Lip Tints.  (I LOVE the Bene-tints line- this year I actually purchased the full sized products because they were so great.)  Aveda offered a full sized bottle of their body lotion infused with any of their oils of my choice.  (I chose their famous rosemary-mint scent- delectable.)

The past few years we have also received vouchers for $30 each to enjoy at Benihana.  Wow- $30 can really go along way.  We always turn that into a great date night since we both get the voucher to use in the same month and they can be used together.  The only thing we do is make sure we leave a nice tip for our server.

This year, I still got my gift from Sephora (a makeup gift bag with mascara, cheek highlighter, moisturizer and lip gloss), Aveda (the same full sized product as last year) and our dinner at Benihana.  However, we also got a free beverage from both Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, a free breakfast at both Mimi’s and First Watch, a free regular sandwich from Which Wich (the best sandwich shop ever), free ice cream from Baskin Robbins and Rita’s, free entrees from Houlihan’s and Tony Roma’s, free sandwiches from Fuddruckers and Jason’s Deli and even a free burger from Red Robin.  And this is just what we got.  There are a million other places that offer free desserts, free admission (like to a Baltimore Oriole’s game), and free products.  We had so many we couldn’t even take advantage of them all.

Now some are just flat out free while others have restrictions like only one coupon per table or free sandwich with the purchase of a drink and chips.

We only took advantage of the truly free ones.  Like Red Robin.  We each got a free burger.  If you haven’t ever been to Red Robin you should go.  They have so many burgers to choose from and even offer veggie and Vegan options.  We both got veggie burgers and ice cream and all we had to do was leave a tip.

Later in the month we went to Which Wich and both got free sandwiches.  If you haven’t been to a Which Wich you should go. A million different combinations of any sandwich imaginable from peanut and jelly to gyros to black bean burgers to hummus, tomato and avocado veggie choices.  And they are just so nice there.

We both had a free breakfast at Mimi’s and First Watch this year (knowing your meal is free makes it easier to go to one of those places and wait for a table.)

We also had free offers for pizza (from Grimaldi’s and Uno’s) that we just couldn’t take advantage of due to simply just not having the time to get to these places.

We did make it to Benihana and had a great meal with soup, salad, a shrimp appetizer, hot tea, rice, noodles, sauteed veggies, an entrée and ice cream.

Now, Chad and I are lucky that we both have a birthday in the same month- I am the 2nd while he celebrates on the 29th) but still- even having just one meal paid for is nice.  It is essentially a Buy One Get One Deal (only of the other person insists on eating too.)

I encourage everyone to have a “spam” email address to sign up for these birthday clubs.  An email address that you don’t mind getting a bunch of email throughout the year and then just check it during your birthday month. (And yes- you will get spam also so don’t use your regular email address- that is just one of the downfalls in signing up for these clubs.)  Just NEVER sign into Facebook or Twitter when making these accounts.  Yahoo and AOL are great for signing up for “Spam” email.  But trust me, when your birthday month rolls around, it will be worth it!!!

Just Google “Birthday Freebies” to find all the places offering great deals during your Birthday month.  Most give you an entire month to use your freebie vouchers and some are really “free” without requiring you to purchase another item.  Just be sure to tip your servers- even though your food is free they are still working hard to give you great service!!