Where to Get FREE Birthday Prizes

It is officially my BIRTHDAY MONTH (yes, I get a month) and I’ve got birthday feva!! I was recently day dreaming about how great birthdays are, and if there was any way they could be better. The answer: getting stuff for FREE.

Giving birthday gifts (aka FREE stuff) has been a human tradition for centuries, so why limit the privilege to just family and friends? This is your chance to invite Corporate America to your B-day celebration and squeeze them for every FREE ounce of ice cream/pancake/bagel promotion they can offer/will trade for your info.

There are a couple of wonderfully comprehensive lists of FREE birthday treats out there (Hey! It’s FREE! and freebirthdaytreats.com in particular), but since there is a joyous absence of chains in San Francisco, I haven’t hear of half of the places listed. Below are a few familiar spots, most of which I plan to take advantage of. The majority require that the recipient be a member of their e-clubs, so use a mailing list-specific email address to sign up and prepare for the wave of FREE birthday fun!*

The Balboa Theater
This awesome, local theater offers FREE entrance to a flick on your day of birth.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Get a FREE Single Scoop Cup or Cone when you register to be a ChunkSpelunker (ew).

Benihana
Complimentary Birthday Dinner (up to $30 value) for members of The Chef’s Table.

Buca de Beppo
For giving them your decoy email address, you will receive a FREE dessert just for signing up, then a FREE appetizer on your birthday. Mamma mia!

Denny’s
Just show up with a valid ID on your birthday and get a FREE Grand Slam (and complimentary heart burn).

IHOP
When you join the Pancake Revolution, your reward shall be a FREE meal for signing up, on your birthday, and after your first gastric bypass.

Krispy Kreme
Hey! It’s free! promised that you get a half dozen glazed donuts and a coffee mug filled with coffee or soda for FREE, but the janky Krispy Kreme site mentioned nothing of the sort. I signed up anyway.

Noah’s Bagels
They don’t explicitly say what signing up for the e-club gets you, but I’m guessing, oh, a FREE bagel maybe?

Round Table Pizza
Coupon for a FREE personal pizza…cheapskates.

Sephora
After signing up for the Beauty Insider program you get a FREE something. It’s probably a lame sample size of some hair junk, but FREE is FREE dammit.

*Restrictions may sort of apply, so read the fine print…but whatevs, it’s probably mostly legit.

Photo from: http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com