“I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.”
Birthdays are milestones disguised as parties. These quotes capture the joy, nostalgia, and mild existential crisis that can all show up when you add another number. Good for cards, toasts, or just sitting with the strangeness of getting older.
“When I was a kid, for my birthday every year, my mother made me pasta bechamel, which is rigatoni with a white cream sauce.”
“I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.”
“Some people won't go the extra mile, and then on their birthday, when no one makes a fuss, they feel neglected and bitter.”
“I'm a summer baby, so I usually have my birthday as a good summer memory.”
“The worst part about celebrating another birthday is the shock that you're only as well as you are.”
“Thirty was so strange for me. I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult.”
“I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing 'Happy Birthday.'”
“I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said 'Happy Birthday' on it. I didn't want to waste it so I just wrote 'Jesus' on it.”
“I'm over the moon to be involved in the 'Doctor Who' Christmas special. I can't quite believe it as it's a part of the family tradition at the Jenkins household. I heard the news that I got the role on my 30th birthday and it was the best birthday present ever.”
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
“When I turned 60, it didn't bother me at all.”
“A gift, with a kind countenance, is a double present.”
“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.”
“Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.”
“My biggest hero, Gregory Peck, was my birthday present on April 14, 1973. I just sat and stared at him.”
“You know, maybe I was just born in the wrong time, but I love all things romantic. Puffy understands that. For my last birthday, he covered my hotel room floor with rose petals and had flowers and candles all over the room.”