Lockdown Birthday Freebies How To Celebrate With Complimentary Treats And Offers

The global lockdown period presented unique challenges for birthday celebrations, prompting businesses to adapt their promotional strategies to continue rewarding customers during special occasions. During this time, numerous retailers, restaurants, and brands extended their birthday offers or created new ways for people to celebrate despite social distancing restrictions. This comprehensive guide explores the various birthday freebies and promotional offers available during lockdown, detailing how consumers could access these complimentary treats while staying at home.

Food and Drink Birthday Freebies

Food and beverage establishments were among the most proactive in offering birthday freebies during lockdown, recognizing that celebrations often revolve around dining experiences. These offers ranged from complimentary desserts and drinks to entire meals, with most requiring customers to join loyalty programs or download mobile apps to access their birthday rewards.

Free Birthday Desserts

Numerous restaurant chains offered complimentary desserts to celebrate customers' birthdays during the lockdown period. These offers typically required advance registration through loyalty programs or mobile apps:

• 99 Restaurants & Pub: Customers could receive a free birthday dessert by joining the 99 Rewards program.
• Applebee's: Members of Club Applebee's qualified for a free dessert with a $15 minimum purchase.
• Atlanta Bread: Those who downloaded the app and signed up for the Rise Rewards Program received a free birthday reward.
• Veggie Grill: VG Rewards members received a free birthday entrée.
• Vitality Bowls: Users of the Vitality Bowls App received a free acai bowl on their birthday.
• Wendy's: Members of Wendy's Rewards Program could earn points and redeem them for a free meal.
• Wetzel's Pretzels: Rewards program members received a free original or cinnamon pretzel, valid for 30 days after their birthday.
• Whataburger: Account holders received exclusive birthday offers.
• Which Wich: Vibe Club Rewards members received a free Wich on their birthday.
• Wienerschnitzel: Members of the Wiener Lovers' Club received free food on their birthday.
• Wingstop: Wingstop Club members received birthday freebies.
• Zaxby's: Zax Fanz Mail Club members received special surprises and freebies.

Many of these offers remained active during lockdown, providing a way for people to still enjoy a sweet treat on their special day despite restaurant closures or restrictions.

Free Birthday Drinks

Beverage-focused establishments also stepped up their birthday promotions during the lockdown period:

• A&W Restaurants: Mug Club members received a free root beer float.
• ABC Fine Wine & Spirits: ABC Access Rewards members received a free birthday gift.
• Arby's: Email subscribers received special birthday offers.
• Caribou Coffee: Caribou Perks members enjoyed free coffee on their birthday.
• Cinnabon: Rewards members received free 4ct BonBites for joining and a 16 oz Cold Brew on their birthday.
• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: App users received a free beverage or baked good of choice, valid for 3 days.

These drink offers provided an alternative way to celebrate, especially for those who might not have been able to enjoy their usual birthday dining experiences.

Complimentary Meals and Food Offers

Several restaurant chains offered more substantial birthday freebies during lockdown:

• B.Good: Rewards members received a free birthday reward.
• BD's Mongolian Grill: Rewards members received a free bowl on their birthday each year with any purchase, requiring at least 30 days of membership.
• Benihana: The Chef's Table members received a $30 coupon toward their birthday meal.
• Bertucci's: eClub members received a free birthday gift.
• BGR (Burgers Grilled Right): App users received a free burger on their birthday.
• Big Al's Steaks: Customers received a free cheesesteak on their birthday.
• Big Boy: Kid's Club members received free birthday kids meals for children 10 and under.
• Black Angus: Prime Club Rewards members earned bonus points throughout their birthday month.
• Black Bear Diner: Bear Lovers E-Club members received a free birthday meal.
• Bob Evans: Rewards App users received a free birthday reward.
• Bonefish Grill: Dine Rewards Program members received a free $10 reward and birthday freebie.
• Bruegger's Bagels: Rewards members received a free bagel and cream cheese with purchase on their birthday.
• LongHorn Steakhouse: Rewards members received special birthday offers.
• Maggiano's: eClub members received exclusive birthday gifts.
• Marie Callender's: E-Club members received exclusive birthday offers.
• McAlister's Deli: Rewards members received birthday treats.
• McDonald's: MyMcDonald's Reward members received a free birthday treat plus a free Big Mac with their first $1+ purchase.
• Moe's Southwest Grill: Moe Rewards members received a free cup of queso or guacamole on their birthday.
• Noodles & Company: Noodles Rewards members received birthday treats based on membership tier: dessert for Classic, small entrée for Signature, and regular entrée for Premier members.
• Not Your Average Joe's: Email/Text Club members received a 15% meal discount and birthday offer.
• Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom: Loyalty members received a free pizza on their birthday.
• On the Border: Border Rewards members received birthday surprises.
• P.F. Chang's: Members received birthday offers (specific offer details not provided in the source material).

These meal offers provided more substantial ways to celebrate birthdays during lockdown, though many required membership in loyalty programs or minimum purchase amounts.

Retail and Product Freebies

Beyond food and beverages, several retail brands extended special birthday promotions during the lockdown period, offering unique ways for customers to celebrate their special days.

Build-A-Bear Birthday Offer

Build-A-Bear's "Count Your Candles" discount scheme provided one of the most notable retail birthday offers during lockdown. The free program allowed Bonus Club members to purchase a bear for the same price as their child's age (for example, a two-year-old would cost £2 instead of the usual £14). For children whose birthdays occurred during lockdown, the company extended the redemption deadline until September 30th, allowing families additional time to take advantage of this special offer. The discounted bears could be obtained at any reopened store by simply informing staff about the redemption.

Greggs Birthday Treat

Greggs, the UK bakery chain, offered customers a complimentary doughnut, cookie, or "yum yum" (valued up to £1) for their birthday. Notably, customers did not need to make any additional purchase to receive this free treat. Due to the extended closure of branches during lockdown, Greggs automatically extended the validity of birthday treat vouchers until the end of 2020. To redeem the offer, customers needed to show the voucher date on their phone at their nearest branch.

Pizza Express Birthday Offer

Pizza Express offered free Prosecco to customers celebrating birthdays during lockdown, though specific details about how to claim this offer were not provided in the source material.

Digital Celebration Alternatives

As lockdown restrictions limited in-person gatherings, many people turned to digital platforms to celebrate birthdays. Among the most popular alternatives were virtual parties hosted on video conferencing platforms.

Zoom Parties

Zoom emerged as a particularly popular platform for birthday celebrations during lockdown. These virtual gatherings allowed friends and family who couldn't meet in person to still connect and celebrate together. The source material describes how, by May 2020, when people had "settled into the lockdown lifestyle," Zoom parties had become "the thing to do." One example mentioned was a group of "gym girls" who held a Zoom celebration together, which was described as "the best thing ever."

Digital Card and Gift Services

Digital services also adapted to help people celebrate birthdays during lockdown. Moonpig, a digital greeting card and gift service, offered special promotions to help people send birthday wishes and gifts during this period. They provided a 40% discount for readers of A July Dreamer who downloaded the Moonpig app, along with a free card when purchasing a gift using the code APPFREEWGIFT. This service allowed people to still send physical cards and gifts while adhering to lockdown restrictions.

Tips for Accessing Birthday Freebies During Lockdown

For those looking to maximize their birthday freebies during the lockdown period, several strategies emerged based on the available offers:

1. Join Loyalty Programs in Advance: Most restaurant and retail birthday freebies required membership in loyalty programs or email lists. Signing up well before your birthday ensured eligibility.

2. Download Relevant Apps: Many offers, particularly from fast-food chains and coffee shops, required downloading their specific mobile apps to access birthday rewards.

3. Check for Lockdown Extensions: Some businesses, like Greggs and Build-A-Bear, extended their birthday offer periods specifically due to lockdown. Checking these extensions provided additional time to redeem offers.

4. Combine Digital and Physical Offers: Services like Moonpig allowed people to send physical gifts and cards while staying at home, complementing in-store or restaurant pickup options where available.

5. Plan for Pickup or Delivery: As many restaurants offered limited services during lockdown, understanding which freebies could be obtained through pickup or delivery became essential.

Conclusion

The lockdown period prompted businesses to rethink how they could still celebrate customers' birthdays despite social distancing restrictions. From complimentary desserts and meals at restaurant chains to special offers from retailers like Build-A-Bear and Greggs, numerous freebies became available to help mark the occasion. Additionally, digital solutions like virtual parties and online gift services provided alternatives to traditional celebrations. While the nature of birthday celebrations changed during this period, the availability of freebies and promotional offers demonstrated how businesses adapted to continue bringing joy to customers on their special days.

Sources

1. These High Street Retailers Are Offering Freebies to Those with Birthdays During Lockdown
2. Birthday Freebies - Don't Pay Full
3. Lockdown Birthday Ideas - Pinterest
4. How to Celebrate a Birthday in Lockdown - A July Dreamer