Starting a new relationship is an exciting time for anyone. There is so much potential ahead, not to mention an abundance of exciting experiences that are yet to be had together, and that includes birthday celebrations.
Like any part of a relationship, there really is no roadmap and so it’s hard to know what is appropriate for a new relationship when it comes to celebrating a birthday. Whether it’s your special day coming up or that of your new partner, here are some top tips for ensuring that the milestone does not go uncelebrated, regardless of whether you’ve been together for two months or two days.
Thoughtful birthday gifts for her, him, or them
There can be a lot of pressure to nail the perfect gift in a new relationship. If you were looking for inspiration for the best birthday gift for her, start with something practical. If you know she loves coffee, maybe she will appreciate a reusable coffee cup. If he has a laptop, maybe he will appreciate a laptop case that bears a design that aligns with one of his other interests. If they’re into any particular hobby, then a kit that’s filled with resources to help enhance that activity (like an arts and crafts kit) could be the perfect gift for them.
If it’s particularly early days and it might be too soon to identify what their taste and desires are, you can absolutely stick to choosing something practical that you know they will love!
Keep it social
At the start of a relationship, it’s always hard to know when you should introduce one another to your respective friends. A birthday gathering can be a great opportunity to bring your new relationship into your social circle, and it takes the pressure off the both of you to do something really intimate. A social birthday gathering means that you can both mingle and get to know friends in a casual environment. If the social gathering has family and friends in attendance, be sure to be friendly but do not dominate the event!
Dining out
Dining out is always a great date idea, but you can make this even more special by going all out for a birthday occasion. If you’ve only just started dating then you can still go to an old haunt, but be sure to make it special by ordering a cake at the end, or do some gesture to honour the birthday person.
It might also be a novelty to go to a restaurant that has a banquet-style menu, also known as a ‘feed me’ menu. This means that you can share your meal and explore new dishes together. Having a banquet-style dinner is also unique enough that it can be a great birthday gesture that you’ll both remember for years to come.
Dealer’s choice
Rather than planning a spectacular birthday night out, you may find that your birthday partner would actually prefer to choose the running order themselves. If given the opportunity, they might choose to bring you along to the farmers market, an eclectic cafe, or even a bar they have been meaning to go to. They might appreciate getting to choose what to do for their birthday, but there is also a risk that they could see the open-endedness of the day as a lack of planning on your part. Be sure to gauge the vibe, get a feel for their needs, and act accordingly.
Share an experience
Rather than gifting a thing this birthday, why not get them an experience? You might choose to celebrate a birthday with your new fling by sharing a boat trip together, a hot air balloon ride over the city, or really anything that’s a little bit outside of the box and has never been done before by either of you. You might need to do some detective work to figure out what experiences they may like, but at this stage of the relationship, you can at least be able to ascertain whether they’re a daredevil or a homebody. Skydiving session vs. cooking class? This is certainly an important question to ask when selecting an experiential gift.
Thoughtful reflection
When you start a new relationship there is a lot of talk about where you’re at in life, what you were looking for and what you plan to do in the future. As part of your birthday celebration, you might like to make time for some thoughtful reflection where you can both discuss what you want to achieve in the year ahead. This may seem a little bit silly, but it’s actually a great way to continually check in with your new partner to see that you’re on the same page about a lot of things.
Taking time to reflect with one another will also allow you to hear about what they’ve done in the last year or even through the course of their life, which is a great way to get to know your partner.
Sweet and perishable
Another nice way to celebrate birthdays with a new relationship is to give them something sweet and perishable, and by this we mean flowers, baked goods, premixed drinks, and anything else that they can enjoy at that moment. We all like to receive gifts like this and it’s a beautiful gesture that isn’t too over the top in case you were worried about going too big this early on.
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We hope these ideas have you thinking creatively about an upcoming birthday celebration. Any gesture is going to be well received, but with a bit of thought we can organise a birthday celebration or source birthday gifts that they are truly going to appreciate, especially in these earlier stages of your relationship. Good luck!