Birthday... who pays?
 

It's always been an unspoken rule amongst my group of friends that if we're going out for your birthday then the birthday-person is not allowed to pay for a single drink. :)

Ditto. Same goes if we go out for dinner. We split the birthday person's meal or somebody usually just picks up his/her tab.

I don't think I've ever paid for a drink on my birthday.

Buying the birthday girl/guy a shot was the preferred way to go for all of us broke in college. I don't think I ever really got/gave a present (maybe a lei - it's a hawaiian thing, right OTW? :D ), but I was sure that between all my friends I'd be set with shots all night. It's only $3-5, anybody can afford that!

I think that the bartender should buy you a drink. I buy my friends a drink for their birthday. :) Or when a group goes out to dinner, we all pay for the birthday girl.

It's so tacky when people come along for the birthday thrills but aren't willing to pony up the $ for one little drink, much less dinner.

It's even tackier when someone expects gifts.

As a guest you should buy a drink but as the host you're not entitled to anything.

In my group of friends its an unspoken rule that the ladies never pay for a single drink. Sometimes I love being a girl. :D

Likewise for me and my friends. We usually either split the cost of the birthday person's drinks (and meal, if we go to dinner) evenly then pay for ourselves individually, or we just divide the tab evenly among everyone except the birthday person.

Never go out on my Birthday, to damn depressing!:(

On my birthday I drank for free minus one drink. Usually though we will offer to buy a drink for the birthday person. Sometimes it's tricky for weeknight birthdays at school when only two people go out!

We go out to dinner and split the tab for the birthday girl. We also all go in on a nice gift - about $10-20 each depending on the gift. For 18, 19 and 20th bdays, our guy friends in this one fraternity kindly hosted floor partys or beer pong nights - they paid of course! I have unfortunately missed all of my good friends 21sts since I've been abroad for six months... so I'm not sure what the deal is there!

for my bday I didn't pay for anything except cover at the bar... and my friends got mad when they found out that I had paid... if someone buys me a drink on my bday I try to return the favor on their bday... but if they don't have money it's cool... I'll usually still get them a drink on their bday...

If I'm taking one one of my friends out for their birthday, then they pay nothing, I mean, hell, it's their birthday! It seems on my bday (I hate having it in the summer) no one is around to go out. So what ends up happening is a get gifts/drinks randomly during the fall semester :p

friends have always bought my drinks.

after i turn 21 i will return the favor to them.




* haha. that sounds funny. its alot easier to drink bought drinks if your under 21 than it is to buy them. thats what i mean.

In my circle of friends, we all treat the birthday person. And since the group is so large, usually you only have to buy them one drink. It's not expected, but it's normally what happens.

I always buy my friends at least one drink and one shot. It almost always ends up to be more drinks and shots though.

I even buy random people a shot at the bar if its their birthday. (I picked up that tradition when so many randoms bought me shots on my birthday. I feel that I need to spread the luv around!)

This is our rule also - so I'm super excited for my 21st. ;)

I don't think I have ever paid for my own drinks on my birthday, however this year a bunch of friends went out with me, and my husband footed the bill for me. No one else offered to buy me any drinks. I really don't care though.

Giiiiirl, you is about to get fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhkced.

last year I had some friends who were really excited to take me out to dinner for my birthday. it was really nice, because nobody's ever around for my birthday anyway...
I paid for my dinner. I paid for my drinks until my other friend showed up and bought me one.
I love my friends, and it was nice that they wanted to go out with me, but come on! I'm always the one buying people drinks/dinner for their birthdays....

same with my friends. if its someone's birthday you're not allowed to pay even if you want. for dinner usually everyone splits the birthday persons tab but sometimes the significant other will take care of it. when its a birthday everyone takes turns buying drinks.

Sisters always went out for dinner for someone's birthday. Not a really $$ place but still everyone chipped in to pay for the guest of honor. And those of that could paid for her later at the bar. Honestly, in college I appreciated the 'real food' at Applebees, Olive Garden & TGIFriday's much more than a gift.

My friends here in the city helped me celebrate my 23rd in May and they refused to let me pay for my plate of the Japanese take-out we got.