Birthday traditions vary a lot across cultures, which makes this a great topic for mixed-nationality classes or for exploring your students’ backgrounds.
Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.
Beginner (A1-A2)
- What was your most memorable birthday?
- What do you usually do to celebrate your birthday?
- Where is the best place to have a birthday party? Why is that place so good?
- What gifts do you like to receive on your birthday?
- What is the nicest thing you can say to someone on their birthday? What makes a birthday message feel special?
- At what ages do people have a massive birthday party in your culture?
- What flavor cake or what type of food do you like to eat on your birthday? Who makes it or where do you get it?
- Do you sing Happy Birthday at parties? What other birthday songs do you know?
- How many birthday parties do you go to in a year?
- Do you make a wish when you blow out birthday candles? What do people usually wish for?
- What do you wear on your birthday? How is it different from what you wear every day?
- What three things make a birthday party fun?
- Do you like to take a lot of photos on your birthday? What kind of photos do you take?
Elementary (A2)
- What is the best birthday party for someone else you’ve been to? How about the worst?
- What were your birthdays like when you were growing up? How are they different now?
- What birthday traditions are unique to your culture?
- What is the most creative birthday gift you have ever given someone? How did it go?
- Have you ever been to a birthday party at a restaurant? What was it like?
- Have you ever forgotten someone’s birthday? Tell me about it.
- Is it common in your culture to celebrate half-birthdays or name days? How so?
- Do you like surprise birthday parties? Why?
- How did you celebrate your last birthday? Did you have a good time?
- Do you prefer to celebrate your birthday with a few close friends or a big group of people? Why?
Intermediate (B1)
- Do you think that the person having the birthday should pay for the birthday party or should their friends and family pay for the party? Why?
- Do you prefer giving gifts or receiving gifts? Why?
- Some people love their birthday and some people hate it. What do you think makes the difference?
- Do you think social media has changed the way people celebrate birthdays? How so?
- Do you think people care too much about their birthday as they get older, or not enough? What makes you think that?
- If you could have any celebrity come to your birthday party, who would you invite and what would you do together?
- Do you think birthday parties are getting more expensive or less expensive? Why do you think so?
- How often do you feel pressure to make birthdays special for others? What creates that pressure?
- Do you prefer surprise birthday parties or planned ones? What’s good about each?
- Should adults celebrate their birthdays every year? Why or why not?
- What makes a birthday gift meaningful? Give me some examples.
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- How have birthdays changed from generation to generation in your culture?
- Compare how birthdays are celebrated for children versus adults. What changes and why?
- What are the psychological effects of making a big deal about birthdays versus treating them as ordinary days?
- What tensions exist between the desire to make birthdays memorable and the pressure that creates for hosts, gift-givers, and celebrants themselves?
- In what ways has social media changed the pressure people feel around birthdays? How much does that pressure affect you personally?
- What role do birthday rituals play in building a sense of community and belonging? Can you think of examples from your own life?
- How do birthday expectations differ across cultures? What cultural values do these differences reflect?
- How has the tradition of birthday gifts evolved over time? What social or economic factors have influenced this?
- How do economic conditions in a country affect the way people celebrate birthdays? What differences might you see between wealthy and less wealthy communities?
- Some people say that adults should stop celebrating their own birthdays. What arguments could be made for and against this idea?
- What role does commercial marketing play in birthday celebrations? How much do you think it affects people?
Advanced (C1)
- To what extent do childhood birthday rituals shape adult expectations about recognition, attention, and self-worth throughout life?
- What tensions exist between preserving traditional birthday customs and adapting to a more globalized, social-media-driven culture?
- To what extent do children’s birthday parties serve as a stage for parents to compete socially, and what does this trend reveal about modern parenting culture?
- Why do you think birthdays carry such emotional weight for many people, even when they know it is just an arbitrary date on a calendar? What psychological and cultural forces are at work?
- How do different religious and secular worldviews shape the way societies think about aging and the significance of marking another year of life?
- How do birthday celebrations simultaneously reinforce family bonds and create social pressure around expectations of generosity and reciprocity?
- To what extent has social media transformed birthdays from private milestones into public performances, and what are the implications for authentic celebration?
- In what ways do milestone birthday celebrations both empower and constrain people by attaching social expectations to specific ages?
- To what extent have commercial interests shaped what people consider a ‘proper’ birthday celebration, and how does this affect people who cannot afford to meet those expectations?
- How does celebrating a birthday each year force people to confront their own mortality, and in what ways do the rituals of celebration serve as a cultural mechanism to manage that awareness?