Indianapolis birthday freebies and deals

Happy birthday (or if your birthday happens to be in another month, consider this an early gift). Perhaps it’s time for you to cash in on the freebies and entertainment deals. A few of these deals are suited best to your kids, but all of them will enable you to save money on fun activities. While many such deals exist, these represent the cream of the crop:

Birthday Entertainment Deals

1. Dave & Buster’s: Known as a play area for grown-ups anyway, Dave & Buster’s is even better on your birthday. If you sign up as a reward member, you will receive a $10 game credit immediately upon signup. And when your birthday rolls around, you’ll receive another $5 of game credit.
2. Chuck E. Cheese’s: This well-known pizza franchise comes complete with an arcade as well as Chuck and his friends jamming in a performing band on stage. This definitely falls into the category of birthdays for your kids. If you sign up with your email address, you will receive exclusive coupon deals throughout the year. For your kid’s birthday, however, you will also receive FREE tokens to the arcade games.
3. Ceramic Dreams Pottery: Ceramic Dreams allows you to be the artist, providing the pottery equipment for you to create beautiful pieces of ceramic art. For birthday parties, you only need a minimum of six artists attending to choose between two party session options. You can select the group option for $6 per person plus the cost of the pottery for everyone to choose their own pottery to paint. This option offers 20% off all pottery. The second option is to pre-select the same piece of pottery for everyone from a list of 13 choices. The price per person ranges from $11 to $20, and is the recommended option for large parties due to the discount on the pottery directly.
4. Hi-Way Lanes Bowling: As far as entertainment goes, it’s tough to beat a bowling alley for a big group of partiers. Hi-Way Lanes is likely the best set of lanes in Franklin, and they offer a discount if you book your party on their website. Provided that you have 10 or more participants, you can print off a coupon for $20 off on your party. Considering the price is generally $9.99 per person, that would drop your final bill for ten bowlers from $99 down to $79.

Birthday Restaurant Deals

Nearly every restaurant these days is willing to recognize your birthday with a FREE appetizer or dessert. These top five restaurants go above and beyond that, so if you aren’t enrolled in their loyalty programs now, now is a great time to start registering:

1. Benihana – If you join the Chef’s Table at this Japanese Hibachi Restaurant (joining is FREE), they will send you a $30 certificate during your birthday month. Other than only being able to use it Monday through Thursday and with another adult entree purchase, the rules are very simple and you save greatly.
2. Uno Chicago Grill– Again, you need to sign up (for FREE) at the Uno Insider’s Club, and they’ll send you a coupon for a FREE entree of your choice from the menu the month of your birthday.
3. Firehouse Subs – If you show a valid ID on your birthday, Firehouse Subs (a sandwich shop with a cool firefighter theme) will give you a FREE medium-sized celebratory sub.
4. Denny’s – Like Firehouse, you only need to show up on your birthday with a valid driver’s license and you will receive a FREE Grand Slam from these breakfast specialists. In case you are wondering, a Grand Slam is a meal in which you pick four items for a customized meal, choosing from options like two pancakes, grits, hash browns, oatmeal, two eggs, sausage, etc.
5. Pipers, Scotty’s Brewhouse and Don Pablos either send postcards or load your loyalty card with $10 to spend on a meal with them around your birthday.

Birthday Shopping Deals

And on your birthday, these five represent the best of your spoils:

1. American Eagle: When you’re looking for clothes that are both high-quality and incredibly trendy, American Eagle is one of the best in the category. You probably would want to join the AE Rewards Program anyway just for the points that add up to percentage discounts on the newest fashion products. Holding their card, however, will grant you 15% off on purchases the month of your birthday.
2. Aveda: All about the art and science of flower and plant essences, Aveda offers hair and skincare products to help you maintain your glowing beauty. Another thing that will make you glow is the birthday gift they send you if you sign up for an online account with them. Each year, you will be sent a gift valued at up to $25, which could be a body care product, a perfume, or one of their other products.
3. Victoria’s Secret: Like the others, this clothing store famed for its lingerie and sleepwear offers a reward system. They call theirs the Angel Card, and it features rewards for points earned as well as six months of discounted offers to welcome you as a member. They also send a surprise birthday gift every year, but in past years the gift has tended to be a gift card worth at least $10 so that you can spend it on the products you like. Just remember that the gift is a surprise – you didn’t hear it here …
4. Helzberg Diamonds: A high-end jeweler known for its engagement rings, watches, and other diamond accessories, this may be the most valuable birthday opportunity on this list. Again, they need you to open an account with them (how else will they know your birthday?), but they generously send a coupon you can redeem in-store for a FREE piece of jewelry, usually pearl earrings or a bracelet. You’ve heard it said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. They are also likely your best birthday gift.
5. Toys R Us: Shifting gears a bit, this deal is admittedly only going to be great for your kids, but you can sign your tyke up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club. After signing up, your child will receive a special birthday card and gift from Geoffrey the Giraffe each year until he or she is ten. Not only that, but Geoffrey the Giraffe will surprise your child with a personal phone call. Finally, you can come into the store near your child’s birthday for a birthday crown, a Geoffrey balloon, and a personalized announcement broadcast to the entire store. (Bear in mind, the phone call and in-store celebration are completely optional.) Either way, your son or daughter won’t soon forget how thoughtful Geoffrey was on behalf of the rest of the Toys R Us staff.