NYBIRTHDAY by Zoya Gervis
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One in three people have made the cardinal sin of forgetting their partner’s birthday – and men are twice as likely to forget, according to new research.
Of those who have forgotten a birthday, it doesn’t seem to happen just once. Turns out, partners will commit this birthday misdemeanor four times throughout their time together.
But how serious are these relationships? Shockingly, nine in 10 were in serious relationships when they forgot their partners’ birthday.
A study conducted by OnePoll, in conjunction with Evite, looked into the birthday celebration habits of 2,000 Americans and found that as many as 35 percent of people have had their significant other forget their birthday.
Traditionally, men have a worse track record for remembering their partners’ birthday, and results proved this to be true – 52 percent of men have forgotten their partners’ birthday, versus just 24 percent of women.
On the most recent occasion that partners’ forgot their significant others’ birthday, one in five were unable to salvage their mistake and plan something at the last minute.
As a result, it’s no surprise that arguments and breakups result because of a forgotten birthday. In fact, one in five have had a fight as a result of a forgotten birthday, and another 12 percent have broken things off entirely.
“People want to celebrate with the ones they love most on their birthday – and that's often their partner," said Evite Party Specialist Julian Clark. “So even though the mistake is unintentional, forgetting your partner's birthday may make them feel insignificant on a day that's meant to be memorable. To take the pressure off yourself, add their birthday to your phone's calendar app or contact info and your phone will make sure you remember.”
The expectations surrounding birthdays are high. Twenty-eight percent of people expect their partner to do something big for their special day.
Birthdays ignite excitement. Thirty-six percent have explicitly told their partner not to do anything for their birthdays but actually expected them to plan an extravaganza.
For the 77 percent of Americans who do remember their partners’ birthdays – what are they doing to celebrate the occasion? It turns out that a quarter (25 percent) of Americans would ideally like a romantic dinner date to celebrate their special day.
Other common birthday celebrations included a small gathering with family and friends, a trip or a surprise party.
Surprises seem to be the way to go when it comes to birthday festivities, as 35 percent of Americans have planned a surprise party for a significant other.
But they haven’t all gone as planned. In fact, inviting people their partner doesn’t get along with was the number one way to ruin a surprise party.
Other common surprise party disasters include poor planning, forgetting to invite certain people, choosing a bad location and accidentally spilling the beans and completely ruining the entire surprise.
Party planning is key when it comes to a partner’s birthday, but that doesn’t mean that arguments won’t occur. In fact, 12 percent of people have ended up fighting with their significant other over a poorly planned birthday party.
Arguments tend to lead to stress. Which is why it comes as no surprise that one in 10 find planning a party to be very stressful.
To avoid arguments and stress, 17 percent of Americans have gone so far as to plan their own birthday party because they simply didn’t trust their partner to do it well.
When it comes to planning a birthday party, men tend to shell out more on their partners than women. Men will spend an average of $164.32 on a significant other’s birthday festivities while the average women will only spend $117.25 on a significant other’s birthday shenanigans.
But how far advance do partners actually start planning for their partners’ birthday? On average, Americans will plan a significant other’s birthday extravaganza two months in advance.
Therefore, planning a birthday party isn’t for the faint of heart. On average, Americans are only willing to plan a big, extravagant birthday party for their partner once the relationship has hit the seven month mark.
Clark continued: “Planning a birthday party for your significant other doesn't have to be stressful or costly. It just has to be special, and sometimes that comes from the little things. Send a premium Evite invitation to your partners' closest friends; it's an easy, affordable way of setting the tone for your special event. Bringing your partner's favorite people together will make them feel loved on their day, and that's the most important part when it comes to memorable birthdays.”
