Celebrate your birthday in a unique way

Each year that passes is another opportunity to celebrate a birthday. Traditions like lighting candles on a cake and singing to good fortune are popular, but there are many other ways to celebrate birthdays to set them apart from past celebrations and make them a bit more special.

* Plant a tree. Plant a tree on your birthday so you can see how the sapling turns into something impressive year after year. This will mirror your wisdom and growth as each year passes, as well.

* Research the day and year you were born. It's much easier now to tap into history than it was before the Internet came along. With the click of a mouse you can investigate what songs were popular, who was in charge of the country, books that were released and even popular movies of the era. While you are at it, find out which favorite celebrities or other persons of interest were born on the same day as you.

* Try something outside of your comfort zone. You may want to try something daring on your birthday, like going bungee jumping or skydiving, or you may prefer something less risky, such as a fashion makeover or riding that new roller coaster at the amusement park. Use your birthday as an excuse to try something that is out of your element.

* Book a trip. Be it a one-day jaunt in the car or a week-long vacation, a change of scenery could be the perfect way to celebrate a birthday. If you're confident and want to travel solo, that is one way to spend undivided "you" time. However, it may be even more fun to bring a few celebrants along with you.

* Create a time capsule. Remember when you wrote notes and sealed up mementos from childhood for a time capsule project at school? You can do the same type of thing on your birthday and then plan to open the capsule in the future. It will be interesting to look back at the styles worn, read your own words, listen to music of the time, and, if you include a newspaper, peruse the paper to study the events that were making headlines all those years ago.

* Dine at an exclusive restaurant. It seems celebrities always have a reason to get dressed up and head to the trendiest restaurants. Use your birthday as an excuse to splurge and do the same. Purchase a new outfit and book a reservation at one of the hottest restaurants in your area. Enjoy the evening knowing you are treating yourself to something out of the ordinary.

* Send your parents a gift. If it wasn't for Mom and Dad you wouldn't be here. While they may periodically and jokingly remind you of the sacrifices they made through the years, keep in mind what they're saying is probably true. So send your mother a bouquet of flowers and treat your father to a round of golf.

* Take the day off from work. Save some personal time to ensure you don't have to head into work on your birthday. Even if your birthday falls on a Tuesday and you aren't making a long weekend out of the day off, it's still fun to take your birthday off from work.

* Celebrate by helping others. Birthdays are happy times, and you can share your enthusiasm with others who may not have as much to smile about. Find out if you can volunteer time at a soup kitchen or at a hospital for the day and show others how worthy they are to have the opportunity to spend a birthday with you.