A birthday is an occasion when a person or institution celebrates the anniversary of their birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or rite of passage.

" Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear,
Happy birthday to you. "

Now we all know the number one way to surprise a person on their birthday is with a cake at midnight. If you've already done this trick one or two times however, you need to move on. We've got a few birthday surprise ideas to share with you that anyone can achieve.

1 - Post up various envelopes on the wall to shape the age your birthday person is turning! Fill the envelopes with special notes from you and other friends and family.

2- Or if your person would rather keep his or her age secret, just post up equally sized envelopes in rows. You can number them so they have a different envelope to open each day.

3- Have them take a walk down memory lane by creating a photo gallery of all your guys' favorite memories. Just print out some black and white photos straight from your printer and attach them to the bottom of balloon strings.

4 - This one's for friends who don't live driving distance from you. Surprise them on their special day with a special item in their mail. You can fill these plastic eggs with a small toy or special note.

5- Instead of buying one big gift, try buying your friend multiple small gifts that they have to open every hour. Base the starting time on how old they're turning. So for example, if they're turning 31, have the starting hour be 9:31 am.

6 - Who doesn't love the good old car surprise? If they're someone who is on the go everyday, temporarily steal their keys to fill up their car with a bunch of birthday decor.

7 - Fill a room with balloons! This can be their bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, or every room in the house! Let them know that their birthday is a big deal.

8 - Make sure your friend has absolutely no plans for the day and kidnap them for an unplanned road trip. Make it a fun one. The less expected, the better.

In Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland, immediately after "Happy Birthday" has been sung, it is traditional for one of the guests to enthusiastically lead with "Hip hip..." and then for all of the other guests to join in and say "... hooray!" This is normally repeated three times. In Canada, especially at young children's birthdays, immediately after "Happy Birthday" has been sung, the singers segue into "How old are you now? How old are you now? How old are you now-ow, how old are you now?" and then count up: "Are you one? Are you two? Are you..." until they reach the right age, at which the celebrant says "yes", and everybody else, who presumably know the right number, all cheer.

It is traditional, among English-speakers, that at a birthday party, the song "Happy Birthday to You" be sung to the birthday person by the other guests celebrating the birthday. More specifically, the birthday person is traditionally presented with a birthday cake with lit candles, with the number of candles sometimes corresponding to the age of the person.