Day Eighteen: Your Favorite Birthday

Let me start off by saying that it's definitely not easy to have a birthday on New Year's Eve. I'm not saying it's as bad as having it on Christmas, but it sure can be tough, especially when you're in elementary school and none of your friends can come to a party on New Year's (because it's New Year's and all). It's just not a convenient time. People are traveling and have lots of family obligations. That being said, my parents still worked really hard to make my birthdays special, and as I've gotten older, I've really come to appreciate that the whole world celebrates my birthday with me (and there are always fireworks, a huge perk). I've spent birthdays in Paris, the Dominican Republic, Pittsburgh, DC, and of course here in Little Rhody, but nothing beats a birthday spent at home with my family. In case you haven't realized it, I really enjoy traditions and am somewhat a creature of habit, so having a reliable birthday tradition was perfect.


I went through a stretch (circa 1994-1998) where every year on my birthday, my family and a few of my closest friends would celebrate by going to lunch at Planet Hollywood in DC. It was always a special treat to go to such a fun restaurant and check out all the cool movie props and costumes. I'm not sure what prompted this tradition, but it went on for quite a while. I can always remember the wall that had faces of famous celebs that we'd all try to identify. Movie clips played throughout the restaurant and the girl's bathroom was designed to look like a movie star's dressing room. One particular menu item stands out in my mind - an appetizer of chicken tenders that were coated in crushed Capt'n Crunch cereal! The best part was that we usually had the place to ourselves (because who really goes out for lunch on New Year's Eve?) and it was followed by Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and presents back at my house. Then, my parents would go out to a New Year's party and my sisters and I would terrorize the babysitter and try to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop.

These were some of my best birthday years, and ones that I still remember fondly. I'm still not sure how I'll be celebrating this year, but I'll definitely think of my past Planet Hollywood celebrations!