It’s your birthday (or, you know, it will be at some point this year) and you deserve to treat yourself. But also, you deserve—no, demand free stuff. Some of our favorite birthday ideas in L.A. will set you back a few bucks, but not these b-day freebies. From a lift ticket at a ski resort to a multi-course sushi dinner, we picked out some of the best things in L.A. that you can get for free on your birthday. (We’ve ignored national chains in favor of spots unique to L.A., though we’ve bent the rules for a few smaller, locally-born ones.)
Of all the bougie doughnut relative newcomers, we’re partial to Sidecar—and its free birthday treat certainly doesn’t hurt either. If you download the OC-originating shop’s ordering and rewards app, you’ll earn a free doughnut right off the bat. But you’ll also be able to redeem a free one on your birthday, too. You’ll find the closest locations in Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, Culver City and Fairfax (and soon Pasadena).
Alright, this one comes with a caveat: Yes, you can for real get a multi-course Sugarfish meal for free on your birthday at any of the nearly dozen L.A. locations, but you’ll need to have made a few regularly-priced visits first. Here’s the short version of how it works: If you register for the sushi chain’s Birthday Club and then dine there twice, you’ll earn a free Trust Me meal on your birthday. Just a heads up that you’ll need to complete a check-in card during each visit (either for dine-in or a $15-minimum pickup order but not through a third-party delivery app), and both have to be done at least seven days prior to your birthday.
L.A.’s closest thing to an alpine escape, Big Bear doubles as both a winter and summer recreation area. Visit on your birthday during the snowy season and you’ll get a free lift ticket that’s good until 4pm, or alternatively for a night session—all you need is a valid ID. In the summer, you can opt for lift tickets to the bike park or on the scenic sky chairlift, as well as for a round of golf or a go on the climbing wall. In all cases, you’ll need to pick up your pass in-person at a ticket window.
Even if you had to pay, a layer cake slice from California bakeshop SusieCakes would be a choice birthday option. Enroll in the Susie Favors program, though, and you can nab that sweet slice for free, plus a bonus cupcake for signing up (there are a handful of shops on the Westside and South Bay, plus ones in DTLA and Pasadena). On your birthday, you’ll get a free slice of cake of your choosing; might we suggest the blue-frosted vanilla confetti celebration cake, a perfect fit for the occasion.
Say willkommen to the year ahead with a whole lot to drink at Wirtshaus. The German beer garden on La Brea has a birthday special made for large groups: Bring 10 of your friends along during your birthday month and you’ll get two liters of your beer of choice served in a giant glass boot. Since you need such a large group, you’ll probably want to make a reservation first.
You’ve gotta eat cupcakes to get cupcakes for this birthday deal at Sprinkles. The born-in-Beverly Hills bakery chain’s perks program will nab you a free cupcake on your birthday as long as you’ve already visited at least once over the past year. If you’re a serial Sprinkles patron, that perk doubles to two free cupcakes if you’ve visited eight or more times and soars to a free baker’s dozen if you’ve gone a staggering 40-plus times.
In any case, you’ll receive your perk the Wednesday before your birthday and can redeem it at any point in the following 30 days. You can earn points on anything in the half-dozen-plus nearby stores (or at a Sprinkles ATM) other than gift cards (you also won’t earn points on national shipping orders).
Though the Catalina Express offered free birthday fares for a few years, that’s unfortunately no longer the case. The same goes for Disneyland: The park offered free admission on your birthday only during a 2009 promo (now, the only free birthday perk is a pin-on button that you can pick up at City Hall).
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