HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The free food and drink you can score on your big day

If the number of candles on your cake is getting you down, rejoice in all the freebies your favourite spots dish out on your birthday.

But to claim the goods, be prepared to sign up to a loyalty programme or fork out for a guest.

Dozens of restaurants and businesses give Kiwis freebies on their birthdays so we have taken a look at the fine print.

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch and at Valentines restaurant that is certainly the case.

“Dine free on your birthday,” the enticing sign reads, but don’t be fooled. This offer only applies when the birthday person is accompanied by three full-paying, adult guests.

Valentines Glenfield manager Afroza Nabi says the business has to enforce these terms and conditions or else it will lose money on the “very popular” deal.

“It has to be on your actual birthday as well. We don’t do it a day before or a day after.”

Nabi says the Glenfield franchise gets at least two people claiming the free-on-your-birthday deal a night, on quieter nights, and between five and 10 people on a busy night.

Denny’s diners also offer a free birthday meal, dubbed “our gift to you on your special day”. However, you must dine with at least one other paying guest and the conditions require the free meal be the one that “you, the birthday person, consumes”.

For those looking for a birthday bite for one, be prepared to join the club. Mexicali Fresh offers Cabana Club members a free burrito or other menu item on their birthday.

Cafes have this deal down pat; Muffin Break gives Muffin Club members a free — you guessed it — muffin on their birthday, Esquires offers a free small drink if you join the Esquires eClub and Columbus Coffee gives you and a friend a free coffee if you’re a Rewards club member.

Other free stuff that you can’t eat or drink, but that sounds equally enjoyable, includes a one-hour massage at Optihealth in Auckland. What’s the catch?

You have to like them on Twitter and Facebook first.

Thrill seekers can indulge in a free birthday ride on the Auckland Adventure Jet boat, if they are accompanied by a full-paying adult.

There is a silver lining to all this deal hunting. Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium in Auckland offers free entry as long as you can prove it’s your birthday — no strings attached.

“Birthdays are an important milestone and to help our guests celebrate, we’re thrilled to offer free entry to Kelly Tarlton’s on their special day,” says general manager Tim Keeling.

Be prepared to sign up to a loyalty programme.