For me, getting happy birthday cards has always been an afterthought. I would stop by the drug store on the way to a friend's birthday party and pick up a happy birthday greeting card, sign it, and tape it to the top of the present that I had already bought. I never really thought that a happy birthday card could be anything but a cheesy, simplistic greeting. It is really nothing more than a formality – something to show that you had thought of your friend enough to give them your best wishes along with your present. I never thought about the variety of birthday gift cards available, and the creativity that goes into some of them.
That all changed when one of my friends got me a happy birthday e card. If you do not know what a birthday e card is, it is basically a greeting card that you can send over the Internet on someone's birthday. This particular one was actually one of those animated happy birthday cards. It had a whole flash animation that went with it, complete with a story. Basically, it was a character dreaming about all the things that they wanted to get for their birthday. In the end, however, all they got was happy birthday cards. I think that the present that the character was getting was actually supposed to be the happy birthday card that I was getting at the time. I found it funny and cute, but more importantly, it made me realize that I could be more creative with my own birthday greetings. Since then, I have tried all kinds of things with happy birthday cards!
Of course, you do not have to send happy birthday cards over the Internet to find one that does interesting and cute things. There actually are singing happy birthday cards that you can buy in stores. While they don't actually “sing”, they do play a tune on an annoyingly high-pitched FM chip. They are cute, quirky, and funny. People usually appreciate these happy birthday cards for about five minutes, after which they get extremely annoying. You can also make your own happy birthday cards. I suppose that back in the day, this was how all the people did it. Nowadays, however, it is somewhat of a lost art. I highly recommend trying it. It is really rewarding to make something pretty for someone that you love.
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