Sunday, July 24, 2011

If It's Free, I'll Take Three!

Last year, I started a tradition on my birthday where i'd try to get as many free things as I can from restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. If it's free, why not? :P Total value of free things I got in my adventure this year: about $125 but I only got to take advantage of $70 worth!




This one wasn't from a store and didn't require a coupon... i just went home to mom! :P

My parents are totally amused by this tradition of mine, they just laughed and shook their heads each time i came out of a store/shop with my next free item.... as if to say "man, we've raised such a cheap child" hahaha! 

HERE'S WHAT MY DAY LOOKED LIKE: 

BREAKFAST: If you sign up for IHOP's newsletter, they will email you a free coupon on your birthday for a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity meal which consists of bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes with fruity topping. Besides getting a free meal on your birthday, they'll also send you a free meal after you sign up and again on the one year anniversary of when you signed up for their newsletter. Sign up for their newsletter here!

POST BKFST BEVERAGE: Before the mall was even officially open, I lined up for my free drink from Blenz Coffee. This is the easiest one to take advantage of on your birthday because you don't need to sign up for anything or print anything, you just show them your I.D and they'll give you any drink of any size, on the house. (Some franchises may not participate in the celebration so just ask before demanding your free drink)

NON-EDIBLE GIFT: Since I was already in the mall, I stopped by Sephora to pick up my free gift. Their birthday gifts are different each year and this year I got a 180ml bottle of vanilla birthday cake shower gel from Philosophy. To get this free gift, you have to sign up for a Beauty Insider card either online or in-store. All you have to do on your birthday is show them your card, no coupons needed!

LUNCH: If you sign up for Vera's Club newsletter, they will email you a voucher for $10 to use on your birthday! This year, i tried the "Ringo Starr" which is a beef burger with cheese and 3 giant onion rings. Sign up for their newsletter here!

PRE-DINNER BEVERAGE: You guessed it, back at Blenz again (different branch this time, hehe) :D
 
THE NEXT DAY, DINNER: Since some places allow you to use your birthday coupon until the end of the month, I took advantage of my $25 free dinner voucher from The Boathouse. In order to use this deal, you must dine with 3 other people. I was surprised because even though the coupon said I would only get $25 off, they gave my whole to me for free ($32 value) and even gave me and my party free dessert to share! Sign up for their newsletter here.

OTHER DEALS I DIDNT GET TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF:
  • Free beverage at Starbucks, must have a starbucks card. 
  • Free ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • Free dessert or pasta at Boston Pizza. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • Free burger at Red Robin. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • Free fish & chips at Pajo's. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • Free drink at Orange Julius. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • BOGO ice cream at Cold Stone Cremery. Sign up for their newsletter here
  • BOGO blizzard from Dairy Queen. Sign up for their newsletter here
What free things does your city offer on your birthday? 



tweet, tweet // i design clothing: www.herrohachi.com // book of faces // tumblr

28 comments:

krissy ♥ said...

Oh wow this is so cool! I have never experienced this here though, but a card from a planner I got last year entitled me to a free haircut on my birthday, which I didn't get to claim because the branch was too far and I didn't want to waste my "birthday hours" by going all the way there :D

Kalmo said...

I got the Sephora b-day gift too, smells delicious. I didn't know so many places gave free goodies for your b-day. Thanks for summarizing and all the nice helpful inks.

Ricademus said...

That's a pretty good haul for your birthday--I need to remember to sign up for Red Robin, I really like that place. And I love the new blog logo. At least I think it's new. Well, it's new to me since I never noticed it before. =)

I'm glad you had a good b-day weekend.

Sweet Lily said...

Nice post! Wonderful pics!
Awesome!

Stephanie C said...

Sounds like u had an awesome birthday weekend!!! Ima do this too around my birthday to get a bunch of stuff for free ^^

Farah said...

hahahaha, I do that too! We went to Chilis on my birthday and I got a brownie sundae, starbucks and got free drinks, TGIF and got another brownie sundae thingy..and that's it I guess! LOL

Oh and Chilis doesnt check the date so sometimes when I am feeling a bit cheeky I just say that it's my friends birthday and we feast on free brownies! ;)

MizzJ said...

Haha I had no idea there were so many bday freebies around! Though I think the best one you got is your mom's cooking - that looks delish!

Happy bday :)

Jessica said...

I don't think we have birthday freebies here, except for a small cake they give you when you dine at, say, Friday's and you tell them it's your birthday. They'll also sing to you. See, Canada is not that bad. For a day, you get to save on costly food.

I'm not sure if my facebook greeting came through 'cos my Internet connection that time was acting up, so I'm gonna greet you here also just to be safe. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! Although of course I hope you got my greeting on facebook 'cos I don't want you to think I forgot to greet you on the day itself. <3

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

Dangit! You're so smart for signing up for this stuff! I should've done this a long time ago. LOL! I've never gotten anything free for my birthday :[ Disneyland used to do a free ticket thing on your birthday ! Isn't that awesome? But I missed it too. BOOO!!!

-Ybba

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

P.S. Happy birthday kymster!

ice pandora said...

OMG! I sooo gonna try this out haha I never like signing up for newsletter because they all spamming my inbox..
A different point of view right now reading your post!
I know that the Body Shop in Holland gives you €10 to pick out a item from the shop!
Anyways yay for cheap Asians haha :'D

xx

dolce la robyn said...

lol kymster. i should start hunting for free stuff as well. i remember i used to be a member of this one brand where i can get discounts on my birthday week for handbags and shoes.

Steph said...

OMG that's brilliant!!! This is a awesome tradition that I'm going to be doing lol!!! I think of all the things you've listed.. I've only done the Sephora one.. man i'm missing out!! haha

나니 said...

Happy belated birthday! BAHAHAHA I love this concept! I will definitely try to do the same this year : P Maybe I'll even beat you to it! (though I highly doubt it..) LOL.

Gertrude said...

The shampoo packaging is so cute! Wow so many birthday deals, I don' think we have such things where I live. Sounds like an awesome birthday :)

Wing said...

Haha thats awesome. Another one of those perks of living in the U.S. Here in the U.K, you don't get as many companies offering freebies for birthdays, especially not a restaurant giving away a free meal!
I want a free ice cream for my birthday tooooo!

Katy said...

This is awesome! I just signed up for all those newsletters. LOL.

I always get the Sephora thing for my birthday too but I always forget to redeem it. =(

Denysia Yu said...

I got the free item from Sephora, but I gave it to my mom, because it smells like it might have coconut or shea butter in it.

Amy said...

haha, i get the sephora gift!! you also get $10 gift card from Bebe on your birthday. :) and usually everywhere is free dessert!!!

Dirt On The Rocks said...

belated birthday! looks like you had a delicious birthday! ha! i'm jealous! this is actually really smart. i've never taken advantage of these free birthday coupons but you're definitely giving me the greatest idea to do so this year. definitely an awesome tradition to keep taking on.

Jane said...

Sephora NEVER gave me anything for my bday. Are you a kind of VIP or what ?! :-)

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Brissa said...

that sounds like the best tradition ever! i want to do that stuff every day!

Khlaren said...

This is so cool!!! I've never tried doing that haha maybe I should try on my birthday :))

steph said...

i got the same vanilla shampoo / bodywash from sephora on my bday too! i love it, super fragrant. i actually only bring it with my when i travel with a mini loofah - so much better than using hotel stuff!

everyone loves free stuff, especially on their bdays (hello, it's called PRESENTS). happy belated!

xoxo, steph

Blicious said...

looks yummy!

xoxo
b

mimi said...

hahaha~ I LOVE FREE STUFF!!! Especially food (: I think free food tastes better than when you buy it~ hahaha~ I've never gotten the sephora birthday gift before because I don't have a card ): I signed up for the beauty insider online but they never sent me a card! I wonder how I can get a card..):

Happy Belated Birthday!! (: Benihana also gives you 25 or 35 dollars to spend on your birthday too! (:

Cindy said...

This is a genius idea. I just signed up for like 3-4 of these things. Thanks for the info ;)

Cindy
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