Forgetting a birthday can be embarrassing, especially if the birthday boy is a loved one. If you do not have the courage to ask directly for the date and you want to discover it without attracting attention, do not despair: just follow these tips. You can learn to grasp the clues you need by hiding the true nature of your questions, and you can find out where to look if the information you want isn't easy to find.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Asking Indirectly
Step 1. Ask the person when they are celebrating their half-birthday
To begin, discuss these recurrences that mark the six months after the birthday. Reveal what day your half-birthday is and ask when it is the other person's, then find the date of birth with simple calculations. Often you will be able to understand the day a person was born without asking directly. As easy as drinking a glass of water.
Step 2. Ask the person to describe their favorite birthday
Ask her naturally which birthday party she remembers the most. From his description of the facts, he tries to get information about the time of year in which the birthday falls, paying attention to references to seasons, holidays and the weather. These clues could stimulate your memory.
Step 3. Have a general discussion about birthdays
Speak naturally about your birthday and try to get the other person to do the same. You can say "I really hate being born in the summer, nobody is ever in town to come to my birthday!"
- You can also say phrases like "Only a month to my birthday" or even "Only a few weeks until my semi-birthday".
- Try asking what the person's zodiac sign is. You can say "I am an Aries and because of this I have frequent mood swings. What sign are you?".
Step 4. Look for her precious stone
Some girls like to wear jewelry with the stones associated with their birth month; opal, for example, is the October stone. If you notice that a girl is wearing a particular stone, you can tell her, "Is that your precious stone? What is it called?". If you are right, you have found out his month of birth. If not, it might give you a clue by saying, "No, it isn't. My precious stone is the emerald."
Step 5. Ask a mutual friend or relative
If you have mutual friends with the person whose birthday you can't remember, you can take advantage of your connections and ask them. If your friend also doesn't know the answer, ask him to find out for you. Do not be shy. Just say that you have forgotten the person's birthday and that you feel embarrassed. You don't have to be sneaky to get the answer.
Part 2 of 3: Search the Internet
Step 1. Check the person's information on Facebook
The easiest way to find out someone's birthday is to check if they entered their birthday on Facebook. If you have an account on the site, you can log in, then type the name of the person you are looking for. Once you reach his personal page, click on the information box under his profile picture.
- If the date of birth is public, you can find it under "Basic Information". Note that you will often have to be friends with a person to read their personal information.
- Many enter only the day of the month of birth and not the year. If you're also interested in the year, this method may not be that useful.
Step 2. Do some more in-depth research
Try browsing the person's wall looking for birthday wishes. If you notice that on a specific day she has received a lot of wishes, you have probably found out her birthday.
Look at the photos posted by the person. Try to find one where he celebrates his birthday. While this doesn't allow you to find out the exact date of birth, because not all photos are posted on the same day they are taken, it can certainly give you a much better idea
Step 3. Use other social networks
If you haven't had any luck on Facebook, try looking on other social networks or sites where people reveal some personal information, such as blogs and portfolios. Even if you don't find the exact date on any site, you may still discover tweets, posts, or photos that reveal important clues. Visit the following sites to try to find out the fateful date:
- Your website or personal blog
- Tumblr
Step 4. Use an online database
You can try many databases for free or cheap. To get the information you want, you usually need to know the full name of the person you are looking for and their approximate age. You may find many people with the same name and a different address, so it can be helpful to know where the person lives, especially if they have a common name.
For starters, try Birth Database or another free database like Anybirthday or Zabasearch. If you know the name, surname and approximate age of the person you are interested in, the site will often be able to reveal their date of birth. However, the reliability of the result can vary
Part 3 of 3: Browse
Step 1. Take a look at the calendar of a friend of the person concerned
Hardly anyone writes their birthday on the diary, but a friend may have reported the information you are looking for. Look for entries like "John's Birthday" or "Birthday Party!" On his calendar.
Step 2. Check your phone for old greeting messages
If you remember the last birthday of the person in question, you probably sent them your wishes by text. Scroll through the conversations you've had with her until you find the date you're looking for. Nice work, old fox!
Also check the person's phone. If you want to do it without offending her, you can say "Hey, can I just use your phone's calendar for a second? I want to check something."
Step 3. Check your bank statements
If you gave this person a gift the previous year, took them out to dinner, or paid for a gift with your credit card, you can check old bank statements to find out the date of payments. Even if you need to remember what you bought the person or where you took them to eat, this can help you find the date.
Remember that you may not have bought the gift on the exact day of the person's birthday and that the day you chose for dinner may not be the exact date of birth either. Either way, you will get very close to the truth
Step 4. Get the person checked
If you still haven't found the information you are looking for, you can choose to use a paid online service to perform a check on the person. You can try a site like "Publicbackgroundchecks", which requires a very low fee. Or, you can use services that do more in-depth research, such as Government-records.com, which often require monthly memberships.
Just make sure the service you are using is legitimate before paying. Consider whether asking in person isn't a better choice
Advice
- Don't feel embarrassed if you haven't really forgotten a person's birthday, but rather have confused it with another day. The "birthday boy" will understand that you still care about him, but that you are careless when you choose the wrong day to say "Hey, happy birthday!".
- Write an online diary. Take note of the birthdays of all the people important to you and turn them into reminders. So you will never forget an anniversary again.
- Use a calculator to find a person's date of birth when you know their half-birthday.
