Things to Do for a Best Friend's Birthday

Your best friend's birthday is a chance for the two of you to have a good time together, as well as show her that you appreciate her friendship. You have her gifts covered, but what fun things can you do for her birthday besides bake a cake? Depending on your friend's personality, you can make her laugh, push the limits of good taste, give your friend her 15 minutes of fame or send her on a treasure hunt.

Your friend will never forget the year that you sent Elvis to her office cubicle. Or the Hawaiian hula guy, the singing chicken or the guy with the striped suit and the guitar case. A singing telegram is the gift that keeps on giving; you, your friend and everyone else within earshot gets a kick out of it. If you can't afford to send an in-person telegram, for a reduced fee you can send one by phone to anywhere in the world.

If your friend loves his pizza, burgers and gooey desserts, don't be content to let the restaurant waiters sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Choose a restaurant with "World's Biggest" in its title and order him a birthday burger, pizza or dessert that covers not just the entire table, but hangs over the side. Ask the waiter to announce its arrival with sirens and flashing lights, and be sure to have a camera on hand to capture the look on your friend's face when it arrives.

If you want not just your friend but the entire neighborhood to know it's her birthday, you can call attention to her special day in lots of fun ways. For example, rent a giant birthday balloon, the kind usually seen at a car dealership, and park it on her front lawn. If you're taking her to the game, have her birthday message displayed on the scoreboard, or if you're willing to chip in with other friends, you could even rent a billboard near her home.

Geocaching is the 21st-century answer to a traditional treasure hunt. If your friend is the outdoorsy type and wouldn't mind a brain-teasing search for his own presents, you can make finding them a game. He will need a GPS unit and must know, or learn how, to use its coordinates to find specific locations. The idea of the game is to hide multiple caches of goodies in waterproof containers outside, such as a park or other wooded area. Make a note of the locations' exact coordinates on your own GPS device, and then give clues to the birthday boy to help him find the goodies for himself.