What were your family traditions for birthdays?

Here is another question to help you write your family story.
What were your family traditions for birthdays?
When I was growing up we always had cake and ice cream for birthdays.  It was usually just a family time.  My parents would gave us a little money on our birthday and take us to a store.  We were allowed to pick out whatever we wanted to buy with the money.  My mother would bake a cake and frost it and put candles on it.  After blowing out the candles and making a wish we would have cake and ice cream.  I had one birthday party where I invited friends to come when I turned eight years old.
With my children I allowed more frequent birthday parties.  Most birthdays were still just family occasions with cake and ice cream, blowing out candles, and opening presents.  It was fun to create cakes that looked like castles or teddy bears or other fun things.  

As everyone in our family has gotten older birthdays aren't looked forward too as much.  Sometimes we would just rather forget another year has come around.  For my 50th birthday one daughter wrote 50 characteristics she liked about me.  She wasn't able to be there on my birthday, so she got her younger sister to blow up 50 balloons with little pieces of paper with the characteristics written on them in each balloon.  That was a memorable birthday popping all the balloons and reading the slips of paper.  
Some people do a lot for birthdays and some just have cake and ice cream.  One family I knew had a birthday week.  Every day of the week they would do something special for the person with the birthday.  They had decorations outside of the house that let everyone know someone had a birthday.  
Writing down how you celebrated birthdays and what you remember the most can add a lot to your family story.