It can be overwhelming knowing what to do with your boyfriend’s birthday coming up, whether this is the first birthday you are celebrating with him or the fifth one.
I usually suck at coming up with ideas for birthday celebrations, and it is such an important time in any person’s life.
It’s a day when they celebrate themselves and you and loved ones celebrate them. And birthdays are also when the b-day person reflects on lessons they learned in the past year and show gratitude for all that was, is, and will be.
Plus, you can make extra special memories by celebrating.
But you may wonder, “What fun things to do for boyfriends birthday?”
I’ve got you covered with this list of the best fun things you can do for your boyfriend’s birthday so you can show him how much you love and care for him. But first, let’s see why it’s crucial to celebrate these important life milestones we call birthdays.
Why Is It Important to Celebrate Birthdays?
A birthday celebration wasn’t always a thing. In fact, the first birthday celebrations date back 4,000 years ago to the Egyptians who honored the gods when a person was born.
It’s only in the 19th century that birthday celebrations started resembling how we honor these mile markers today with gift-giving, blowing out candles, giving birthday cards, and eating birthday cake.
But just why is it important that we honor birthdays?
It’s essential to celebrate our and our loved ones’ birthdays for these five essential reasons:
- It’s a time when family and friends can connect and get together for an outing or special meal.
- When you celebrate a birthday, you remember that you are loved and supported – and that includes loved ones and yourself (since you should be your biggest cheerleader).
- It’s crucial to look back on birthdays and see how much you’ve achieved and how much you’ve grown in the past year or past few years. You can also use your accomplishments to inspire you to achieve and grow more in the coming year.
- Birthdays give you an opportunity to practice certain birthday traditions and collect photos and mementos from the celebration to keep and look back on one day.
- When honoring birthdays, you have an opportunity to have fun and do something you enjoy, whether by yourself or with loved ones. You can even combine the two, practicing some much-needed and much-deserved self-care before spending time with your friends, romantic partner, and family.
The Importance of Having Fun
Having fun is essential to a happy life, but it’s vital to have real, genuine fun and not fake fun. In her book, The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, Catherine Price explains that for us to have true fun, we need:
She also states that we underestimate how critical fun is to our happiness, resilience, and physical and mental health.
Various studies illustrate how important fun is for all people. Fun can help you:
Having true fun is almost magical, and with the right birthday activities planned for your loved one, you can reap all the benefits fun has to offer.
31 Fun Things to Do for Boyfriends Birthday
While it’s great that birthdays are all about celebrating, reflecting, appreciating, and connecting, how exactly do you do that?
With fun birthday ideas, of course!
Here are the best things to do on your boyfriend’s birthday:
1. Host a Murder Mystery Dinner
While you can opt for a romantic idea, why not host a murder mystery dinner party for your boyfriend's birthday?
You and the guests are sure to have genuine fun with all the playfulness, connection, and flow going on.
Invite close colleagues, friends, and family, choose a theme, and make it an evening to remember where everyone can put their “whodunit” detective skills to work.
2. Create an Adventure Day
Like the children’s gamebooks where they choose their own adventure, you can organize a similar fun day for your boyfriend. You need to pick the adventure ideas of what you guys will get up to.
Then your boyfriend can draw the ideas from a hat, or you can present him with the choices, maybe in a vision board style, of how his special day will go, from beginning to end.
You can include a few more options just for fun.
Remember to include breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner options, adventure options like going on a hot air balloon ride or these fun outdoor hobbies ideas.
3. Give Him the Same Number of Presents as His Age
Another super fun thing you can do for your boyfriend on his birthday is to give him the same number of gifts as his age. So if he’s turning 25, he gets 25 gifts, or if he’ll be 40, that’s 40 gifts, and so on.
You can go all out and splurge if your budget allows it, or you can focus on smaller (perhaps handmade with love) gifts.
There’s also the option of doing a big spoil on the big day and your BF will get to open all the gifts at once, or you can give him one gift a day leading up to his birthday and save the biggest or most meaningful gift for last.
4. Volunteer Together
Instead of focusing on yourselves, why not give back on your boyfriend’s birthday. Volunteer at his favorite charity. Or you can also consider helping out at local animal shelters, soup kitchens, and more.
Make sure that you spend the day volunteering with him to show him how much you care about him and what he cares about. It’ll make your bond that much stronger, helping to set up your relationship for success.
5. Play Video Games
If your BF is into video games, you can surprise him with the latest release of his favorite game and spend the day or night playing with him.
You may want to study up about the game, the story, the characters, and tactics so you know what’s going on and to impress your guy.
If you have a close circle of friends, invite them over for a meal and a video game playing afternoon or night of fun and good laughs.
Psst… You can also opt to try a new game together and play one of these best games for couples.
6. Throw a Themed Birthday Party
Not just any ol’ party will do for your boyfriend when you can throw him a themed birthday party. You kick up the notch on fun when your special someone can really have a day to remember.
What is your boyfriend into? Pirates? Disney? Marvel? Dinosaurs?
Set no limits and make this party unforgettable.
7. Go to a Sports Bar
Going to a sports bar may not be your thing, but if your boyfriend likes hanging with his boys here, then head out to your local sports bar.
Immerse yourself in the experience with your boyfriend. Have a few beers, learn about the local sports teams, and look forward to when you can have him all to yourself later that evening.
8. Take a Class Together
You and your boyfriend can also take a class together on his birthday. Consider what he loves to do or what he’s interested in. Do an online search and find and sign up for a class near you.
Some ideas are:
The possibilities are endless, and if you and your BF love it, continue going for classes and work on your experiential intimacy skills.
9. Go to a Carnival
Carnivals are always loads of fun, and there’s so much you can do there with your boyfriend. Consider inviting some friends if they’d like to be part of the birthday festivities.
You and your loved one can enjoy the rides, play games, and sample the traditional carnival grub like funnel cake and hot dogs.
Try to win your boyfriend a prize in the ring-tossing game and kiss him at the top of the Ferris wheel.
10. Host a Drink and Food Pairing
Certain foods and drinks are like matches made in heaven because they bring out the best in each other to make your taste buds sing.
So why don’t you host a drink and food pairing evening or party for your boyfriend and his friends and family?
You can consider making a full meal with appetizers and desserts, or just keep it casual with finger foods and desserts and delicious drinks to go with it.
Classic food and drink pairings are tacos and margaritas, sushi and white wine, or a cheese platter and gin cocktails.
Or experiment with unique flavor pairings like mezcal and burgers, ice cream and single malt Scotch, or fried chicken and champagne.
11. Go on a Treasure Hunt
A treasure hunt pretty much screams adventure and fun, and you get to be so creative with planning this event for your boyfriend!
You can do something similar to geocaching, or prepare your own clues or riddles that will take your boyfriend from one location to the next. Maybe his birthday present awaits him at the final destination?
Or you can have something special planned like a surprise party or a fancy romantic dinner with just the two of you.
The treasure hunt can be the birthday present too, and it’ll surely be a memorable one.
12. Get a Couple’s Massage
If you want something romantic with just the two of you, why don’t you book a couples massage or a couples spa day?
Your man would love to be pampered, and if you have some massage skills, you can be his massage therapist and pamper him. (#OohLaLa)
You’ll both feel super chilled after the massage or spa day because all your stress will melt away. Plus, you’ll feel more connected and affectionate with each other too. It really is a win-win birthday gift.
13. Go on a Road Trip
If you and your boyfriend can take some time off or if his birthday falls on a weekend, you can go on an epic (romantic) road trip. It can be for just one night away, for the day, or for longer.
You can plan a destination, or just get in your vehicle, drive, and see where the road takes you. Stop when you see something interesting and go exploring together.
14. Go to a Game
If your boyfriend is a sports fanatic, take him to see a game when his favorite team is playing. If his team wins, he’ll be in an even more celebratory mood when you get home.
While you can enjoy a game at home, being at the stadium is just so much better and more fun with the lively atmosphere, the game energy, the fans, the competitions, and even the food and drinks.
15. Follow a Craft Brewery or Vineyard Trail
Imagine following a craft brewery or vineyard trail with your boyfriend on his birthday? You can try a flight of the best brews or wine and enjoy a delicious meal together.
Tour the facilities to learn about the wine or beer making process and buy your boyfriend a bottle of wine or pack of his favorite flavored beer.
Find the best craft brewery trails or vineyard trails near you, or make a trip and visit the ones that got your fancy when you and your BF have some time off.
16. Host a Games Night
If you and your boyfriend love playing games, host a games night for his birthday. You can keep it low-key with just the two of you (#StripPoker, anyone?) or invite loved ones to play with you.
You can set out a collection of games to keep the evening interesting, or just host a fancy poker evening.
17. Book a Karaoke Booth
Love singing and showing off your voice? Then book a karaoke booth for you and the BF. You can do some sultry numbers if it’s just the two of you, or you can make it a party with family, friends, and colleagues.
You can even set a theme with the songs and make everyone dress accordingly. Think about a decade with great songs, rock-ballads only, or even jazzy blues.
If you hire the right equipment and have the space, you can host a karaoke birthday party for your boyfriend at home.
18. Book a Private Movie Showing
You can go to the movies at any time with your romantic partner, but it’s his birthday, so you gotta make it special.
Do you really want to watch a movie with people around you and hear how much they are munching away and do running commentary about the movie? No, right?
So, book a private movie showing where it’s just the two of you or a few people your boyfriend would love to see on his birthday.
Another option is to DIY a movie night in your backyard and go all nine yards setting up a proper movie showing, sending out movie ticket invites, doing movie-appropriate drinks and snacks, and more.
19. Recreate Your First Date
Something fun you can do for your boyfriend’s birthday is to recreate your first date, especially if you had a really awesome time.
If you didn’t, recreate how your first date should have gone or pick a favorite date night you had.
Try to recapture the magic of that day and show your boyfriend how blessed you are to have met him and have him in your life.
20. DIY an Ice Cream Bar
If you and your BF are crazy about ice cream, you can set up an ice cream bar in your home.
Your boyfriend can choose to start the day with some ice cream, and he can also have ice cream for lunch, dinner, and in between.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have that much ice cream at your disposal so you gotta make (#eat) the most of it, right?
If friends and family are stopping by, they can also join the ice cream party so make sure you have enough.
21. Be an Arcade Junkie
Every man is technically still a little boy, and it’s probably a no-brainer that your boyfriend would love to be a kid again and enjoy playing games at the arcade.
So, make sure you are armed with loads of quarters so you and your romantic partner can enjoy all the games, from Pac-Man and pinball to Skee-Ball, at the local arcade.
22. Have a “Lazy” Day
A “lazy” or chill day can be just as much fun with your boyfriend on his birthday, especially if you both lead busy lives and need some time to breathe and connect.
There’s no to-do list for this day and kinda no responsibilities. You do whatever you want on this lazy birthday celebration.
Spend the day in bed eating ice cream or pizza and binging on Netflix, or enjoy the fresh air and BBQ in your backyard.
23. Organize a Pub Crawl
Pub crawling isn’t everyone's thing but you and your boyfriend can benefit from a night out and painting the town red.
Plan where you want to bar hop, or you can even make a list that you and your boyfriend can work through together.
For example, you can start out easy and have a pint of beer at bar 1, then have a glass of wine at bar 2, do 3 shots at bar 3, have a cocktail at bar 4, and so forth. You can include some pub crawl drinking games to play too.
Just remember to grab some food too and drink loads of water.
24. Role Play
You are probably thinking of all the ways you and your boyfriend can role play in the bedroom, but why not take this up a notch?
I’m sure you have secret fantasies of being a spy and meeting an enemy spy in a speakeasy and having a delectable one-night stand.
So why not set that up with your boyfriend and play out each other's fantasies with complete personas to match?
25. Make Him Breakfast in Bed
A fun and sweet thing you can do for your boyfriend on his birthday is to make him breakfast in bed.
If you aren’t naturally an early riser, see how much you can prep for breakfast the night or afternoon before. Just be sure to hide the food so your boyfriend doesn’t catch on to the surprise.
You can go all out with the best breakfast in bed ideas, or keep it simple but yum.
26. Share a Bath or Shower
Set a romantic mood for your boyfriend’s birthday by sharing a bath or shower together. If there’s enough time, you can have a sexy shower in the morning before you have to leave for work.
Still, plan a romantic bath together so you can soak up the bubbles, candles, and nice music. Keep a bottle of your favorite bubbly or wine on ice, and enjoy the silence or build intimacy with these deep soul-searching questions or these conversation starters for couples.
27. Book a Fancy Evening and Go All Out
While a fancy evening can be stuffy, you can have a wonderful time wining and dining at a Michelin-star restaurant or another upscale restaurant that you’ve been dying to go to.
You can dress up for the occasion (and your man will look amazing in a suit so that’s something to look forward to).
Go for a drink at a nice bar before heading over to the restaurant. If you can afford to splurge, book a ride in a limo, and remember to celebrate with your boyfriend.
28. Go on a Haunted City Tour
There are many local hauntings you and your guy can check out, and if your boyfriend is into all things paranormal, a spooky birthday celebration is a must.
You can go on a guided outing of your city or town’s local hauntings or make a trip and visit haunted sites in a city nearby.
The eerie atmosphere, swanky stops, and enjoying the local watering holes on the ghost tour will make this a birthday he’ll never forget.
29. Do a Sexy Dance
There is always the opportunity to do something sexy for your boyfriend on his birthday. So why don’t you start the private evening celebrations with a sexy dance?
You can do a lap dance, strip tease, the Dance of the Seven Veils, or even try some pole dancing to get his pulse racing.
If you feel insecure, find time to practice beforehand or sign up for some sensual dance classes. But know that your guy won’t mind if you fumble a bit because he’s in for an unforgettable fun-filled night.
30. Enjoy the Outdoors
The outdoors always offers tons of fun, and if you are the outdoorsy kind of couple, then heading outside is ideal to help your boyfriend honor his birthday.
You can go horseback riding, hiking, picnicking, camping, sailing, surfing, tanning on the beach, or rollerblading.
You can make it a birthDAY to remember once you’ve nailed down the perfect outdoor activities for you and your boyfriend (and maybe with some loved ones) to enjoy.
31. Play Laser Tag
Playing laser tag is super fun, and you, your boyfriend, and friends will have a terrific time. You can form teams or you and your boyfriend can turn up the heat with some friendly competition.
Get trigger-happy together, and let the good times roll with this fun boyfriend-approved birthday idea.
Final Thoughts on Fun Things to Do for Your Boyfriend’s Birthday
When it’s your boyfriend’s birthday, you can plan a fun-filled day with any of these great activities and birthday ideas. You know your boyfriend, so you know what he’ll love.
Just make sure you are part of the fun and decide whether it’ll be a celebration for two… or if you need to include his friends and family.
There’s a time and a place for both. Perhaps you can even incorporate a little before and after into your plans.
To help your BF celebrate his special day, consider enjoying the outdoors, doing a DIY movie setup at home, dressing up and eating at a fancy restaurant, going on a road trip, or picking an adventure.
The most important thing about birthday celebrations isn’t so much about what you are doing but rather whom you are doing it with. It’s a shared experience, and you are bound to make many wonderful memories.
Looking for more fun ideas you can share with your special someone? Here’s a guide with the best hobbies for couples to share. Or, look into these fun activities to add to your couples bucket list.
And if you want more articles about relationships, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 83 Genuine Compliments for Your Boyfriend (That He’ll Love!)
- 90 Good Morning Text Messages for Him (Cute, Flirty, Funny)
- 19 Obvious Signs You’re in a Karmic Relationship
