Article image

Hilariously Relatable Quotes About Birthdays

For many of us, our birthday is one of the most fulfilling and joyous days of the year. There are few things that warm the heart more than gathering with friends and family to celebrate, reminisce, and eat plenty of cake.

Of course, others of us would rather not acknowledge our birthdays, as the thought of getting older can be sobering. But it’s important to remember that aging is a gift, and we should try to approach each of our birthdays with an optimistic and humorous attitude.

Given the often lighthearted nature of birthdays, it should come as no surprise that many of the world’s funniest comedians and wittiest authors have chimed in with their own takes about this special occasion. So whether you’ll be celebrating a birthday soon or you’re the type of person who dreads the awkwardness of having “Happy Birthday” sung at you, here are 12 hilarious quotes about birthdays.

You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.
Bob Hope

Share Quote

I  see birthdays as a reward for having shown up 365 days in a row. It’s like getting a badge for attendance.
Gina Barreca

Share Quote

When I turned 2 I was really anxious, because I’d doubled my age in a year. I thought, if this keeps up, by the time I’m 6 I’ll be 90.
Steven Wright

Share Quote

When a man has a birthday, he takes a day off. When a woman has a birthday, she takes at least three years off.
Joan Rivers

Share Quote

Pie can’t compete with cake. Put candles in a cake, it’s a birthday cake. Put candles in a pie, and somebody’s drunk in the kitchen.
Jim Gaffigan

Share Quote

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.
Larry Lorenzoni

Share Quote

Marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other never forgets [them].
Ogden Nash

Share Quote

I know I’m getting old. My last birthday cake looked like a prairie fire.
Rodney Dangerfield

Share Quote

For all the advances in medicine, there is still no cure for the common birthday.
John Glenn

Share Quote

The first birthday party you have and the last birthday you have are actually quite similar. You know, you just kinda sit there. You’re the least excited person at the party. You don’t even really realize that there is a party.
Jerry Seinfeld

Share Quote

Why is a birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everybody rushes to get a piece?
Bobby Kelton

Share Quote

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age.
Robert Frost

Share Quote

Featured image credit: JFunk/ Shutterstock

Author image
About the Author
Bennett Kleinman
Bennett is a staff writer at Optimism as well as a freelance comedy writer. He's based in New York City.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "___ is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect." - Steve Jobs

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.

separator icon
Joan Didion
motivation theme icon

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.

separator icon
Peter Drucker
hope theme icon

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.

separator icon
Jane Goodall
love theme icon

Attention is a moral act: It creates, brings aspects of things into being.

separator icon
Iain McGilchrist
wisdom theme icon

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

separator icon
Albert Camus
happiness theme icon

The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.

separator icon
Keanu Reeves
motivation theme icon

Success is the process itself.

separator icon
Matt Damon
hope theme icon

People living deeply have no fear of death.

separator icon
Anaïs Nin
love theme icon

Forgiveness … is a gift of high value. Yet its cost is nothing.

separator icon
Betty Smith
wisdom theme icon

To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone else's.

separator icon
Fyodor Dostoevsky
happiness theme icon

The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.

separator icon
William Somerset Maugham