Kids sometimes celebrate their birthdays at home with a party that starts around 3 p.m. with Kaffeetrinken. There is usually a homemade cake with candles. People sing happy birthday in German and kids drink milk or chocolate milk. Then presents are unwrapped and games are played, like "Pin the Tail on the Pig" (not the donkey!). There might be a treasure hunt, an art project or a movie. Topfschlagen is when someone is blindfolded and crawls around banging objects with a wooden spoon, looking for a pot. People say "hot" and "cold" to indicate the right direction. Underneath the pot is a prize. Older kids might play Flaschendrehen (truth or dare). The party ends around 6 pm with a meal that will often be Würstchen und Karoffelsalat (wieners and potato salad).

In warmer weather, a family may take all of the friends of the birthday child out for ice cream. Often times the ice cream is one enormous sundae that everyone digs into. This is also a common way to celebrate occasions other than birthdays. You won't see many banana splits, though. The most popular ice cream sundae is usually vanilla or various scoops of other ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, some cookie decoration and fresh, whole cherries pitted right in the ice cream shop. Older kids like to go out for pizza with their friends.

For a parent's birthday, most kids will buy a small present with the help of the other parent, and also do an art project or draw a picture and write a card. Adults will usually host a birthday party for themselves in which they will have people to their home and have catering or they will go to a restaurant. The birthday host pays the bill for the event.

Is this similar or different to your culture?