The real challenge in making birthdays special is – get this – following up with an even special birthday the next year. Let's admit it, it's not an easy job to come up with unique ideas every year. For a moment, let's just assume that you have hit upon a fabulous birthday plan for your girlfriend. What happens next year? Can you dare to underplay your sweetheart's birthday? Can you take a sabbatical every alternate year from birthday celebrations so that you don't have to rack your brains for yet another unique idea?

So here's the conundrum: do you stick to boring, done-to-death birthday ideas and play safe? Or do you go out of your way to plan a special birthday for your girlfriend, knowing that it will be a tough act to follow?

Why Make Birthdays Special?
Birthdays come every year. So what's the big deal? Why make a hullabaloo of an event that is bound to come every year? 

I reflect on this every year just before my birthday. The cynic within me says that birthdays are subtle reminders that I am growing old, and the wrinkles on my face are no longer laughter lines. But the optimist within me bubbles its way to the top to remind me that considering the alternative, it is better to have one more year to celebrate. So, despite the fact that birthdays come year after year, I consider myself lucky to be able to celebrate birthdays; whether it is my own birthday or those of my loved ones.

What Makes Birthdays Special?
I'm tempted to say, "diamonds," but although a diamond is a "girl's best friend," it may not necessarily make her feel special.

Ask Kate Middleton. Sure, her friends may go green and your rock may rock many a boat, but that totally destroys the purpose. To make birthdays special, you need the love and support of your near and dear ones.

So how do you make birthdays special? Here are five thoughts that can help make your girlfriend's birthday special:

1) Gifts That Don't Come With a Price Tag
Girls love gifts. But more importantly, they like to turn the gift around to see how much value you assign to the love of your life. She'll tell you many times that price does not matter, but when it comes to gifts, she'll not be happy if you settled for a fake Fendi bag. So, if you are planning to buy her a bag, don't buy one with a price tag. And definitely don't get her a fake purse.

2) If She Says She Wants Nothing, Don't Believe Her
This is a litmus test about how much you love her. She will tell you that she wants nothing for her birthday. If you don't get her a gift, she will gift you the 'silent' treatment. When she says she wants nothing, she actually means, "I want you to guess what I want for my birthday."

3) Focus on the Presentation, Not Just the Present
Girls have a keen eye for subtleties. So if you buy her a shirt, wrap it in a cute box. Or gift her a pillow wearing the shirt. Don't crumple it in a grocery bag. Pay attention to the frills and the fanciful ribbons.

4) A Memorable Birthday Is the Best Gift Ever
A surprise party with her close friends and family. An evening dinner on a boat. A special meal with Mexican singers singing the Happy birthday song. A day out shopping at her favorite store. The list is endless. You could plan a special birthday outing with your sweetheart, keeping her preferences in mind. Think romantic. Think fun. Make it a special birthday where she gets to be the Princess in Fairyland. You don't have to spend much to make her birthday special. A sweet but simple birthday idea would be to write her a beautiful poem or a song. Or gift her a giant birthday card with birthday wishes written all over. Read the special birthday wishes given below to add punch.

5) If Nothing Works for You, Go to Plan B
Did I tell you that diamonds are a girl's best friends?

Frank Sinatra
May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.

Jonathan Swift
May you live all the days of your life!

Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!
A Wasn’t just isn't. He just isn't present. But you… You ARE YOU! And, now isn't that pleasant!” 

Emily Dickinson
We turn not older with years but newer every day.

Bob Dylan
May you stay forever young.

Sherrilyn Kenyon, Born of Shadows
May you get exactly what you want and live long enough to regret it.

John P. Grier
You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime.

William W. Purkey
You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.

Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters
Do as you like with me. I'm your parcel. I have only our address on me. Open me, or readdress me.

Shakespeare
To me, fair friend, you never can be old. For as you were when first your eye I eyed. Such seems your beauty still.

Rapunzel
That's the funny thing about birthdays, they're kind of an annual thing.

Maya Angelou
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

Jean-Paul Sartre
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

Michael Marshall Smith, By Blood We Live
Hey presto: time travel. You don't need a time machine, it turns out, you just need a friend to laugh like a teenager. Chronology shivers.

Les Brown
Live out of your imagination instead of out of your memory.

Jane Tara, The Happy Endings Book Club
Age has taught me that what other people think of me is none of my business.

Julie Murphy
The older I got, the more aware I became of time and how I was wasting mine.

Carew Papritz, The Legacy Letters: His Wife, His Children, His Final Gift
If you don’t know how to grow old, don’t start learning how to grow old.

Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again.