Remember the birthday!   Sounds simple.  Take time right now to find out the birthdays for your friend, their family and caregiver.   Put these dates on your calendar with a reminder a week before, so you are sure to not be late to put a card in the mail!

If your friend is not able to help recognize the birthday of his/her caregiver, you can help!  Offer to take your friend to the store to get a card/gift.  If your friend is not able to get out, suggest getting the gift yourself and then take it to your friend so you can wrap it together.  Help your friend throw a mini-party for the caregiver:  get cake, ice cream, fun plates and a bouquet of flowers!

If your friend's birthday is approaching, create a short list of the specifics that make your friend so special and dear.  This could be a tiny book with a thought or an idea on each page, maybe a favorite photo tucked in too, or a "love letter" written on an endless length of ribbon to run through the house.  Write about a memory of the time you first met, had a particularly great adventure, or about a time your friend helped you.   It's your friend's birthday, but friends are a pretty sweet gift, too!  Celebrate the gift that is your friend:  the gift of shared laughter and love, and the gift of friendship.

If your friend has recently lost a loved one, remind your friend you are also thinking of that loved one on his/her birthday.  Send an email, write a note, make a phone call and remind your friend you are also thinking of that person on their special day... your friend is most definitely thinking of his/her loved one that day too!  Offer to take your friend to the cemetery, or do something to commemorate a wonderful life such as planting bulbs or a tree in a meaningful place.

Do you live far away??  No problem, send a birthday cake from Bake Me a Wish and celebrate your friend's birthday while also making a donation to the Make a Wish Foundation.