It used to be going out to dinner with mom & dad but after she passed away 26 years ago, that didn't happen much. Dad ended up moving to NC in 1999 or 2000, so it was rare that I even saw him on my birthday. There was one year when his Navy reunion was in Chicago the week before my birthday. They drove here and stayed for a few days before going to the reunion. Then when it was over, they came back here for a couple days and Dad, Martha and I went out for dinner on my birthday. They left for NC the next morning.
But I will say that from 2001 to 2016, I was working 10 hour days on my birthday (unless it was a weekend) because of corporate year end falling just 4 days before my birthday... I worked in the accounting function. So it was just another long work day. The year Dad was here, I told my boss I was out of there normal time so I could at least spend part of my birthday with my dad!
Any more, it is just another day but at least I'm retired and if I want to do something special, I can. This last year I was sick on my birthday, sicker than I've been in a long time. I think it was food poisoning, the frozen dinner I had the night before just didn't taste right in the last few bites.