Birthdays: Every Birthday That Matters, Not Just the Ones at Home
Knowing the date isn't the hard part. Knowing about it in time to buy the present is.
Try Maxie free →What is Birthdays?
Birthdays in Maxie means one Birthday Book for everyone your family cares about, plus your own household's birthdays on the calendar automatically, with nudges that arrive while you can still act on them.
Why families use this
Your own children's birthdays you'll never forget. It's the other twenty that catch you out. Your niece, two godparents, both grandmothers, and the six children in your daughter's class whose parties come round every year.
Right now that list lives in someone's head, half in phone contacts, half on a paper calendar in the kitchen. Which usually means finding out on the morning, in the car, with no present and no card. The Birthday Book keeps the whole list in one place and warns you early enough to sort it properly.
Every family tracks far more birthdays than the number of people living in the house. Grandparents, cousins, godparents, the three children your son insists are his best friends this year. The dates aren't complicated. Remembering them at a useful moment is.
A birthday reminder on the morning of the birthday isn't a reminder. It's an apology waiting to happen.
Maxie handles this in two halves: your own household's birthdays appear on the calendar automatically, and everyone else goes in the Birthday Book.
How it works
1. Your household's birthdays, entered once
Put each person's birthdate on their profile in Family Settings. Maxie creates the yearly birthday event on the shared family calendar from then on, with no recurring event to build and nothing to set up again next year.
2. Everyone else goes in the Birthday Book
Add a name and the day and month. The year is optional, so if you've genuinely no idea how old your neighbour is turning, add the birthday anyway and Maxie simply won't show an age.
3. Say who they are to you
Mark each person as a friend or family, and note their relation if it helps, "Ella's mum from swimming" is far more useful in eleven months' time than a name on its own.
4. Choose who gets a nudge
Switch reminders on for the people you want warning about. Reminders off still puts the birthday on the calendar as a marker, it just doesn't chase you.
Your Birthday Book at a glance
The Birthday Book is a single list of everyone you're tracking, sorted by how soon their birthday is, so the top of the list is always the thing to think about next. Each entry shows a countdown in plain language, "in 12 days", and a bell icon telling you whether a reminder is switched on.
It's the answer to the question you actually ask, which is never "when is Amelia's birthday" but "who have I got coming up".
Nudges that arrive in time to act
For your household, Maxie surfaces a birthday three times: roughly 12 weeks out, again at 30 days, and once more at 7 days. Anyone in the Birthday Book with reminders on gets a 30 day heads-up.
The 12 week nudge is the one families tell us they didn't know they needed. A tenth birthday party with a venue, a cake and twenty invitations isn't a job you can start on the Tuesday. Thirty days covers the present. Seven days covers the card and the wrapping paper you thought you had.
What this doesn't do
Being straight about the edges:
- No importing from your phone contacts. Birthdays are added by hand for now. It's a few minutes once, then it looks after itself.
- Reminders off means calendar only. The birthday still appears, but nothing will come and find you.
- No age without a year. If you haven't given a birth year, Maxie tracks the date and stays quiet about the age.
- Maxie doesn't buy or send anything. No gift ordering, no automatic cards. It tells you in time and leaves the choosing to you.
Where this fits with everything else
Birthdays live on the same Shared Family Calendar as school, clubs and appointments, so the party sits in the week alongside everything else competing for that Saturday. Anyone using See Maxie Anywhere sees birthdays in Google, Apple or Outlook too.
And because a birthday is really a small project, the prep can be shared out like anything else in Maxie. Present bought, card written, RSVP sent, all visible to the whole family instead of sitting in one person's head.
Birthdays are included on every Maxie plan.
Related features
Shared Family Calendar: The Whole Family, One Calendar
One shared family calendar everyone sees the same version of. Invite a partner, co-parent, grandparents or a childminder, updates land for everyone.
See Maxie Anywhere: Your Family Calendar in Google, Apple or Outlook
Subscribe to your Maxie family calendar from Google, Apple or Outlook, so school pickups and family plans sit alongside work meetings without opening a second app.
Shared Tasks: Maxie Suggests, You Assign, Nobody Forgets
Maxie suggests what an event actually needs, kit, forms, presents, and whoever's handling it gets told directly. One list, nothing forgotten.
Family To Do List: Every Event Comes With Its Own Tasks
Maxie suggests what needs doing for each event, gives every task an owner, and shows it on the family to do list exactly when it matters, not before.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know someone's birth year?
No. Day and month is enough. Add the year if you know it and Maxie shows their age, leave it out and Maxie still tracks the birthday exactly the same.
Do my own family's birthdays go on the calendar automatically?
Yes. Add a birthdate once on a person's profile in Family Settings and Maxie creates the yearly birthday event for you. There's no recurring event to set up and nothing to redo next year.
How far ahead does Maxie warn me?
For your household's birthdays, three nudges: roughly 12 weeks out, then 30 days, then 7 days. For anyone in the Birthday Book with reminders switched on, 30 days before.
Why 12 weeks? That seems very early.
Because the big ones need it. Booking a venue, ordering a cake, or sorting a party for a class of thirty isn't a one-week job. The later nudges are the ones that catch the cards and the presents.
Can I turn reminders off for some people and not others?
Yes. Reminders are a per-person toggle in the Birthday Book. Switch it off and the birthday still appears on the calendar as a marker, it just won't nudge you.
Can I track my children's friends' birthdays, not just relatives?
Yes, and it's the main reason the Birthday Book exists. Add anyone, mark them as a friend or family, and note how they're connected to your family if it helps you remember.
Will birthdays show up in Google Calendar or Apple Calendar?
Yes, if you've subscribed to your Maxie calendar from there. Birthdays sit on the shared family calendar like any other event, so they travel out with everything else.
Does everyone in the family see the Birthday Book?
Yes. It's part of your shared family calendar, so anyone you've invited sees the same list and the same birthdays coming up.
Can Maxie import birthdays from my phone contacts?
Not at the moment. Birthdays are added by hand, which in practice takes a few minutes once and then looks after itself.
Is Birthdays included on every Maxie plan?
Yes, it's included on every plan.