Birthday celebrations

My niece asked in the comments how they celebrate birthdays here. Since not everybody reads the comments and because it may be of interest to others, I'll put my answer as a post instead.

It seems that birthday celebrations run the gamut here just like in the States. We've seen basic celebrations very similar to what we have for our family to giant celebrations where the parents rent some big venue, the drivers and nannies escort the party guests to the location carrying outrageously huge gifts for the birthday boy/girl, and everyone is dressed up in their finest clothes.

A couple of difference from how our family celebrates is that many times the birthday parties here are family affairs. You don't just invite the friends of the birthday child, you invite their families as well as the friends and families of the adults and other brothers and sisters. A lot of food is served and the kids play while the adults chat.

There is not a huge deal made out of opening the gifts. When my kids have received wrapped birthday gifts, the giver usually tells us what's inside rather than waiting for it to be opened. When we have given a wrapped gift the receiver opens it immediately upon receiving it and doesn't wait to open all the presents at once.

A birthday cake with candles seems to be pretty standard but the birthday song is sung in several different languages, one right after the other. After singing it in English the other verses are sung in languages like Arabic, Tagolog, French, and Spanish depending on the make up of the party goers.