Because there was some interest in my self-made tradition, birthday freebiepalooza, I figured I’d write up a list of the places I visited this year with some details about how to get your gifts. Many of these are nationwide, or at least pretty wide, franchises. Many are Texas only. You will have to sort that yourself, as I am sharing my personal experience without further research. My list will be in the order that I picked them up. Here goes nothing!

1. Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Free smoothie. App required, no previous purchase required. I have never spent money there (I just don’t drive by it often) and they continue to give me a birthday gift. $7.49 value
2. McDonald’s. One free item of your choice from 5 or 6 items. I chose medium fries this year. Order through your app. $2.50 value
3. Shipley Donuts. Free donut. App checkin required. New to me this year. I got classic glazed, but I could have had cake or chocolate glazed or glazed cake. $1.20 value
4. Whataburger. One free item of your choice from 4 items. Two are breakfast, so if you want breakfast, go before 11am. Order through your app. I got a Whataburger Jr. this year. $3.59 value
5. Taco Bell. Regular Baja Blast freezer. It’s the same gift every year and I always hand it off to the squid because she loves Baja Blast. Order through your app. $1 value
6. Jason’s Deli. Free dessert. I chose the cheesecake because my mom made strawberry cake for my birthday. Order through your app. $4.39 value
7. Buffalo Wild Wings. Free 6 count wings. This was a new one this year for me. No previous purchase required. Order through your app. $9.49 value
8. Chick-fil-a. Free dessert. I chose a frosted lemonade this year. Order through your app. $4.35 value
9. Pizza Hut. Free breadsticks or cinnamon sticks. I chose the breadsticks because there were more sweet than savory freebies and balance is good. Order through your app. $4.99 – $7.99 value
10. Papa John’s. Free chocolate chip cookie. A pizza sized cookie. This was the first place where the employee handing me the product wished me a happy birthday. Order through your app. $7.99 value
11. Insomnia Cookies. Free deluxe cookie. I chose salted caramel and it was fantastic. Employee will scan the barcode in your app. $4.25 value
12. Panda Express. Free small entree, medium side, or eggroll with any purchase. I bought a medium noodles and chose free medium noodles. Order through your app. $4.40 value
13. IHOP. This one started as enough coins to trade for a free short stack. By the time my next birthday came around, they had given me enough coins to trade for a stack and a short stack, so I got that with two flights of syrup. $14.78 value
14. Scooters coffee. Free drink up to $6 value. If I hit the next tier in the rewards program, my next one will be up to $8 value. I chose a caramel apple smoothie. Order through your app. $6-$8 value
15. Teriyaki Madness. Free bowl or jr bowl. You do pay for any upgrades. Order through your app. $11.79 value
16. Crumbl. Free cookie. I chose this peanut butter and butterfinger concoction. So freaking good. Order through your app or have them scan your barcode in person. $4.49 value
17. Nothing Bundt Cakes. Free bundtlet. Small enough to super indulge in by yourself, yet big enough to share four ways. You can get this by showing them the email they send for your birthday or by redeeming it in the app. I chose a chocolate caramel toffee thing and red velvet. Two locations, two cakes. Delicious. $11 value
18. BJ’s Brewhouse. Free pizookie. Big ass warm cookie that comes with a little tub of ice cream. I’ve never spent money there yet they continue to give me gifts. You also get a free pizookie for creating an account and you can redeem both in the same order, which is what I did. I’m not sure how I still had that considering I created my account over a year ago, but I’ll take it. Order through your app. I chose salted caramel and cookies and cream. $17.30 value
19. Krispy Kreme. 3 donuts. Used to be a free dozen, but times have changed. Order through your app. $5.49 value
20. AMC. Free large popcorn. You can get this with the basic free account. If you have a paid account, you also get a free large drink. You also get a free refill with large popcorn, so if you’re not staying for a movie, bring a couple gallon size ziploc bags and get your refill to go. Maximize those gifts! Order through your app or show the cashier your barcode. $9.99 value.
21. Dutch Bros coffee. Free any size drink. Same deal as Sbux, minus the previous purchase requirement. I got a large caramel apple iced rebel with extra rebel and strawberry boba. Order through your app. $9.25 value

Offers I didn’t qualify for this year or just didn’t redeem (yet).

1. Starbucks. Free drink. I like to make the biggest fanciest thing with the most add ins possible (but still yummy). My usual order is a matcha lemonade with extra matcha, no water, extra lemonade, whatever fruit inclusion. Around $10 value. Previous purchase in the app within the last year required.
2. Burger King. Double crowns all month. I want free or bogo, not incentive to spend more.
3. KFC. 250 points, enough to get a drumstick or one of those tiny chicken sammies. Will redeem at another time.
4. Bath and Body Works. Free item up to $10 with purchase. The only reason I haven’t redeemed this one is that the coupon automatically makes the cheaper item free. I’d have to spend $10 to get the full value. I may still do this one if there’s a good sale going on.
5. Kohls. $5 Kohls cash. Shrug.
6. World Market. 15% off your next purchase. Meh. I’ll use it if I happen to go to World Market before it expires.
7. A&W. Free rootbeer float. No A&W nearby.
8. PF Chang’s. Free appetizer or dessert. Can’t seem to log in to my app. I might try again. That chocolate cake looks amazing.
9. Target. 5% off your next purchase. Might still use that.

Anyway, that’s all I have. My total value was $145.73. I hope this is helpful to any of you who are interested in starting your own birthday freebiepalooza. If you know of more places to score some gifties, let me know! I love adding to the list. Grab your insulated bags and be prepared to make a day of it.