Birthday list template you can copy

A birthday list template is a table with one row per person and a few columns: name, date, group and a note for a gift idea. Copy the layout below, fill in the rows, and sort by date so the next birthday is always on top.

The layout to copy

Each column has a job:

• Name. First and last name, so two people called Sam don't blur together.
• Date. Day and month are all you need. A birth year only matters if you want to track ages.
• Group. Family, friends, work, or your own label. It lets you pick out one set of people when you're shopping or planning a card.
• Gift idea / note. Where the useful stuff goes: something they mentioned, a size, how you met, what you gave last year.

Write dates the same way in every row. Mixing "3/4" and "April 3" makes the list hard to sort and easy to misread, so pick one format and stick to it.

Printing it

For a printable birthday list, paste the table into a document or spreadsheet, sort by date, and print. Leave a few empty rows at the bottom, because the list keeps growing. If you'd rather keep a birthdays list by month, add a month heading above each block of rows and keep the same four columns under it.

Where paper falls short

A paper list does one thing well: it's quick to start. After that the limits show up.

• It doesn't remind you. Nothing nudges you the week before. You have to open the page and look.
• Sorting means rewriting. A new birthday lands at the bottom, not in its place in the year. Keeping the order means copying the list out again.
• It isn't with you. The page is on the fridge or in a drawer, and the birthday question comes up when you're out.
• There's no "how long until". You have to count the days yourself.

A spreadsheet fixes the sorting and lets you search, but it still won't send a reminder on its own. A birthday reminder list needs something that nudges you, and that's the point where an app makes sense.

The digital version in Birthday Countdown

Birthday Countdown keeps the same fields as the template on your iPhone, shows the days left for each person, and sends reminders. Everything is stored on the phone, with no account. It saves only day and month, so there are no ages.

To add a birthday:

1. Open the Birthdays tab and tap + at the top right.
2. On the New Birthday screen, enter the First name (the only required field), plus the last name if you want.
3. Pick the day and month, then open Groups to choose Family, Friends or Work, or add your own group.
4. Tap Reminders to choose when you get notified.
5. In Note, type your gift idea. The field's placeholder reads "Gift ideas, how you met…". Then tap Save Birthday.

There's no separate gift column, so the gift idea lives in the note. You can search the list by name or note, which means typing "ceramics" finds Anna's row. The Calendar tab shows a monthly view, and tapping a day shows who has a birthday on it.

What's free and what isn't: the app is free for up to 5 active birthdays, with reminders, groups, notes and the calendar included. Unlimited birthdays are Premium. If you already keep a longer list, Premium also adds export to CSV from Settings, in the Your data section under Export Data. You can send the file by mail or share it, so a copy of the list exists outside the app.

The app doesn't import birthdays from Contacts or sync between devices, so you add each one yourself, as you would on paper. For more on choosing fields and sorting a list, see birthday tracker: what to track. The Birthday Countdown page has the full feature list.