Why birthdays slip through the cracks
In many families there is one person who knows everyone’s birthday. They remember the card for the aunt, buy the present for the godchild and remind everyone else. When that person has a lot on their plate, a birthday slips through, and in the evening everyone remembers at once.
A shared birthday calendar spreads this knowledge across the whole family. Everyone can see who has a birthday coming up, and the reminder does not land with just one person. It is worth including more people than you might think:
- Grandparents and, if they are still around, great-grandparents
- The children’s godparents, and your own godchildren
- Aunts, uncles and cousins, including those who live far away
- Wedding anniversaries, such as the grandparents’ or your own
- The children’s closest friends, when party invitations are due
- The anniversary of a loved one’s death, if you want to remember them together on that day
Seven ideas so nobody’s birthday gets forgotten
- Collect everything once. Use a family gathering or the next call with the grandparents to note down every birthday, ideally with the year of birth. Old diaries and the birthday cards from recent years help a lot.
- Get reminded early enough. A reminder on the day is enough for a phone call. A card by post or a present needs one to two weeks’ notice, more if it is going abroad.
- Collect gift ideas all year. If grandma mentions in spring that she could do with new gardening gloves, write it down straight away. By her birthday in autumn it would be forgotten.
- Share the job. Agree with your partner who looks after which birthdays: each of you your own side of the family, or taking turns year by year.
- Involve the children. Children love drawing a card, making something or singing down the phone. If they can see for themselves that their godfather’s birthday is in two weeks, they often come up with an idea of their own.
- Plan milestone birthdays early. A 70th or 80th birthday or a golden wedding is often a big celebration. Surprise parties and joint presents take months to plan, not days.
- Make wishes visible. Before birthdays and Christmas, a wishlist that shows what someone has already bought means the same book does not turn up twice.
What to do when: a birthday timeline
A birthday is rarely a one-day job. Thinking of it a few weeks ahead means more choice of presents and less stress.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 14 days before | Choose and order the present, post cards going abroad, agree plans with the others for a milestone birthday |
| 7 days before | Write the card, ideally with the kids, and post it so it arrives in time; arrange a visit or a call |
| The day before | Wrap the present, bake the cake, decide who calls first |
| On the day | Say happy birthday, call, or send a voice message or a short video with the kids |
JH FamilySync reminds you at exactly these points: 14 days, 7 days and 1 day before, and on the day itself.
How the birthday calendar works in JH FamilySync
In JH FamilySync, birthdays, wedding anniversaries and memorial days are called occasions. They have their own section in the bar at the bottom, or in the sidebar on a computer, and also appear in the calendar. Occasions and reminders are part of the free plan.
- Add an occasion
Tap Occasions at the bottom, then the plus. Under Type, choose Birthday, Anniversary, Memorial or Other, enter the name and, under Relationship (optional), something like “grandmother” or “godfather”.
- Date and age
Pick the Date of birth. If you know the year, leave I know the year switched on and the app shows how old the person is turning. If you only know the day and month, switch it off.
- Note gift ideas
Under Gift ideas you collect ideas for this person, and under Notes (optional) anything worth knowing, such as allergies or clothing size.
- Choose who sees it
With For the whole family, everyone sees the occasion, including people who join later. If you switch it off, only you and the people you select below can see it.
- Get reminded
Everyone who can see the occasion gets a notification 14 days, 7 days and 1 day before and on the day itself, each time at 18:00. In Settings under Notifications, you turn this on or off with Occasions.
There is no need to enter people from the Family tree twice: with Take from family tree you pick someone whose date of birth is already there.
For wishes, the Everyday section has the Wishlist. Every family member with their own account keeps a list there, with a note and a link if needed. The others can Reserve a wish so nothing is given twice. Reservations stay hidden on your own wishlist, so the surprise is kept.
To see how other apps compare, read Family calendar apps compared.
Frequently asked questions
Is the birthday calendar in JH FamilySync free?
Yes. Occasions with reminders, gift ideas and the wishlist are part of the free plan. The free plan covers up to four family members; for more you need Premium, which costs CHF 2.00 a month or CHF 20 a year and covers the whole family.
When does the app remind me of a birthday?
14 days, 7 days and 1 day before the birthday and on the day itself, each time at 18:00. The reminder goes to everyone in the family who can see the occasion and has notifications for occasions turned on in the settings.
Does grandma need the app for her birthday to show up?
No. An occasion is an entry with a name and a date; the person does not need an account. That way you can also keep the birthdays of godparents, aunts, uncles or friends in the calendar.
What if I do not know the year of birth?
Switch off “I know the year” and save just the day and month. The birthday still comes round every year and the reminders arrive as usual; the app simply does not show the age.
Can I keep an occasion to myself?
Yes. Switch off “For the whole family” and remove everyone else from the selection. The app then shows the occasion only to you, and only you get the reminder. Like every occasion, it is still stored with your family: it is not technically shielded from other family members, and once deleted it shows up in the family’s Trash.