IN our latest edition we gave away certificates from the Queen of Birthdays, who changes the date of your special day to ensure you can spend it with your soldier. Here’s the story behind the Army grandmother who created it…
Claire Lister’s daughter recently had to serve abroad with the Army and she missed her young son’s birthday. Wondering what could be done to overcome the family angst, she had the idea of making birthday changes “official” by becoming the Queen of Birthdays.
“First, I authorised the new date and confirmed it with a smart parchment certificate delivered in a big golden envelope. Then to prove the change was approved, I entered the details in my official ledger where it could be checked and verified by people contacting the chief ledger clerk,” explained Claire.“It worked a treat! The birthday was held on the new date, and my daughter and son were both delighted.”
Two weeks later Claire’s aunt had to have her birthday a month late due to illness, so she sent her a certificate too.
“She was totally surprised. It made her delayed birthday a huge success and the certificate got framed and hung on the wall,” said Claire.
Realising that missing family birthdays must happen all the time, especially in the Forces, Claire decided that her Queen of Birthdays service should be made available to others. Her son put together a website and she was ready to go.
Claire added: “I’m not just changing birthdays because of absence or illness, they can also be a cheeky and fun way to rescue a forgotten birthday or for winter babies who long to have a birthday in the sun, and it’s also an opportunity for friends to have a joint celebration by synchronising their birthdays to the same day. A better party, only one mess to clear up, and cheaper too because they get to share the costs.”
Use Claire’s service for £3.95 instead of £7 by entering code ARMY395 at thequeenofbirthdays.co.uk until 20 August 2018.