A grandkids birthday calendar that keeps up with the family

You know when your sister’s birthday is. But her youngest? Was it the ninth or the eleventh, and is he turning six or seven? Every new baby in the family adds a date nobody has written down, and by the time the cousins have children of their own, nobody has the full picture anymore.

The one person who does know is usually a grandmother with a calendar on the wall. That works for her. It doesn’t help the aunt in another city who wants to send a card on time.

1. 1

   One of you starts the family group

   Add yourself, create the group ‘Family’ and share the link in the family chat. A short message is already written.
2. 2

   The parents add the kids

   Each parent adds their children, with the date of birth. It takes ten seconds per child, and they choose who gets to see them.
3. 3

   Everyone sees who turns what

   The name, the date and the age the child turns. On the card it even says whose child it is, for the big families.
4. 4

   The reminder comes by email

   A weekly overview of who is next. Put a heart on the grandkids and you also get a reminder ahead of the day, up to a week before.

You are probably not the grandparent reading this. You are the son, the daughter or the aunt who will set it up. Good, because that is all it takes. Here is what grandma and grandpa need to do themselves:

• Tap the link you send them, once.
• Fill in their own name and birthday.
• Type the six-digit code that arrives in their email.

That’s it. No app to install, nothing to update. From then on they get a calm email when a grandchild’s birthday is coming up, with the name and the age. If someone in the family has no email address at all, the calendar on the wall remains the better tool for them, and Hoera keeps the rest of the family in sync.

A wooden birthday board with a tag for every grandchild is a lovely gift, and many grandparents have one. Keep it. Hoera is the part the board can’t do: it knows the ages, it grows by itself when a baby arrives, the whole family can see it from anywhere, and it reminds you before the day instead of after.

Aunts, uncles and godparents have the same problem with fewer excuses. You want to be the one who remembers, and you would, if anyone had told you the date. In the family group you see every niece and nephew with the age they turn. Put a heart on your godchild and choose to be reminded a week ahead, which is exactly how long a card takes.

It happens to people who care a lot. Say it plainly, send the card late, and children forgive faster than adults do. Then fix the cause: you didn’t forget because you don’t care, you forgot because the date was nowhere. Once it is in a calendar that reminds you, it doesn’t happen twice.

The same goes for the kids of your friends. See friends’ birthdays, and their kids’.