Were you forced to celebrate your birthday inside your four walls this year without the company of your family and friends?
There’s plenty of high street retailers and chains that want to make it up to you.
Most of us can pretty confidently say that the concept of a ‘lockdown birthday’ is not one that had ever really entered our heads before March this year, but it’s a reality that many have had to come to terms with over the past few months. Whether it was a socially-distanced celebration through Zoom, a household/social bubble party, or a quiet day to yourself, birthdays during lockdown have undoubtedly been different.
Now that an element of normality is beginning to resume though, there’s a number of high street retail chains and restaurants/bars that are offering belated freebies, treats and loyalty perks to those who marked their big day cooped up indoors.
It’s never too late to celebrate right?
Here’s everything you need to know and all the details on how to redeem your reward:
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Greggs
Free Sweet Treat
Greggs UK
It’s time to satisfy that sweet tooth craving.
If you sign up to Greggs Rewards via the bakery chain’s free app, then you’ll be sent a voucher on your birthday for a free sweet treat. Not only does this include a doughnut, cookie, or yum yum – costing up to £1 – you don’t even have to buy anything else to get this freebie either.
What’s more is that as Greggs closed its branches for the majority most lockdown, it has automatically extended the birthday treat vouchers until the end of 2020 too.
You just need to show the date of your voucher on your phone when you next pop into your nearest branch.
More information can be found via the Greggs Rewards website here.
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Build-A-Bear
‘Count Your Candles’ Discount Scheme
Build-A-Bear
A little something for the kids.
Build-A-Bear’s Count Your Candles scheme is free to join and lets all Bonus Club members buy a bear for the same price as the age of their child on their birthday, so for example, if your child turns two, you would only be pay £2 as opposed to the usual price of around £14.
For members whose children had a birthday during lockdown, you’ve now got until 30th September to redeem the offer (although the scheme could be later extended) and you can get your discounted bear from any store that has reopened by just letting a member of staff know you are redeeming the offer.
You can find more information via the Build-A-Bear website here.
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Pizza Express
Free Prosecco
Facebook / Pizza Express
What’s a birthday without some bubbly? Pizza Express knows this all too well, which is why the Italian chain restaurant is offering those who create an online account a free bottle of Prosecco on your birthday when you buy two meals.
Pizza Express has also confirmed that anyone with a birthday between March and August can still redeem the freebie retrospectively and members will be sent an email this month detailing how to do so, and the deadline it must be redeemed by.
The offer is subject to availability and you unfortunately cannot stack this offer with any other discounts.
There’s plenty of birthday perks for those who register with the Frankie & Benny’s Rewards scheme.
Diners can get two mains for the price of one on their birthday, or a bottle of Prosecco for the reduced price of £10 down from £16.49.
To redeem the offer, you just need to show the code emailed to you ten days prior to your birthday and you normally have 50 days to use the discount. You usually get the cheapest meal free when you eat in and the scheme is valid on any mains, although the discount only applies to two meals. The scheme is currently paused due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but Frankie & Benny’s has said will allow customers to redeem vouchers that expired during lockdown when it is back, although there is no date for this yet.
You can register with the Frankie & Benny’s Rewards scheme here.
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Brewer’s Fayre
Free Birthday Meal
Brewer’s Fayre / TripAdvisor
Are you a member of the Brewer’s free ‘Bonus Club’?
If not, you might want to consider signing up as members of the restaurant chain’s rewards scheme can redeem a free meal on their bithday.
This can be redeemed in-branch by either using a printed voucher that has been emailed to you prior, or by displaying a copy on your phone. Those who had a birthday during lockdown were previously given extra time until August 31 to redeem belated vouchers, so if you’ve missed this new deadline, you may have to wait till next year.
You can find out more information via the Brewer’s Fayre website here.
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H&M
25% Off Birthday Discount
Wikimedia Commons / Billie Ward
To make the most of this birthday benefit, all you’ll need to do is download the free H&M app and become a member to get 25% off one item on your big day.
As this voucher can be used both online and in store, the fashion chain hasn’t extended this particular extended as shoppers could still use the discount on its website during lockdown. The discount unfortunately cannot be used on designer collaborations, special collections or on gift cards, and you must also select standard delivery if ordering online.
You can find out more information about H&M Membership here.
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Paperchase
£5 ‘Treat Me’ Loyalty Card Discount
Paperchase
This one isn’t just exclusive to lockdown birthdays.
Ever-popular stationary retailer Paperchase lets shoppers pick up a free Treat Me loyalty card in stores and activate it online to get a range of perks, crucially including a free £5 voucher to use on their birthday.
The £5 off is applied to cards automatically on your birthday and can be used both in store and online for 28 days, but if you did turn a year older during lockdown, you now have until 30th September to use the discount (although some stores may extend this further).
There’s no minimum spend, but do be aware you won’t get the difference refunded if you purchase something for less than £5.
Find more information about the Treat Me loyalty card via the Paperchase website here.
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Krispy Kreme
Free Doughnuts
Krispy Kreme UK
Did you know Krispy Kreme UK is offering a free Original Glazed doughnut to everyone who celebrated a birthday during lockdown?
If it was your birthday during lockdown until 31st August, you’ll have been given 150 loyalty points – known as Smiles – which is enough to redeem a free doughnut of your choice as normally you’ll need 100 for the standard Original Glazed version. For those with birthdays from 1st September onwards however, you’ll be sent a voucher on the first day of the month you were born, which lasts until the end of the following month.
This offer is only available from Krispy Kreme stores and you can find out more information here.
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The Canal Street star that we’re backing to be the next queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK
Danny Jones
Amid all the buzz of Manchester Pride 2025, the latest series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK also returns this August bank holiday, and fittingly a Canal Street has joined the lineup for series seven.
The parade and Gay Village Party aside, we genuinely can’t wait for the cult favourite TV show to be back on our screens.
Already a classic among the queer community following many years on the air over in America, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is set to debut its seventh season, and part of the fun is always meeting the cast.
While there’s often a Northern name or two, including multiple Mancunians in the past, we believe this year’s contestant has a good shot at winning the whole thing. Manchester, meet Bonnie Ann Clyde.
Who is Manchester’s adopted 2025 Drag Race star, Bonnie Ann Clyde?
Now, aside from having a fabulous and very classic drag name, the other twist when it comes to this Drag Race debutant is that she’s not technically a Manc.
What gave it away? Was it the accent?…
Born in Dublin and dubbing herself “Ireland’s best export”, the 30-year-old Bonnie Ann Clyde has been here for the past 12 months, and it’s her time around Canal Street – The Goose and Cruz 101, specifically – that has seen her grow in reputation.
Speaking to the show’s British broadcasters, she told fans old and hopefully soon to be: “You could say that I’ve been around the block a few times, but I prefer to say that I’m an international queen!
“Bonnie Ann Clyde was created in Dublin, [during] the mid-2010s, when drag was starting to get popular again. I performed in Dublin for six years, then I did a Summer in San Francisco, and after that I moved to Gran Canaria, where I performed for two and a half years.”
Quite the CV, we’re sure you’ll agree, but it’s only since she started gaining a following here in 0161 that she got the call to be the next series of Drag Race UK. After all, we do know a thing or two about the scene in these parts.
— KaMorian (Sparkling Alien 💫) (@ka_morian0121) August 22, 2025
Why we think she should and will win
Aside from being the resident Greater Manchester representative (be it as an ex-pat or not), it’s this kind of globetrotting experience of LGBTQIA+ entertainment culture, pulling knowledge from all manner of drag queen circuits, that we think she’s odds on to push for the crown this year.
Detailing why she thinks she deserves to be named champion in 2025, whilst doing an impression of Holly Jervis from X Factor, she said: “‘This is MY moment’.
“I’ve worked for years doing jobs I didn’t want to do, and I’ve worked so hard. I deserve this crown, I deserve that sceptre, I deserve that £25k, and you know what? I’m going to get it because I’m fabulous, I’m fantastic, I’m Bonnie Ann Clyde, and I’m going to win!”
You’ve got to love that self-confidence, and while there are some other Northern faces among the lineup this year – including the Yorkshire favourite and the first ever contestant from Leeds, Silllexa Diction – there’s no question about who we want to win.
Once again, series seven of RuPaul Drag Race UK gets underway at 9pm this Sunday, 24 August, on BBC Three, as well as iPlayer in case you’re busy partying at Manchester Pride 2025.
A new coffee shop by a familiar Manc influencer with an ‘Oasis-inspired’ name is opening in town
Danny Jones
We’re never short of cafés here in Manchester, especially in the city centre, and there are a fair few great ones in the Northern Quarter alone, but this new coffee shop from a famous local influencer is one to keep an eye on – especially as it’s a bit of an Oasis pun.
‘What’s the story?’, we hear you ask: Morning Glory, that’s what.
That’s right, NQ’s latest coffee spot is not only a fun little nod to the Britpop classic but a little bit of innuendo by an equally cheeky chappy and familiar content creator, Zack Hipps.
With the Oasis puns and double-entendre boxes ticked off, it already ticks a couple of boxes, but there are still plenty more reasons to think this will be a success.
Morning Glory is opening in the Northern Quarter at the end of the month. (Credit: Morning Glory)
To start with, the jokes don’t stop as sandwich lovers will be glad to hear that there will be ‘Glory Holes’ on the menu…
Calm down, it’s not that kind of gaff. These are bagels that are sliced, stuffed with whipped cream, brushed with garlic butter, before being rebaked to golden perfection and finished with a drizzle of honey thyme. That admittedly does sound rather naughty.
Bagels are the main foodstuff on the menu, with a lineup of stacked fillings such as grilled peach with goat’s cheese and chilli jam; roast chicken thigh with smoked garlic mayo, iceberg lettuce and red onion and a ‘next-level’ ham and cheese stack.
Oh yeah, and it’s not only a coffee shop but promises to be a great and affordable spot for grab-and-go joe, specifically, too.
Morning Glory will be helping kickstart Manc mornings in the best way: with a banging coffee and bagel brekkie deal for just £5, making it perfect for those early risers and rushes to the commuter trams – OR, indeed, the ideal hangover cure after a night out in the city.
Apart from the obvious Manchester music reference, the coffee bar is a fitting honey-yellow.The bagels are looking big and beautiful.The diagonal floor stripes are a nod to The Hacienda nightclub. (Credit: Supplied)
Now, with the space itself spanning just 50sqm and featuring just 12 seats, not to mention fast, value-for-money food and drink, everyone can admit this isn’t necessarily the spot to sit for hours chatting with your mates over a brew.
Although Zack describes the room as “casual, cosy and full of personality” and “proper good vibes”, assuring quality at all times, they also state it is about “no faff” and the menu is made for being on the move, which is absolutely fine with us.
For instance, indie suppliers Kyoto Matcha will be chipping in with drinks and local bakery Vainllis over in Ancoats will be delivering a fresh twist on the Manchester tart, both of which are easy to order takeout and enjoy on the go.
Best of all, to mark the launch, the first 100 people through the doors on from 8am on opening Saturday, 30 August. August will not only bag a free drink, but three lucky customers will be randomly chosen to win a golden ticket, entitling them to free coffee every single day for A WHOLE YEAR.
Speaking on the impending opening just weeks after Oasis left the city, Hipps says, “Morning Glory Coffee is my love letter to Manchester. We’ve grafted for months building the space, and it’s mad to think we’re finally opening the doors.
“It’s a warm, welcoming spot with proper Manc charm, and I’m buzzing to be working alongside some of my favourite local makers. Manchester’s got one of the best food scenes in the country, and we can’t wait to shine a light on all the incredible talent out there, whilst fuelling up Manc’s one brew at a time.”
See you in the queue on Oldham Street come launch day for great coffee, Oasis in the headphones and hopefully some rare but glorious Manchester morning sun.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd September 2020 
