Birthdays are always very popular on CBeebies and so we have made three ways to celebrate birthdays with CBeebies: You could:
- Send a personal video Birthday Time message from Andy or Chris to your child;
- Have your birthday greeting on Interactive TV (this is the red button service); or
- Send in a birthday card to CBeebies to possibly be shown on TV.
A Birthday Time personal message
You could send a personal video message from Chris or Andy to your special birthday boy or girl, without sending in a card. They could even say your child's name, or a friendly nickname. Just go to the Birthday Time link on this page and fill in the details to create your greeting. You can watch it straight away online or email it to watch a bit later.
A birthday message on Interactive TV (the red button)
To see the birthday messages on Interactive TV, press the Red Button whilst watching the CBeebies channel. Choose Birthdays and use the Left and Right arrows to scroll between messages.
We'll always try to show as many birthday messages as we can, but we can't guarantee that everyone will be shown. Please note, we have limited space and so your message may be shortened to fit the available space. An example of a message could be: "James, 5 years old, from Mummy, Daddy & Jack".
You can improve the chances of your message appearing by including the following details:
- Sending in your greeting at least a week before the big day.
- Making sure the subject line of your email reads 'Birthdays mm/dd'
- Including your child's name, age and who the message is from.
You can email your birthday message to: cbeebies.bdaystar@bbc.co.uk, writing 'Birthdays mm/dd' (with the child's birthday) in the subject field (If not, we regret that it's unlikely to appear.)
Or you can post the details to:
Birthdays on Interactive CBeebies
CBeebies Red Button Service
BBC Bridge House
MediaCityUK
Salford
M50 2BH
‘Please note that this service is currently only available to Sky and Freeview digital viewers’
A birthday card on TV
Birthday cards on TV is very popular. We receive many more birthday cards than we have time to show on television, so we express regret for any disappointment in advance. This is why we now have the other birthday options available. We need to receive cards at least four weeks before the birthday.
Don't forget, if you've missed any of the CBeebies Birthdays there's still chance to catch up! Watch Cerrie, Alex, Sid and Andy read a selection of cards on CBeebies iPlayer. The cards will be available for ONE week from the date they are shown on the television, and will be available to view from midday on the date of transmission (removed at midday one week later).
To have the best chance of seeing your card on TV, we advise the following:
- Send your card so that it arrives at least four weeks before the birthday.
- If possible do not roll the card into a postage tube.
- Put the first name and age of the child on the front of your birthday card.
- Put your message and the date of the birthday on the back, (this is so that personal information isn't shown on camera).
- Make sure that your card is no bigger than A2 size.
- Make the care landscape direction (wide) as opposed to portrait (tall) as this is easier to show on TV.
- If you include a photo of the child, just using their head & shoulders works best.
- Please make sure that there are no logos or anything identifiable on your child's clothes (such as a school jumper).
- If you include a TV character, please make sure that you only use one from CBeebies.
Post your card to:
CBeebies
PO Box 1234
Salford
M5 0DN
We're sorry, but we can't return your cards or provide recordings.
When cards are read out on TV:
If you are recording birthdays on TV, please allow an extra ten minutes on either side from the times stated.
Weekdays on CBeebies Channel
6.55am
10.40am, repeated 2.40pm
12.20pm
4.45pm
Weekends on CBeebies Channel
6.55am
10.30am, repeated 2:40pm
12.20pm
4.25pm
Weekdays on BBC2
9.20am (repeat of 6.55am on CBeebies channel)
Weekends on BBC2
7.00am (repeat of 6.55am on CBeebies channel)
© 2012