What is the Birthday Reminder automation?

The Birthday Reminder automation helps you celebrate families in your care by automatically sending personalized birthday messages to parents and children. Set it up once, and Enrollio will handle the rest — sending warm wishes, special offers, or fun surprises on the big day.

How it works: By default, birthday automations trigger at 8AM in your account's time zone. Enrollio checks all parent and child birthdays in your database and sends messages to those celebrating that day. You don't need to manually add anyone — the automation runs automatically for all families.

Want to send messages at a different time? Add a delay step to your automation to control exactly when your birthday greetings arrive.

Why use birthday automations?

Birthday messages create memorable touchpoints with families. They show you care about more than just enrollment — you value the personal relationships that make your childcare community special.

Key benefits:

  • Build stronger relationships: Personalized birthday wishes make families feel valued and appreciated
  • Increase engagement: Keep your center top-of-mind with parents during special moments
  • Boost referrals: Happy families are more likely to recommend your center to friends
  • Save time: Automate what would otherwise require manual calendar tracking
  • Create wow moments: Stand out from other childcare providers with thoughtful touches
  • Segment by age: Send age-appropriate messages for milestone birthdays (turning 1, starting kindergarten, etc.)

Creative ways to celebrate birthdays

Here are some ideas for using birthday automations in your childcare center:

For children

  • Birthday week recognition: Send parents a message celebrating their child's upcoming birthday, with permission to share cupcakes or treats
  • Special day surprise: Text parents a photo of their child wearing a birthday crown or badge at drop-off
  • Birthday book donation: Invite families to donate a book in their child's name for their birthday
  • Milestone celebrations: Send special messages for first birthdays or when children turn school age
  • Birthday buddy program: Connect birthday children with a special activity or helper for the day

For parents

  • Parent appreciation: Acknowledge parent birthdays with a warm message and small gift card
  • Month-of perks: Offer a discount on extended hours or special programs during their birthday month
  • Sibling care bonus: Provide a free drop-in day so birthday parents can celebrate kid-free
  • Referral incentive: Combine birthday wishes with a special referral bonus valid that month

For staff

  • Team celebration: Automatically notify directors of staff birthdays for team recognition
  • Gift card rewards: Send staff members a birthday bonus or gift card
  • PTO reminder: Encourage staff to use a personal day around their birthday

Setting up birthday automations

Follow these steps to create your first birthday automation:

Step 1: Create your automation

Navigate to Automations in your Enrollio dashboard. Click Create Automation or select an existing automation to edit.

[SCREENSHOT: Automations dashboard showing the Create Automation button]

Step 2: Add the birthday trigger

Click Add Trigger at the start of your automation. Select Birthday Reminder from the trigger options.

[SCREENSHOT: Trigger selection menu with Birthday Reminder highlighted]

Step 3: Configure the trigger settings

Choose whose birthdays you want to celebrate:

  • Primary contact (parent): Celebrates the main account holder's birthday
  • Child contact: Celebrates enrolled children's birthdays
  • All contacts: Celebrates everyone in your database

You can also set filters to target specific groups:

  • Active enrollments only
  • Specific age groups or classrooms
  • Families enrolled for a minimum duration
  • Custom tags or segments
[SCREENSHOT: Birthday trigger configuration panel showing contact type selection and filter options]
Pro tip: Create separate automations for parent birthdays versus child birthdays so you can customize the messaging appropriately.

Step 4: Save your trigger

Click Save to add the birthday trigger to your automation.

Step 5: Add actions

Now add what happens when someone's birthday arrives. Click the + button below your trigger to add an action.

Common actions include:

  • Send email: Deliver a birthday message to the parent's inbox
  • Send SMS: Text a quick birthday greeting
  • Create task: Remind staff to prepare a birthday surprise
  • Add tag: Mark the contact for follow-up or reporting
  • Send internal notification: Alert your team about the birthday
[SCREENSHOT: Action selection menu showing email, SMS, task, and notification options]

Step 6: Customize your message

Click on your email or SMS action to compose your birthday message. Use personalization fields to make each message feel special:

  • {{contact.first_name}} — Child or parent's first name
  • {{contact.full_name}} — Full name
  • {{contact.date_of_birth}} — Birthday date
  • {{parent.first_name}} — Parent's name (when messaging about a child)

Example email for a child's birthday:

Subject: Happy Birthday, {{contact.first_name}}! 🎉

Hi {{parent.first_name}},

We're so excited to celebrate {{contact.first_name}}'s birthday today! We hope this year brings lots of joy, learning, and fun adventures.

Feel free to bring cupcakes or a special snack to share with friends. We'll make sure {{contact.first_name}} feels extra special today!

Happy Birthday from all of us at [Your Center Name]!

[SCREENSHOT: Email composer showing personalization fields and birthday message template]
Pro tip: Keep birthday messages warm and brief. Parents are busy — a heartfelt sentence or two is perfect.

Step 7: Add timing controls (optional)

Want to send your message at a specific time? Add a Wait step before your action.

For example:

  • Wait until 7:00 AM to send before morning drop-off
  • Wait 2 days to send a message before the actual birthday
  • Wait until Monday if the birthday falls on a weekend
[SCREENSHOT: Wait step configuration showing time and date options]

Step 8: Test your automation

Before going live, test your automation with a sample contact. Create a test parent or child record with today's date as the birthday, then monitor whether the automation triggers correctly.

Testing tip: Set the test contact's birthday to today's date and enable the automation. Check that messages arrive as expected, then delete the test contact.

Step 9: Publish and activate

Once you're satisfied with your automation, toggle it to Active. Your birthday messages will now send automatically every day at 8AM for families celebrating that day.

[SCREENSHOT: Automation details page showing Active toggle switch]

Step 10: Monitor and improve

Check your automation performance regularly:

  • Review email open rates and click rates
  • Track SMS response rates
  • Note which messages get the most positive replies
  • Adjust timing, messaging, or offers based on results

You can view automation reports under Automations → [Your Automation] → Reports.

[SCREENSHOT: Automation reports page showing performance metrics]

Frequently asked questions

How often should I send birthday messages?

One message per birthday is usually enough. However, you can create a multi-touch campaign:

  • 1 week before: Remind parents about upcoming celebrations
  • Day of: Send warm wishes
  • 1 day after: Follow up with a photo or special moment from the day

Just be careful not to overdo it — families receive lots of birthday messages from various businesses.

Can I use this for other special dates?

Absolutely! While this automation is designed for birthdays, you can adapt the concept for:

  • Enrollment anniversaries (1 year with your center)
  • First day milestones
  • Graduation from one classroom to another
  • Staff work anniversaries

You'll need to use custom date fields and different trigger logic for non-birthday dates.

What makes a good birthday message?

The best birthday messages are:

  • Personal: Use the child's or parent's name
  • Warm: Keep the tone friendly and genuine
  • Brief: A few sentences is plenty
  • On-brand: Match your center's voice and values
  • Actionable (optional): Include a small gift or special privilege if appropriate

Avoid overly promotional language — birthdays should feel like celebrations, not sales pitches.

How do I know if my birthday messages are working?

Track these metrics:

  • Open rates: Are parents opening your emails?
  • Response rates: Do families reply with thanks?
  • Offer redemption: If you include a discount or perk, how many families use it?
  • Referrals: Do birthday message recipients refer new families more often?
  • Retention: Do celebrated families stay enrolled longer?

Qualitative feedback matters too — listen for comments during pickup or in parent surveys.

How do I keep birthday messages compliant with privacy laws?

Follow these guidelines:

  • Collect birthdays with consent: Make sure your enrollment forms include permission to use personal information for communications
  • Respect opt-outs: If a parent unsubscribes from emails or texts, honor that preference
  • Secure data storage: Enrollio encrypts all personal information, including birth dates
  • Don't share birthdays publicly: Never post children's full names and birth dates on social media
  • Give parents control: Allow families to update or remove birthday information from their profiles

When in doubt, review your center's privacy policy and consult with legal counsel if needed.