A coming of age lesson in how to get your round in

Christmas cards have been virtually assigned to the recycling box of the past thanks to the current fashion for e-cards and a distaste for needlessly chopping down trees to produce pieces of folded card.

- Kate Wobschall

But while this is one tradition that’s on the wane, it seems the urge to send birthday cards is still going strong.

Perhaps it's because a message on Facebook just doesn't strike the right balance between sarcastic, rude, funny and tongue-in-cheek.

I love an emoji as much as the next person and while a tiny picture of a cake, some party poppers and a generic greeting is absolutely fine from a friend on social media, it just doesn't cut it when you know someone really well.

With both yours truly and son and heir celebrating over the past month, our house has begun to resemble a paper recycling plant, largely because he celebrated a 'special birthday'.