How to Add Birthdays to Google Calendar (and Make Them Show)

Forgetting a client's or a friend's birthday is the kind of small thing that sticks. Google Calendar can remind you every single year without you lifting a finger, but it doesn't work the way most people expect. You don't really add birthdays in Calendar at all. You add them in Contacts, and Calendar picks them up. Here's how it works and how to make sure they show.

How birthdays get into Google Calendar

Google says birthday information syncs with your calendar when you add a person and include their birthday in Google Contacts. Calendar has a special Birthdays calendar that reads those dates and repeats them every year. That's why you'll see birthdays for people you never added to your calendar by hand: their dates are already in your contacts.

Add a birthday in Google Contacts

1. Go to contacts.google.com, or open the Contacts app on Android.
2. Find the person, or click Create contact to add someone new.
3. Click Edit (the pencil icon).
4. Find the Birthday field. If you can't see it, click Show more.
5. Enter the date and click Save.
6. Open Google Calendar. The birthday appears on the Birthdays calendar and repeats every year.

Make sure birthdays are switched on

If birthdays aren't showing, the calendar is probably hidden. On your computer, open Google Calendar, expand My calendars on the left, and check the box next to Birthdays. Google says this one box controls both manually created birthdays and the ones imported from Contacts.

Why you can't just create a birthday event

Here's the insight that trips people up: Google says you can't create events for the Birthday or Holiday calendars. If you click Create and look for a birthday option, it won't add anything to that special calendar. The Contacts route is the official way in. If you really want a separate reminder, you can make a normal event on your own calendar and set it to repeat every year, but it won't behave like a real birthday entry linked to the person.

Editing and deleting birthdays

What you do	What happens
Edit a birthday in the Calendar app on Android, iPhone or iPad	The same change is made in Google Contacts
Delete a birthday from Calendar	The date stays in Google Contacts
Change the date in Contacts	Calendar updates to match
Turn off Sync from Contacts	All synced birthdays and important dates are removed from Calendar

That last row is the one to be careful with. Google warns that turning off Sync from Contacts deletes all synced events in Calendar, including birthdays, important dates and any changes you made to them. Your contacts are safe, but your calendar loses them.

Change the colour of birthdays

To make birthdays stand out, expand My calendars, hover over Birthdays, click the three dots and pick a colour. I use a bright colour so they jump out from meetings when I glance at the week.

Hide birthdays from one account

If you have more than one Google account in Calendar, you might not want every contact's birthday from your personal account cluttering your work view. Go to Settings, click Birthdays under Settings for my calendars, and under Sync from Contacts untick the accounts you want to hide. Google says those birthdays come off your calendar but remain in Contacts. Sync is on for every account by default.

Get a reminder before the day

Seeing a birthday on the day is nice. Getting a nudge the day before, when you can still post a card or plan a message, is better. Open the Birthdays calendar's options in Settings and look at the notification settings for that calendar so you're reminded in time. A quick personal message to a client on their birthday is one of the simplest relationship builders I know. For social reminders, see my guide to wishing someone happy birthday on Snapchat, and if you run a community, a community content calendar template helps you plan member shout-outs.

Birthdays from a work account

If you use Google Calendar through work, birthdays work the same way, but they come from the contacts saved in that account. You might find colleagues' birthdays appear if they're in your work contacts with a date saved. If you'd rather keep work and personal separate, use the Sync from Contacts setting above to choose which account's birthdays you see where.

A quick check if one birthday is missing

1. Open the person in Google Contacts and confirm the birthday field is filled in.
2. Check you're looking at the same Google account in Calendar as in Contacts.
3. Make sure that account is ticked under Sync from Contacts in the Birthdays settings.
4. Give it a little time to sync, then refresh Calendar.

My verdict

Add birthdays in Google Contacts, not in Calendar, and make sure the Birthdays box is ticked under My calendars. Pick a bright colour, set a reminder, and never switch off Sync from Contacts unless you want every synced birthday gone from your calendar.

Frequently asked questions

Why are birthdays not showing in my Google Calendar?

Check that Birthdays is ticked under My calendars, and that the person's birthday is saved in Google Contacts.

Can I add a birthday directly in Google Calendar?

Google says you can't create events for the Birthday calendar. Add the birthday in Google Contacts and it syncs to Calendar.

If I delete a birthday in Calendar, is it deleted from Contacts?

No. Deleting a birthday from Calendar doesn't affect the information stored in Google Contacts.

How do I change the colour of birthdays in Google Calendar?

Under My calendars, hover over Birthdays, click Options and choose a new colour.

What happens if I turn off Sync from Contacts?

Google says it deletes all synced events in Calendar, including birthdays and important dates.