To mark our blog’s first birthday (coming up this Wednesday – along with a very special giveaway) – we’ve collected a few crazy birthday facts about how the rich and famous like to celebrate their special milestones.

• Elton John’s 60^th birthday reportedly cost over £9m! He dressed as Louis XIV and wore a wig so extravagant, it needed special transportation to arrive at the party.
• Texan billionaire David Bonderman had a big birthday bonanza in Las Vegas for his 60^th, Robin Wlliams was the MC at dinner and The Rolling Stones provided the entertainment.
• Celebrity children also have a penchant for big birthday blowouts – Suri Cruise (daughter of Tom) had a birthday cake that cost £3000 for her 4^th birthday and Gwen Stefani’s son Kingston Rossdale’s 4^th birthday party reportedly cost £9000.
• Simon Cowell apparently served alphabet soup at his 50^th birthday that only contained the letters S I M O N. Soul legends Earth, Wind and Fire also performed.
• Naomi Campbell had a legendary 3 day celebration in Dubai for her birthday – each day had a different theme – all white, hip-hop and Brazilian samba – the whole thing was said to have cost £1.1m!
• In what has got to be one of the most extravagant birthday celebrations of all time, the Sultan of Brunei had a massive birthday bash for his 50^th birthday. 60,000 guests celebrated with champagne and caviar and were gifted a solid gold medal each and Michael Jackson himself provided the entertainment for the evening. The swanky affair is rumoured to have cost almost £17m. Where was our invite?

If you know someone with a special birthday coming up, check out our brand new range of special occasions gift cards – including a selection for those momentous birthdays.

At the moment you’ll also pick up a free photo book from Photobox with every special occasions purchase.

And if you fancy bagging a present for yourself, don’t forget to check back on Wednesday for our birthday giveaway.

What’s the craziest way you’ve celebrated a birthday?

Images A♥, Earl, Jessica Diamond, Nicole Resseguie-Snyder and Carsten Karl via Flickr