A birthday calendar on paper does one job well: everyone who walks past the fridge, or the office kitchen, can see whose day is coming. It's also handy to post to a grandparent or hand to a new colleague. This guide covers what goes on one, and how to make it from your iPhone with Birthday Cat, our birthday and anniversary list for iPhone and iPad, which prints the list or a year calendar for you.
What goes on a birthday calendar
Keep it short, so it reads from across the room:
- The name. For a couple, both names, like "Mum and Dad".
- The day and month. Sorted by month, January to December.
- The age they turn, if you know the year. Or the years together for an anniversary. Leave it off when you don't know the year.
- Which ones are anniversaries. So nobody wishes a couple a happy birthday.
Gift ideas and reminders stay in the app. They're not printed on any page.
Add the dates
Each person you add in Birthday Cat goes on the page. Tap Add, the + button at the top right, type the name, pick Birthday or Anniversary, then the Month, the Day and the Year (or Not sure), and tap Add. There's no limit on how many, and it's free. For reminders and gift ideas too, see how to remember birthdays on iPhone.
Print the free layouts
Tap Print or share, the printer button at the top left. It's greyed out until you've added someone. The menu has a section for each free layout, each with Print and Share PDF.
Birthday list. A page titled "Birthday list", with the date you printed it and how many dates are on it. Everyone is grouped by month, January to December, then by day. Each row shows the day, the name, "Anniversary" for anniversaries, and, when you've added the year, the age they turn on their next birthday, like "turns 31", or "35 years together". A long list runs onto more pages, and a month heading never sits alone at the bottom of a page.
Year calendar. One landscape page with the year at the top and "Birthdays and anniversaries" beside it. The twelve months sit in a grid of four across and three down, each with its days and names. Anniversaries have a ♥ after the names. This page doesn't show ages, so it stays tidy. If a month has more names than fit in its box, the last line says "+ 2 more", and the birthday list has everyone in full.
The year calendar is for the current calendar year, January to December. Print it in January and it covers the whole year ahead. Later in the year, the months already gone are still on it.
Tap Print to open the print panel and pick your printer. Each page has a small "Birthday Cat" note at the bottom.
Paper size
Birthday Cat sizes the pages for your region: Letter in the US, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and a few other places, and A4 everywhere else.
Share it as a PDF
Tap Share PDF under either layout to send the file with the share sheet, wherever you choose: a message to a family member who has a printer, an email, or Files. The files are named like "Birthdays 2026-10-25.pdf" and "Birthday calendar 2026.pdf".
More layouts with Pro
Under More layouts in the same menu there are three more layouts, part of Birthday Cat Pro:
- By group. A section for each group with someone in it, like Family or Work, with the month and day on each row, then "No group" for everyone else. Someone in two groups shows in both, and each section says how many dates it has.
- Month by month. A page for each month of this year, with its dates at the top and ruled lines for notes below.
- Fridge card. "Next 12 months" on one page, starting from this month, in two columns of six, with the age each person turns that month.
Without Pro, these show a lock and open the Pro screen when tapped. Groups are part of Pro too.
What Birthday Cat doesn't do
- It doesn't print gift ideas or reminders. The pages show names, dates, ages and years together.
- It doesn't let you change the fonts, colours or page design. Each layout is fixed.
- The free year calendar is always this calendar year. For the 12 months from now, use the Pro fridge card.
- It doesn't send or order prints. You print at home or share the PDF.
What it costs
Birthday Cat is free for as many birthdays and anniversaries as you have, with reminders, ages and countdowns, gift ideas, and the birthday list and year calendar to print or share. There's no account and no ads. Your dates are kept on your device and in your own backups, and go only where you share them.
Birthday Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase that adds three more print layouts (by group, month by month, and a fridge card), groups, import from Contacts, your own reminder time for each person, and CSV import and export. More on the Birthday Cat page.
Quick answers
Can I print a birthday calendar for free?
Yes. The birthday list and the year calendar are both free to print or share as a PDF.
Does the calendar show ages?
The birthday list shows the age each person turns next, when you've added the year. The year calendar shows names only. The Pro fridge card shows the age they turn that month.
What if a month is too full?
On the year calendar, the box ends with "+ N more". The birthday list has everyone, over as many pages as it needs.
Can I split it into work and family?
With Pro, yes. Put people in groups and print the By group layout. Each group gets its own section on the page.
Can I print from iPad?
Yes. The Print or share button is at the top left on iPad too.
Try Birthday Cat
Try Birthday Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/birthday-cat