Birthday Mode
Give each child a birthday and TaskMate makes the day feel special: every chore pays extra, there's a birthday banner with confetti on their card, they earn a Birthday badge, and if you like, they get the day off chores altogether.
New in v6.0.0
TaskMate panel → Children → Edit → Birthday
| Format | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|
YYYY-MM-DD |
2018-09-28 |
Birthday on 28 September, and the banner shows their age ("8 today!") |
MM-DD |
09-28 |
Birthday on 28 September, with no age shown |
Leave it empty and birthday mode is simply off for that child. Impossible dates and dates in the future are refused.
The setup wizard can also take a birthday when you add children.
A leap-day birthday is celebrated on 28 February in years that don't have a 29th.
| What the child gets | |
|---|---|
| Bonus points | Every chore pays the birthday multiplier (2× by default). |
| Banner | A "Happy birthday, Mia — 8 today!" banner on the child card and the points display card, showing the multiplier. |
| Confetti | The child card plays confetti the first time it's opened that day. |
| Badge | The built-in Birthday badge is awarded. |
| Day off (optional) | Non-mandatory chores are hidden for the day. |
| Notification (optional) | A "Happy birthday!" message in the morning. |
TaskMate panel → Settings → History & streaks
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Birthday points multiplier | 2 |
Chore points on a child's birthday, from 1 to 5. 1 turns the bonus off. |
| Birthday day off | Off | Hide non-mandatory chores on a child's birthday. |
These apply to every child. The birthday itself is set per child.
The multiplier is applied on top of whatever the chore would normally pay that day. Difficulty tiers, Chore Roulette and the weekend bonus all still apply, and the birthday multiplier rides on top of them.
The bonus follows the day the chore was done, not the day it was approved. A chore done on the birthday and approved the next morning still pays double.
If a birthday completion is undone or rejected, the full amount, including the birthday bonus, is taken back.
With Birthday day off switched on:
- Non-mandatory chores are hidden for that child for the day.
- Mandatory chores stay. Medicine and teeth still matter on a birthday.
- The day never breaks their streak, and it isn't counted as a required day for a perfect week.
- Streak-at-risk and bedtime reminders aren't sent for the hidden chores.
- It never uses up a streak freeze.
Birthday is a built-in bronze badge. Like every built-in badge, a child earns it once. You can also use the Birthday today metric when you create your own badges. See Achievement Badges.
Turn on the Birthday notification type under TaskMate panel → Notifications to send the child a message on the morning of their birthday:
Happy birthday, Mia! Every chore pays 2× today.
It goes out at the child's notification time, or 08:00 if they don't have one. It's off by default. See Notifications.
On the day, TaskMate fires a taskmate_celebration event with kind: birthday, plus the multiplier and, when the birth year is known, the child's age. Use it to play a song on the speakers or change the lights.
- Children — adding and editing children
- Celebrations — the confetti and celebration events
- Achievement Badges — the Birthday badge
- Streak Freezes — other ways a streak is protected