Should I voice my wishes for more genuine birthday connections, and not just Facebook birthday wishes?

You should voice your desire, by phone or in person. If you are no longer a child living at home it is absolutely your responsibility to make it known that this is important to you. Facebook is too casual a medium to try to make concrete plans. Make the effort for a more personal connection, you will likely be rewarded for your efforts.

Have a lovely birthday!

I agree with @canidmajor . Call and invite them! When you reach about 17 it becomes your responsibility to get the party started. A little prep work, like taking your friends out on their BD, will induce them to take you out on yours. Start the tradition!

Have a Happy Birthday. :-)

(ActualIy, I don’t even look at invites from FB. Does anyone?)

At least send individual PMs. A universal invite is much too casual. I wouldn’t mention the former invitation, but simply message or call everyone you want to be there.

Welcome to Fluther! Hope you stick around! :]

I can relate to this situation because I have gone through this a couple of times. I can advice you to talk it out with your peeps. There’s no harm in doing that, after all it’s your birthday! No ones going to mind.
Welcome to fluther.
Have a good one!

Welcome to Fluther! I agree, FB can give the illusion of connection. Make it happen. Invite a few friends to join you for the music.

Since my divorce, I’ve started my own birthday tradition of going out for Sunday brunch with some of my closest woman friends.

My friends and I are guys well over 40. Therefore we have the brain defect that prevents us from remembering any birth date other than our own.

We came up with a great way to prevent hard feelings over missed or forgotten dates. We made it the birthday boy’s responsibility to bring in the cake, donuts or cupcakes and coffee for the celebration. If he wants birthday hats and plates – fine, as long as he brings them. We even passed around the same birthday card – unsigned!
It was great! Fun and enjoyable.

Yep, it is your responsibility to let your friends know that you would like to make plans to do something or go somewhere. Otherwise an acknowledgement is good enough. They DID send you happy birthday wishes and you cannot be mad if nobody is stepping forward to plan a big event for your BD. It is up to you to invite friends to go out.

You must also realize that not everyone is attached to birthdays and holidays. You can’t be mad at someone if you are not communicating honestly with them.
If you don’t express your desires they probably figure you already have plans, and maybe THEY feel left out!
Gotta look at all possible angles here.

Happy Birthday!

Not only is it your responsibility, but an absolute necessity, particularly if you want the men involved to pay attention. Most of the men I know don’t give a damn about their own birthdays, and all are notorious for falling down when it comes to sentimental “special” days.

Make phone calls or if you and your friends are really in FB, pm the ones you’d like to attend the event.

I don’t read FB invites. Too much of it is for events that are not person or important.

I guess you have to enter your birth date on Facebook for people to receive a reminder that it is your birthday, what about removing your birth date from the information you provide Facebook and simply contacting people individually when your birthday is getting close and making a suggestion or suggestions of places you would like to go with your friends to celebrate? Just a thought.

People may assume lots of people have responded with a yes. Think how flattered they will be if you message them directly and by name and say you’d love them to share your birthday with you by going to listen to some live music. I hope you end up having a lovely birthday.

don’t do it in social media like facebook, just talk to them in face or by phone :)