Darren's family birthday tradition

Updated Feb. 26, 2025, 7:30 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast

Darren Maule shared his family's birthday tradition with Carmen on her special day – from all the thoughtful gifts to heartfelt memories and wishes.

There was an extra dose of thoughtfulness and charm in the air as breakfast host Darren Maule celebrated the gorgeous Carmen Reddy on her birthday this week.

He was determined to make Carmen’s birthday unforgettable, so he decided to surprise her with all the little details and traditions his family holds dear when marking a loved one’s special day.

Darren’s listeners know and love the thoughtful gestures that define the Maule household. He often mentions the honey toast and coffee on a tray in the mornings and breakfast in bed on weekends. For Darren, birthdays are just an excuse to go above and beyond – and yes, it involves a tray!

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Darren shares, “Anna and the girls think of Carmen as one of the family, and the idea to do something special for her birthday started when one of the girls suggested, ‘Can’t we all show up at her apartment with a birthday tray, balloons, gifts, handwritten notes, and sing Happy Birthday to wake her up, just like we do here?’”

The plan quickly escalated: “Can’t she come over for a sleepover the night before so we can do the early morning wake-up here?”

However, given that the breakfast team starts their day at 4:00 am to be in the studio by 5:00 am, the sleepover idea quickly fell through. But that didn’t stop them!

Plan B involved sneaking everything into the studio early on the birthday morning so Darren could surprise Carmen live on air.

Darren says, “I have to say, we’ve got birthdays down to a fine art, and it’s the little details that really make them special.”

For the birthday surprise, the first item on the list was a personalised tray for Carmen – something she could keep for future special days.

“Everyone in our household has their own favourite mug,” Darren explains, “so the next step was to get Carmen a new one.”

After hearing that Carmen was bringing a pink cake to share in the studio, Darren and his family chose a posh pink ceramic mug for her, wrapped in a glittery gold box.

“Wrapping is half the fun,” Darren says. “We like to wrap gifts so they’re impossible to identify and use excessive tape to make them tricky to open. Plus, we have a collection of lovely and silly gift bags that get reused year after year – they’re part of the tradition.”

Next, Darren crafted a cheesy poster filled with cute messages and funny memories, and the whole family (including the dogs) wrote in a card.

“Max and Gemma knew exactly what to get Carmen,” Darren adds. “Gemma picked a unicorn and tinsel pom-pom keyring, and Max chose some pink leopard print pens!”

Darren’s family didn't stop there – they also added a touch of homemade goodness to the birthday tray.

“Mouse baked cookies,” Darren says. “We always put something like honey toast, a croissant, cookies, or a fairy cake on the birthday tray with a candle so the birthday starts – and ends – with the blowing out of a candle.”

Anna reached out to the same company that handles every family birthday’s custom balloon request.

“Every birthday, we always get a clear balloon with the birthday person’s name on it,” Darren says. “These balloons last forever and hang around the house for a week, keeping the birthday love going!”

On the Sunday before Carmen’s birthday, Darren received her personalised balloon along with some pink and gold balloons, and everything was falling into place for the big morning surprise.

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Darren and his producer also worked on a special touch – a voice-note rendition of “Happy Birthday” from Anna’s parents, a Maule family tradition. This year, they decided to get a little creative.

“We reached out to some of Carmen’s favourite South African comedians to record birthday messages,” Darren explains.

“We played them for her first thing on Monday morning, and my producer worked magic to make sure the surprise fit seamlessly into the breakfast show without Carmen knowing.”

Another cherished family tradition is printing out special photos to decorate the house.

Darren and Carmen have many memorable photos to choose from, but he settled on a few from their favourite times together, including pictures from the 2024 Durban July, a New Year photoshoot, their recent Valentine’s show, and an outdoor broadcast.