Everyone loves their birthday — and whoever says they don't is lying. Who is going to complain about cake, presents, and celebrating with friends and family? On Gilmore Girls, birthdays are a great opportunity to throw a fun party and invite the whole town or try to make the world's biggest pizza.
Season 1 had a blend of funny and dramatic scenes, and one of the most popular episodes is "Rory's Birthday Parties." When the Stars Hollow teen turned 16, her mom went all out with a huge bash, but unfortunately, her grandmother threw her a stiff and formal party as well. There are many moments that fans will always remember fondly.
Emily Made Pudding At Friday Night Dinner
Whenever Lorelai and Rory went to Friday Night Dinner at Emily and Richard's fancy house, fans braced themselves for some hilarious scenes... or some heartbreaking ones.
When Lorelai realized that Emily had served pudding for dessert, she said to her mom, "You don't like pudding." Emily said, "Yes, but you like pudding," and Lorelai joked, "Oh, I love pudding. I worship it." This would come up later in the episode as proof that Emily was attempting to repair her connection with her daughter. It was a funny scene and set the episode up well.
Jackson Created His Own Fruit
Before they started seriously dating, Jackson was Sookie's produce guy and they always had friendly banter about the status of the fruit he had to offer.
In this episode, Jackson did some cross-pollination and he made his own fruit from a raspberry and kumquat. This was a hilarious scene and Sookie was super impressed. Lorelai had a joke ready, asking Jackson if he created a machine from The Fly, and when Michel walked into the kitchen, Jackson had his own comeback: "You! You can make fun of me all you want to today, 'cause today I am a god. Today, Mother Nature has bowed down to me." It wasn't often that viewers heard a lot from Jackson, as he was pretty quiet and chill, so this was a scene when he got to shine.
Emily And Lorelai Went Shopping For Rory's Birthday Present
Emily asked Lorelai to go shopping for Rory's gift and this was one of the best scenes from this season 1 episode.
Lorelai suggested a purse that looked like a guitar, and Emily was shocked that she would suggest such a wild gift. They settled on some nice jewelry and Lorelai said that she could tell Emily was trying to spend more time together. It was a sweet moment and while the two never hung out on a regular basis, it was definitely a start, and fans hoped to see more scenes like this one.
Lorelai Woke Rory Up At The Exact Time She Was Born
Gilmore Girls fans loved the moment when Lorelai crawled into Rory's bed at the exact time that she was born. She wanted to be there to wish her a happy birthday, and it was hard to imagine anything more adorable.
The two chatted a bit, as Lorelai said, "I can't believe how fast you're growing up" and Rory said it was slow. Lorelai asked, "What do you think of your life so far?" and Rory said, "I think it's pretty good." When Lorelai started in on the birth story, Rory had heard it a million times before and went back to sleep. This was a great example of how Lorelai loved the sound of her own voice and couldn't help but be long-winded sometimes.
Rory Yelled At Emily For Throwing A Party With Her Chilton Classmates
Rory started going to Chilton at the beginning of season 1 and it was a long commute from Stars Hollow. It seemed worth it because she wanted to get a great education and be accepted into Harvard.
Emily insisted on throwing Rory a big birthday party and she invited Rory's classmates without asking her or even telling her first. This was definitely the wrong thing to do, and Rory yelled at her grandma, which embarrassed her. Fans understood where Rory was coming from, and this was a dramatic moment from this episode that no one could forget. Rory and Lorelai lay on the bed in Lorelai's childhood bedroom and talked about how Lorelai had always escaped to that room when she lived at home.
Lorelai Yelled, "Get Your A** In Here!" And Then Her Parents Walked In
Rory invited her grandparents to the gathering that Lorelai was throwing for her, and it meant so much to her when they attended. When the doorbell rang, Lorelai yelled that it was a party and the people should walk right in.
Lorelai offended her parents by using the word "a**" and she was immediately embarrassed. This was a very telling moment, as it underlined the tension between these characters and the fact that Lorelai was much more chill and casual than her sophisticated mom and dad.
Emily Thought Lorelai Was Dating Luke
Lorelai might have loved Christopher, but Luke was always her person, and their romance is something that many fans feel very strongly about.
Emily guessed that the two Stars Hollow residents loved each other even before they did, and in this episode, she asked Lorelai about the duration of their relationship. Lorelai was shocked and said they weren't dating, and Emily said that it was obvious that Luke loved her. Lorelai pretended to be unaffected by this, but Emily could tell she was happy to hear that.
Emily Realized She Missed Out On So Much
When looking around Lorelai's bedroom, Emily saw a photo of Lorelai wearing a cast and realized that Lorelai had broken her leg a few years back.
This was a classic moment in the "Rory's Birthday Parties" Gilmore Girls episode because it began to sink in for Emily that she didn't know her daughter very well. She didn't want to be so out of the loop, but she was paralyzed when it came to changing their relationship for the better.
Richard Took A Teen Magazine Quiz
Rory loved spending time with her grandfather and in a particularly charming moment in this episode, Rory found Richard completing a teen magazine quiz. Richard said that he was an "Autumn."
This spoke to the positive relationship that Rory and Richard would later have, as Richard was always willing to listen to his granddaughter and try to be more involved in her world. No one would have expected him to take a magazine quiz, so this was pretty funny.
Dean Gave Rory A Bracelet He Made Her
Dean made Rory her 16th birthday gift and she loved wearing the bracelet all the time. This was the moment when she realized that he really cared about her and that she could trust him with her heart.
Fans will always recall this swoon-worthy scene, as it happened at the end of the episode, and it set up this love story that would last for most of the show's first season. Of course, the couple had a tough road ahead of them, but at this moment, they were blissfully happy.