Best way to remember your patron saint is to pray the Liturgy of the Hours that day, and if you can, go to Mass, because if that saint is on the calendar, the LOTH will sort all that out for you, and so will the Mass if that saint is a mandatory memorial. Mine is St. Michael the Archangel, Sept. 29, and I do pray the LOTH daily so I will be taking note of it.
For my birthday, let’s say that at 57 I’m less and less keen on being reminded of being yet another year older, although I usually appreciate the “traditional” bottle(s) of wine my wife gives me as gifts and the “traditional” lobster supper, as my birthday falls right in the peak of the lobster season (June)