The first series of Birthday Beanies was introduced in Summer 2001 (July was the first) and followed immediately in 2002 by a second series. When the second series finished in 2003 and third series was not introduced. However in July and December of 2004 two new Beanies named "Happy Birthday" were introduced. These were an orange bear and a red bear, each carrying a gift with "Happy Birthday" embroidered on their right foot.

This is where it gets confusing! In 2005 they were joined by four more Beanies, all named "Happy Birthday"! The first of these in March was almost the size of a Teenie Beanie or a Key-clip, also carrying a gift. In May and August another matching pair were introduced, this time wearing three pointed hats and with "Happy Birthday" embroidered on their chests. The final Birthday Beanie of 2005 was a 'curly' bear with a matching hat and bowtie, and "Happy Birthday" embroidered on his feet (one word on each foot).

April 2006 saw the introduction of another Happy Birthday, this time in the Beanie Greetings Collection, carry a sign reading "Happy Birthday".  The other introduction of 2006 was another hat-wearing bear. This time the hat is a cake, and once again the words "Happy Birthday" are embroidered across his chest.

March 2007 saw yet another two "Happy Birthday" bears. This time released together, one in red and one in blue. They have balloons on their chest and are wearing hats very similar to the Second Series of Birthday Bears, but this time centred on their heads, instead of over one ear! One more bear was added to the collection in 2008 - another brown bear, also wearing a hat, with "Happy Birthday" embroidered across his chest.