Joe Biden is 66 today. I expect that he's celebrating by doing all of his favorite things: riding on Amtrak, grinning like a maniac, inadvertently insulting his friends.

However, Barack Obama apparently didn't get the memo about the exact date of the Vice President-Elect's special day, because he was celebrating yesterday. With cupcakes.

Biden's birthday is Thursday, but Obama surprised his No. 2 after their weekly lunch Wednesday at the transition office in Chicago. According to staff, Obama presented Biden — a Delaware senator with decades of foreign policy experience — with a dozen cupcakes decorated with candles and teased, "You're 12 years old!"

Staff reported that Biden, ever astute in the art of politics, laughed at the his boss's joke. He responded: "Maybe in dog years!"

Obama led the rest of the staff in song, then handed over some Chicago-themed gifts: a White Sox cap, a Bears cap and a bucket of Garrett's popcorn, a hometown favorite.

So, really what Biden got was a reminder of what he has to look forward to for the next four years… a boss who forgets when his birthday is, makes lame jokes at his expense, gives him gifts that he's just going to take back anyway, and meets with him exactly once a week for an awkward lunch.

And no pinata.

(photo via CNN)