According to an aide, U.S. President Barack Obama turned 49 Wednesday without his family around to help him celebrate.

It may be noted that Obama hasn't said much about his last birthday before he hit 50. He noted at an appearance in Atlanta that his gray-hair count has risen sharply in the past 12 months.

It was reported that Obama had received two phone calls, one from first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, who are on vacation in Spain, and the other from his daughter Malia, who is at camp and used her one call allowed per day to phone him.

Gibbs said, "And needless to say, it was the, both those calls were the highlights of his day."

The Secret Service detail that protects Obama got the president "a nice gift" that was, well, secret, the press secretary said.

Gibbs added, "We didn't want to get into specifics on what it is, but it was a heartfelt gift."

According to Gibbs, the president spent at least part of the flight playing cards.

They would make a big deal of Obama's birthday even though he was publicly downplaying the milestone, Democratic fundraisers have said. Organizing for America, the fundraising arm of the Democratic National Committee, has arranged about 600 parties across the country.

The parties wouldn't be all cake and piñatas, DNC spokeswoman Lynda Tran told ABC News. Guests were to be urged to hit the phones and e-mails and rev up the party faithful for the upcoming November elections.

Tran said, "We thought we'd take the opportunity to celebrate his birthday today to pay homage to his career, but also accomplish something serious at the same time." (With Inputs from Agencies)