If you are wondering how to handle such prickly plants there are several ways - use tongs such as you would for meat or salad, make a wrap from cardboard to lift them or use thick, leather fireplace gloves. Indoors they must have bright light near a window and hardly any water during the winter - maybe once ever six weeks give them two tablespoon of water. Use a potting soil made for cacti and use clay pots that drain quickly. I suspect the company that sent you the plants online has more specific growing information so I will defer to their expert recommendations for this variety of cacti. Many happy returns on the birthday. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti