How do we continue to safely celebrate life during these times of quarantine? While certain aspects of our lives are at a standstill, birthdays are still happening and people are getting more creative than ever!
I believe this will go down in history. The way that we have come together as friends and families to still make others around us feel loved is a true inspiration.
Turning 92 is an accomplishment in itself. Vic Johnson and other family members made birthday signs and did window shoutouts for his Great Grandma’s 92nd birthday! Happy Birthday Mom Holloway!
Anita’s son Silas turned 5 years old and it was so special that he declared it was “his best birthday ever!” Between birthday signs and zoom calls, Silas felt the love from his family and friends!
Amy Worrell has used their family birthdays as a time to bake cakes together, make handmade gifts and set up Skype calls with family and friends.
Katie MacKinnon baked a cake for her sister’s birthday and then split it three ways. She gave a plate to her mom and a plate to her sister and kept one for herself. She dropped off gifts on the front porch and watched her sister open them from the car. Later that evening, they FaceTimed as a family and ate the birthday cake together!
Tomilayo Ajibodu, originally from Nigeria and now living in Nebraska, celebrated her 30th birthday inside. She said it was still fun because she spent the day on FaceTime with her family and friends. One of her friends even dropped off dinner and flowers.
JC Pelsey, from San Diego, is incredibly extroverted so, even with having three housemates, she found having a quarantine birthday a stretch for her emotionally. “It’s clearly a unique time in history with a lot of layers to unpack, so in a way – removing options was a forcing function to actually feel #allthethings instead of being distracted by company. My housemates were lovely though, we chatted through everything I was processing (which was such a gift in itself) and they ordered sushi and bubbly for delivery.” It also made her feel good that some vendors/delivery/service providers were getting a little income from those that sent her packages and flowers.
Sarah Raddatz, from Pickering, Ontario, got creative for her husband’s birthday. She made a birthday cake and then went searching in her cupboard for decorating supplies, and found birthday cake timbit cereal! They didn’t have any candles so they used an app called candle simulator, for Joel to blow out a birthday candle. Sarah continues to get creative as her sweet son Levi has also been holding birthday signs and posting photos for their family and friends. When it came to her dad’s birthday she and her sister, Leah, wrote him a song and made a slideshow. That’s something he will cherish long after quarantine!
Emily Harris, from Toronto, appreciated when her parents lit a candle on a muffin and drove it over for her! “It was hilarious and adorable and so thoughtful during a time when it wasn’t safe for us to go out for dinner.”
Robin’s son Noah turned 8 and was super sad that he couldn’t have a birthday party with his friends. They still decorated the house and set up his presents for him when he woke up in the morning. While it’s a little strange, they are still doing their best to find joy and love each other in these circumstances.
Andrea’s daughter Bella, turned 5 in Paraguay. She asked family and friends from around the world to send a video greeting. They decorated the house, cooked her favourite meal and had a videoconference with close relatives to sing and blow out the birthday candle.
Samantha had a birthday party planned for her son Reyer but had to cancel it. She still had tractor and cow print balloons set up as he opened his presents on video so that his family could celebrate with him.
Kristen’s daughter Sydney turned one years old and although this is usually a year celebrated with big parties, they made the best of it and had a great day! To include others in the fun, Syndey tried her birthday cake in the garage so that her grandparents could watch from afar and other family could watch via video chat! As you can see, Sydney enjoyed her cake!
Danielle Campbell celebrated her birthday with her husband and daughter by going for a walk in the sunshine. Her parents dropped off a DQ treatzza pizza, flowers were delivered from friends and her husband cooked her favourite dinner to make it special! Then she finished off the night by FaceTiming her girlfriends with a glass of wine.
Ashley said that “celebrating our four year old’s birthday during the covid crisis reminded me of what truly matters to my child. When we couldn’t celebrate with friends or take in the activities in our city we love, we were left with US. We held on to the fact that what our son loves most is intentional time spent with us – that’s his favourite thing.” So they leaned in, put their worries on hold and spent the day enjoying all of his favourites! One day, he will look back at the photos and will see lots of smiles and lots of love.
Birthdays are still bringing joy and bringing us together. Even when we are (at least) 6 feet apart! Love knows no bounds!
To see how we celebrated our daughter’s birthday during quarantine, click here!
