How To Celebrate A Birthday In Lockdown

Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash

If you or someone you love has a birthday coming up soon, you may be wondering how you can celebrate properly since there isn't too much you can do during the pandemic. Whether you won't be able to see them at all or whether you can see them but can’t take them out, don’t panic. There are still lots of things you can do to make their birthday special and make sure they feel appreciated, even if they can’t celebrate how they usually would.

Birthday In A Box
If you can’t visit your loved one but want to make sure they know that you’re thinking about them, you can send a little something for their birthday through the mail. As well as shipping a gift, consider some other thoughtful birthday treats that you can include.  You could put together a box of their favorite treats, like cookies, or a happy birthday bouquet. Choose a few different things and pack them together in a pretty box to send a ‘birthday in a box’. You could put in a small cake, some candles, some favorite edible treats, and a small bottle of a drink they enjoy, like champagne or wine.

Dinner At Home
If you usually mark a birthday by going out for dinner, you can recreate the restaurant experience at home. If you live with the person celebrating their birthday, choose a room to be your pretend restaurant. Set the dining table with your best plates and flatware, and dress it with flowers or candles, and a nice tablecloth. Put on a playlist of music you might hear when you eat out. If you’re a good cook, you could make the dinner yourself. If you’re not, don't worry because there are other options. You could always get takeout or delivery from a favorite restaurant. Many restaurants are also offering ‘at home’ versions of their dishes, where they make the dishes and you just need to heat them up at home. This is a much easier way to get a fancy dinner at home without the stress of cooking.

Pretend Night Out
Recreate a birthday night out at home. Set up different rooms in your homes as different places you’d normally go to, like a bar, a restaurant, cinema, or club. Tell the birthday boy or girl to get dressed up for a night out and get dressed up yourself. Hang lights in your study and turn it into a bar where you can take your loved one for a drink. Put out spirits and mixers, a bottle of their favorite spirits, or ingredients for cocktails. The dining room can be a restaurant. Serve a home-cooked dinner, a takeaway, or an at-home restaurant box. You could transform the living room into a cinema or theatre and screen a favorite movie or one of the many theatre productions that have been put online during the pandemic. Make sure you have snacks. Finally, make a playlist of their favorite songs, turn down the lights and make a "nightclub", so you can finish the night by going dancing.

Birthday celebrations can still be very special even during these strange times. All it takes is a little creativity and effort.

This is a contributed post.