Hello Bend! Is anyone in the process of planning a pandemic birthday celebration? As we continue to experience living life during a pandemic, we are also quickly adapting to this “new normal”. As much as we would all like to get back to business as usual, the reality of the reemergence into society is that it may be a much slower process than originally thought.
It’s incredible to realize that simple things that we took for granted, like a simple walk in the park with a friend, a coffee date or lunch meeting have become off-limits as we work together to stay safe and healthy. With two early April birthdays in our house, we understood quickly that our “normal” birthday celebrations would not be an option this year. In the midst of the disruption of our normal, daily rituals and the upheaval of traditional celebrations and gatherings, we work to keep our spirits high (and those of our loved ones) by creating new celebrations to honor the special times in our lives. I’ve listed a few ways to get creative with Pandemic Birthday Celebrations:
The Birthday Car Parade
My girlfriends organized an incredible birthday car parade for my recent birthday and it was a big surprise and a huge success. It absolutely made my day! They lined up in their vehicles in front of my house with balloons and signs on their car, or popping out the sunroof, honking their horns and causing a grand commotion. There was even a “Happy Birthday” trumpet solo! The girls ran up and dropped off flowers, cards and gifts at the end of the walkway before driving off! This is guaranteed to make anyone’s birthday special.
The Birthday Tailgate
We celebrated my friend’s birthday last weekend with a tailgate gathering, staying socially distanced in the back of our vehicles. We picked up dinner from a local restaurant and everyone brought their own drinks to minimize contact and cupcakes made it easy for all of us to enjoy special birthday treats.
The Birthday Delivery
Let someone know you are thinking about them by dropping off a little something on their special day. If you would normally take a friend to lunch, instead bring them lunch from their favorite restaurant….or a coffee from Backporch Coffee Roasters…or an Ocean Roll from Sparrow Bakery. Make gifting fun, get creative! Put together a bag of your favorite things, drop off a bottle of your favorite wine, or even pick up a fashionable facemask from Lulu’s Boutique to really make her day. The Victorian and The Hideway are now offering Bloody Mary kits. Pair this with a bottle of vodka for one unique, amazing gift!
Kid’s Birthday Surprise
The kids are even more affected during this time, especially if they are used to having birthday parties with a group of friends. Make their day special by dropping off a gift to keep them busy during quarantine. The toy stores in Bend – Learning Express, Hopscotch Kids and Leapin’ Lizards – are still open for business! You can easily shop over the phone by age and gender and pick it up curbside. Learning Express will even have it all wrapped up for you pick and deliver to the birthday boy or girl. Joann and Michaels Craft stores are still open and have many great craft kits.
The Zoom Birthday
Plan the time and invite friends and family into your home to sing “Happy Birthday” in front of the cake! It is sure to put a smile on your little ones face to see some of their friends from school that they’ve been missing over the last several weeks.
The Birthday Campout
Keep things close to home this year and set up a family birthday campout in your backyard. Hang the birthday banner across the front of the tent and make it a special night to remember under the stars! If you really want to get crazy, skip the cake and opt for an endless supply of S’mores instead!
The Birthday Date Night
Order an upscale meal from one of our amazing, high-end local restaurants to make it a special dinner in. Bos Taurus, Zydeco, Joolz, Chi Chinese and 5 Fusion for sushi are all great options! Are the kiddos invading your space all day? Plan a special movie night with your loved one after the kiddos are in bed. We have older kids and we’ve started incorporating a weekly date night into our family routine. We call it “Kids Night” in our house and our kids get to pick a movie to watch upstairs while we watch a movie of our choice downstairs. It’s been a game changer for our family (and our marriage)!
The Birthday Brunch
Bring in a delicious birthday brunch to start the day off right! The Victorian, Nancy P’s Café, Chow and even Black Bear Diner are offering breakfast and lunch to go. The Victorian also offers Bloody Mary kits (you supply the vodka) and their private label champagne for pick up as well. Now that is doing a birthday brunch right!
The Kid’s Birthday Brunch
Make it a fun birthday morning for the kiddos with a special “make your own” pancake station. Modeled after the super fun Slappy Cakes restaurant in Portland, we set up the griddle and made a big batch of pancake batter. Give the kids their own batter to pour their special pancake creations and load them up with fun ingredients. We set out small containers of strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, nuts and sprinkles. Toppings included syrup, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Add a candle to the top of the pancake stack for the birthday child and snap a photo of this fun memory-making birthday brunch!
Share your ideas!
What are some of the ways you’ve been making birthdays special during this pandemic in your house?
Having an April birthday, I got to experience the full effects of a pandemic birthday celebration. I received so much love from friends and family for my birthday and it truly made it one of my most memorable birthdays. My husband even took on all the laundry for the week as the cherry on top! It’s all about your attitude—Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.”
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