How To Make a Birthday Special While in Quarantine

We are living in uncertain and unusual times. So many things have been cancelled – school, sports, our jobs even. But there is one thing, no matter what, that won’t go away and that is turning another year older. Due to all the restrictions we are facing and the social distancing we are adhering to, many people are spending their birthdays alone or with their immediate families. Gone are the ‘traditional’ birthday parties and dinners, and instead are more intimate celebrations we are having to get clever with! I was surprised how many of you were curious to hear what I was planning for my husbands birthday last weekend so I figured I would share everything I did here {+ a few bonus ideas at the end!}

Breakfast in bed – I had planned to surprise my husband with breakfast in bed, but a last minute conference call scrapped that plan so I just brought him coffee and a sweet card instead. We love hanging out and snuggling with Henning in the mornings so adding our coffee to that meant we could stay in bed and enjoy a little longer 🙂

Order flowers – Even though my husband doesn’t really care about flower arrangements, I thought ordering an arrangement or two would not only boost both our morales, but it would also help support a local business. I ordered one small and one medium arrangement from Pointers Petals here in Dallas and they were amazing to work with! Meredith was so sweet and responsive to all my requests and they delivered on time with no contact for me to worry about. All I had to do was wipe down the vases with a Clorox wipe and then I was good to go!

Order balloons – I wouldn’t normally order balloons for my husbands birthday but since we spent the entire day inside {it was also cold + raining} I thought big birthday balloons might add a lot of cheer {+ easy decoration that packs a big punch!} I ordered from Glamfetti and they turned out great! This is what I ordered and my husband really got a kick out it. The letters were also pretty easy to blow up + put together.

Make their favorite dessert – Every year since my husband was born he has had a special chocolate cake made for him by his ‘yoyita’ {basically his 3rd grandmother}. Due to our restrictions, I know he assumed he wouldn’t be getting the cake this year. I even made him chocolate cupcakes a few days before his bday to throw him off even more. Luckily, sweet Yoyita was able to make the cake and drop it off {she has been self quarantining for over three weeks} and let me tell you it was the BEST surprise! He was so, so excited and even more so since it reminded him of more normal times.

Set your table with your fanciest tableware – My husband and I have china from when we got married that we never use. Like literally, never. So, I thought it would be a fun, special surprise to set our table using all of our finest china and table wear. I got out the crystal and the beautiful place settings and made our at-home dinner feel just as special as a night out.

Open a special bottle of wine – My father-in-law bought a case of Bordeaux the year my husband was born and gifted it to us a few years ago. We finally decided to open and enjoy one of the bottles on Saturday night and it felt so special. If you don’t have a special bottle of wine, make a fun cocktail! My favorite one right now is this one. I’ve been drinking them nonstop!

Play a game together – As soon as Henning went down for his afternoon nap, we poured a glass of wine and started playing a game of Monopoly. We hadn’t played in years and it was fun to do something together that didn’t involve our phones or the TV. If you don’t have a board game, a puzzle would be fun too!

Last but not least, organize a surprise birthday drive by with friends & family {if your city/state allows}. This was the biggest surprise for my husband! I know he wasn’t expecting it at all and seeing all our friends and family {from afar!} for the first time in weeks really brought such a big smile to his face. We ended up spending an hour or two outside with Henning and a glass of wine in our front yard waving and chatting to people as they stopped by and it was really fun. Seeing friends and family – even if only for a few minutes – really is such a mood booster!

Other fun ideas: Zoom happy hour, order his/her favorite take out, karaoke party, or have a picnic! Im sure there are so many more fun ideas to make celebrating a quarantined birthday special, so feel free to leave any you have in the comments section! Dying to hear 🙂

Hope you are all staying healthy and sane! We are on day 29 of quarantine over here and doing the best we can! Each day is a new adventure…. xx B