Here we are about to celebrate my daughters first birthday during a pandemic. This is a day most parents prep for weeks in advance: planning the perfect smash cake, choosing the cutest outfit, sending out sweet invites, and of course, picking the perfect theme. Now yes, Abigail is only one so she doesn’t really understand what is going on, and could even be slightly overwhelmed with too much celebrating, so let’s be honest, this is party for the parents. We made it a full year with our second child; we kept this little miss alive and happy with no Emergency Room visits and we are still standing.
Abigail is our little wildflower and we always knew she would be. Of course, I went with wildflowers as a theme for both her nursery and for her first birthday party. I printed the invites–something I felt she would see later in her baby book–and I had the perfect location planned where I knew a couple wildflowers would be budding this spring. I did all the other fun things that come along with a first birthday; the cake, balloons, an adorable outfit, and a flower crown made just for the birthday girl. This moment has been building up for me and my family and every day it gets closer and I think, I can’t believe she is turning one. It’s a bittersweet feeling; my little girl is turning into a toddler.
But my excitement for this birthday has turned into sadness and loss. This virus has left all of us in isolation. As the days go by, the perfect plans and the party I had envisioned for celebrating my daughter is slipping away. I had to make the decision to postpone my daughter’s first birthday party, and may even have to cancel it outright.
It’s not just me planning a first birthday for their little one, in fact, it’s not just first birthdays that are being planned and canceled. All March/April/May birthdays of all ages are going through this experience of celebrating differently then they might have wanted to. There will be no bringing cupcakes to school, no crown to be worn to show off your birthday elite status and no celebration with friends and family. This isn’t just sad for the parents, but it’s also sad for the kids.
I decided to be sad for a moment, but then I came up with a plan so we can continue celebrating. I am not going to let this pandemic make this day any less special. We already planned to celebrate at home with Abigail and video tape her devouring her cake and smashing it to pieces for family and friends. Here are a couple things we plan on doing for all the Covid-19 birthdays in our family. No matter how old you are turning, you deserved to be spoiled on your birthday, too!
- Reach out to friends and family early and have them all make homemade cards, pictures, and letters for your loved one’s birthday.
- Invite everyone to get out for some fresh air and sing happy birthday from the curb with bubbles, signs, music, a special dance or whatever crazy birthday idea they have.
- Plan a birthday scavenger hunt on your favorite walk with your family: find a birthday crown, a balloon, a card, a gift and a cupcake
- Plan a conference call with whatever platform you prefer (we have been using Zoom, you can schedule a call and pre-send out the needed information) to sing happy birthday with as many people as you can.
- Put a sign in your lawn asking people to honk for your birthday as they drive by.
