The coronavirus pandemic has affected many aspects of our lives, including how we celebrate things. You might be among the majority of people who appreciate birthday celebrations as a tradition you want to keep on going, but on the other hand, the pandemic makes gatherings at social events and parties difficult (or not possible at all). The following quarantine birthday party ideas can help you ensure a memorable birthday for you or your beloved ones without having to put everyone’s safety at risk.
Who to invite
For those who are allowed restricted numbers in social gatherings, curate a list of your closest friends and families that you would like to invite to your quarantine party. And since you have a strictly limited number of guests, make sure to collect everyone’s RSVP by the due date so you can prepare everything beforehand (plus you don’t want your party to be awkward because of the low number of people!). To ensure everyone’s safety, you can get all the guests (including you) to get tested, wear a mask on the D-day and advise them not to attend if they are feeling unwell or showing symptoms.
Set a theme for the party
What is a party without a theme? Set out a fun theme of your choice which best represents yourself (or the person having birthday if you’re throwing a party for someone else). Spooky birthday, pyjamas party, Arabian nights, you name it! Make sure to set up a dress code to liven it up! If you’re spontaneous and your friends and family can take a joke, throw a quarantine themed birthday party. It’s the perfect way to get everyone to social distance and wear masks while having fun! Get a coronavirus shaped cake made, mark out the flooring with yellow and black danger tape to keep people distant from each other and get everyone to attend with a decorated face mask!
Send out fun invitations
After choosing your party theme and list your guests, now it’s time to send them your invitations. Be assured to include all the important details in it, such as date, time, dress code, and maybe a bit of clue of what you guys are going to do on the D-day!
What to do
Because this will be an intimate party with your closest friends and relatives, you can pick fun activities that you knew everyone would enjoy. It doesn’t have to be fancy and all. If you have that new movie on your watch list, why don’t make it a birthday movie night? Of course, you will need to prepare snacks and drinks and get everyone blankets and comfortable seats to get everyone in the zone. Or it could also be a cocktail intimate party if you enjoy dressing up a little with some social distance dancing. If you have a bit of time and want to spend a long afternoon with your guests, host a cooking class with Gordon Ramsay on youtube!
Alternatives
Sometimes things don’t go as planned and you’re left with no way of celebrating your birthday offline and around people. Well, it doesn’t mean that you have to be alone on your birthday. You can still arrange an online birthday party using Zoom or Skype video chat and invite your guests. To make sure everyone is having fun (including you!), there are lots of simple online games you can play over the video chat. You can all still watch a movie together and even have a dinner party where everyone orders from the same place and dine at the same time!
But again, there is nothing wrong with being alone on your birthday. If you decided to celebrate it yourself, why don’t make it a me-time? Throw a self-care birthday moment to reflect on what you’ve accomplished the previous year by having a really nice long soak in the bathtub, or enjoy that wine (or wines) you were longing for while listening to your favourite band. The most important thing is that you celebrate the day that you were brought into this world.