How To Celebrate A Birthday In Lockdown

With lockdown rules showing no sign of letting up, celebrating birthdays in isolation is quickly becoming the new normal. And while that might sound sad, it has made way for many a creative celebration suggestion - from the cutest care packages to the best virtual parties. Check out these great suggestions for celebrating the birthday of a loved one...

Send a care package

There are tons of options when it comes to sending gifts. First comes the care package, which takes some thought. Fill a box with their favourite gifts and birthday well wishes from family and friends before sending it on with a reminder to call them as you open it - that way, you can actually see their live reaction as if you were there.

If it's last minute or you can't post something yourself, there are lots of options to deliver gifts online. Be it a big clothing order from their favourite store, a flowers and chocolate delivery from Moonpig or a pub in a box from one of these alcohol delivery services, you can show you care in more ways than one. Perhaps if there are a few things from different stores, you make it a fun game of scattered gifts, telling them to expect something on each day of the week running up to their birthday and ordering them in accordance (this might not go 100% smoothly given the delays in delivery services, but hey the thought was there).

Take them to a beach club lounge

If you’re lucky enough to have outdoor space, celebrating a birthday at home becomes 100 times easier. There are tons of ways to make your balcony, terrace, garden or rooftop that bit more special. How about hosting a day at a makeshift holiday beach club? For the budget version, all you need is your laptop, some towels and a few alcoholic beverages – set up a DJ area to play the tunes, bring the cocktails out and sunbathe the day away.

For those looking for an extra touch, how about ordering some sun loungers online, a paddling pool and a sand pit for those cute Instagrammable moments? It might seem silly now, but there’s never been a better time for silliness. If you’re really splashing the cash, maybe your gift this year is a hot tub – you could always get a few people to pitch in to make the day extra special from isolation (with the promise they get to use it when all this is over, of course).

And saving the obvious for last, a barbeque is a must for any outdoor celebration. You could even set up an outdoor cinema for when the sun goes down – either bring your TV outdoors or order a projector.

Host a girls' night in

Just because they can’t have their friends and family round, doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate as a big group. Try surprising them with an invitation to a party, making sure the invitation reads to dress up. Decorate whatever space you have with balloons, streamers and beautiful table settings.

First, start with their favourite dinner – be it your own cooking or ordering a takeaway – perhaps while showing them all their birthday well-wishes. If their friends and family haven’t thought ahead to post a card or gift, how about getting everyone to make a short video that you can edit together to showcase over dessert?

Then, surprise with a big live video call – preferably on the TV if you have a smart TV or HDMI lead – popping champagne and all. Have all your friends sync up to the same playlist, ready to party. With virtual drinking games, pub quizzes and DJ live streams, you can all party from your living room until the birthday girl is good and drunk.

Take them on a spa day

You might not be a professional beauty therapist, but you can definitely make someone’s day by setting up their own home spa. Make it feel legit with relaxing music, candles and incense before setting up a nail station, facials chair and massage bed. Buy in all their favourite beauty products to gift them with after, and if you’re really going all out – why not even set up a tanning station where you can spray, or rub, so much they feel like they’ve actually been on that girls' trip to Ibiza

If you’re feeling really generous, maybe include a voucher or two to their favourite spa for when all this is over…

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