by Adranisha Stephens
birthdays in quarantine
Erika Schor, came up with another inventive way to make her son’s
birthday feel more personal.

“We asked all his classmates and teachers and family to send us a
short video wishing him a happy birthday or singing a song,” explains
Schor. “Then we made one long video of all the videos together and
showed it to him the night of his birthday. He loved it.”
In Bel Air, a group of friends did something similar to celebrate
Mia Salvatierra’s Sweet 16. They collected happy birthday messages
and compiled them into one video for Mia to watch when she woke
up. They also drove to her house, honking their horns and holding
up signs.

“She was thrilled,” says her father, Ed. “I’m sure she will remember
those gestures for a lifetime.”
But birthday drive-bys and video messages aren’t the only way to
celebrate birthdays during quarantine. Now that we’re all proficient
on Zoom, virtual parties are becoming a popular alternative.

A Zoom party is what Tiana Petersen of Chantilly is now planning
instead of the pool party her son Matt originally wanted for his sixth
birthday in May. Petersen says she plans to bake cupcakes, package
them with sprinkles and frosting and deliver them in boxes on his
friends’ doorsteps.

“Then we can have a Zoom meeting, and everyone can decorate
their cupcakes together,” she says.

Even though parties have been downgraded to home celebrations, the
main takeaway is that there are still so many ways to connect, says Martha
Edwards, a mom from Towson. Edwards and her daughter, Maggie,
recently put together a little gift for Maggie’s friend’s 15th birthday
that included a roll of toilet paper.

“What do we all miss the most on our birthdays? We miss hanging out
with our friends and family. I’ve seen so many people using Zoom and
FaceTime for virtual happy hours, and now, virtual birthday parties,”
Edwards says. “Everyone can still sing, talk and share well wishes. There
are so many ways we can all be creative and make it work.” n
©iStockphoto.com/Balloons, Julia_Sudnitskaya; Camera, svetikd;
Birthday Boy, GlobalStock; Mask, coscaron; Birthday girl, mediaphotos; Confetti girl, evgenyatamanenko, Tablet, wikipedia
WashingtonFAMILY.com 23