Celebrating birthdays at a social distance
With the world turned upside down, how do you find a way to celebrate a child’s birthday?
By Anna Cramer and Joanna Hall, 2020-2021 USNA Co-Presidents
To simultaneously hear the daily news of the suffering of so many, some we know and many who we don’t, and also realize that you have a child whose birthday will come and go no matter what raises the question—how to celebrate in quarantine? Perhaps a bit of celebration amidst these unprecedented days might be a bit of salve for everyone’s souls.
Joanna and I chatted via Zoom on what to do about celebrating a child’s birthday when you can’t leave your house and the only people who can hug you are the people you’ve been with for the last 44,642 minutes. Joanna celebrated the sweet 16 of her daughter Latham last week. I celebrated the 14th birthday of my daughter Lucy at the end of March.
The first piece of advice is that whatever you do, this will be a memorable birthday for your child. Don’t stress. A quarantine birthday in and of itself won’t be forgotten whether you do anything other than sing happy birthday and give your child a hug.
You can ask for help from others even if they can’t come within six feet. We reached out to our children's advisors to make sure they had a heads up about the birthdays, and they each went above and beyond to celebrate the birthdays. High School History Teacher Pamela Malinowski kept Lucy in the waiting room on the daily Zoom call so that she could have all of the kids ready to sing happy birthday to Lucy when she joined the call. High School Spanish Teacher Camille Sutton drove by Latham’s house to shout a happy birthday to Latham.
Your child’s friends can also get involved in the celebration from afar. Latham organized a movie watching party on Zoom. All of her friends joined her as they watched "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" on a shared screen and chatted the night away on zoom. Lucy’s friends played charades on Zoom. One person handed out clues via chat to the performer and the others guessed. Both created shared memories and lots of laughter. Latham’s friend, who just happens to be my daughter, Caroline, woke up extra early on Latham’s birthday and decorated Latham’s sidewalk with chalk so that she would wake up to a birthday message.
We also enlisted the help of fellow USN small business owners. Jennifer Penson of Brownie Points Desserts made cupcakes for Latham’s birthday. Joanna safely picked them up curbside and dropped them off, using hand sanitizer along the way, at each of Latham’s friends’ homes so that they could have a sweet treat while watching the movie together. Vroom Vroom Balloons made a contact-free delivery of a personalized balloon for Lucy’s birthday at our doorstep to celebrate her special day.
We’ve also seen other ideas that we thought were great: ask a local photographer to do a porch photo to commemorate the day; a FaceTime call with grandparents to sing happy birthday; a scavenger hunt to find their gifts; or a simple handmade card from siblings. No matter what you do or don’t do, your child will feel celebrated and loved.
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To simultaneously hear the daily news of the suffering of so many, some we know and many who we don’t, and also realize that you have a child whose birthday will come and go no matter what raises the question—how to celebrate in quarantine? Perhaps a bit of celebration amidst these unprecedented days might be a bit of salve for everyone’s souls.
Joanna and I chatted via Zoom on what to do about celebrating a child’s birthday when you can’t leave your house and the only people who can hug you are the people you’ve been with for the last 44,642 minutes. Joanna celebrated the sweet 16 of her daughter Latham last week. I celebrated the 14th birthday of my daughter Lucy at the end of March.
The first piece of advice is that whatever you do, this will be a memorable birthday for your child. Don’t stress. A quarantine birthday in and of itself won’t be forgotten whether you do anything other than sing happy birthday and give your child a hug.
You can ask for help from others even if they can’t come within six feet. We reached out to our children's advisors to make sure they had a heads up about the birthdays, and they each went above and beyond to celebrate the birthdays. High School History Teacher Pamela Malinowski kept Lucy in the waiting room on the daily Zoom call so that she could have all of the kids ready to sing happy birthday to Lucy when she joined the call. High School Spanish Teacher Camille Sutton drove by Latham’s house to shout a happy birthday to Latham.
Your child’s friends can also get involved in the celebration from afar. Latham organized a movie watching party on Zoom. All of her friends joined her as they watched "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" on a shared screen and chatted the night away on zoom. Lucy’s friends played charades on Zoom. One person handed out clues via chat to the performer and the others guessed. Both created shared memories and lots of laughter. Latham’s friend, who just happens to be my daughter, Caroline, woke up extra early on Latham’s birthday and decorated Latham’s sidewalk with chalk so that she would wake up to a birthday message.
We also enlisted the help of fellow USN small business owners. Jennifer Penson of Brownie Points Desserts made cupcakes for Latham’s birthday. Joanna safely picked them up curbside and dropped them off, using hand sanitizer along the way, at each of Latham’s friends’ homes so that they could have a sweet treat while watching the movie together. Vroom Vroom Balloons made a contact-free delivery of a personalized balloon for Lucy’s birthday at our doorstep to celebrate her special day.
We’ve also seen other ideas that we thought were great: ask a local photographer to do a porch photo to commemorate the day; a FaceTime call with grandparents to sing happy birthday; a scavenger hunt to find their gifts; or a simple handmade card from siblings. No matter what you do or don’t do, your child will feel celebrated and loved.
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.