By: Rebecca Shimony and Bella Kolin
With some form of quarantine now lasting for close to three months, birthdays have been bound to pass. Although some have found difficulties celebrating with their friends on their special days, there are plenty of ways to be surrounded by those you love if your special day fell during this unique time.
On Friday, May 22, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finally announced that small gatherings of up to ten people are permitted in NY once again. For upcoming birthdays, people can now celebrate with others in small groups while remaining socially distant and abiding by the rules. Despite not being able to give birthday hugs to whoever should be receiving them, being surrounded by loved ones feels extremely good as well. However, this has not been the case since the middle of March.
With the guidelines of social distancing and the forbidding of group gatherings, drive-by parades have become a new trend when celebrating a special occasion. The honking and yelling can be heard from blocks away as decorated cars make their way past the home of the birthday boy or girl. This way, people can see their friends and family on their special day while maintaining an appropriate distance. Air hugs and well wishes from their cars are better than no wishes at all! Honking, music playing, and sign waving are permitted. Most of these drive-by birthdays even include dropping off gifts and balloons on the front walk or front porch. One who has a drive-by parade will never forget how their loved ones went out of their way to make their birthday one to remember despite the unique circumstances.
More often than not, these celebrations continue into the night. One popular way to continue celebrating is to create a Netflix Party. Netflix Party allows friends and families to watch both TV shows or movies together from Netflix simultaneously. Although not physically together, Netflix Party allows for a fun, virtual movie-night to take place from the comfort of one’s own home. Some other virtual celebrations include hosting a zoom brunch, attending virtual workout sessions with your friends, or just getting together on facetime or house party to sing happy birthday.
Furthermore, if one wants to give the special person a gift, it is now much easier too! Although it is best to remain cautious in times like these, the CDC has recently discovered that COVID-19 does not spread by multiple people touching the same objects. One may wonder how to give a gift if they are supposed to remain 6 feet away. One way includes dropping off a gift at the birthday person’s home or sending a gift card through email. No matter how you choose to recognize special days during quarantine, there is no question that your efforts will be greatly appreciated by all those involved!
Photo courtesy of mycentraljersey.com
