Pandemic Birthday Party
June 21, 2020
My birthday falls on the longest day of the year, which is a great perk. My birthday occasionally also falls on a National Holiday, Father’s Day, which is great because I believe birthdays should be celebrated like National Holidays. And because my husband is an incredibly generous and smart man, he typically cedes the day’s festivities to me.
He’s not really being generous. He just doesn’t believe in holidays like Father’s Day. He says he doesn’t like presents. And he doesn’t like anyone paying attention to him (especially on a Sunday – his nap day). All he wants on Father’s Day is to do absolutely nothing.
Well this year, he doesn’t have to worry because this year Father’s Day is all about me, along with that other thing that’s going on this year: the Covid-19 pandemic.
But a pandemic doesn't mean you have to forego celebrations. People are figuring out a way to celebrate everything – because we need celebrations now more than ever. You just have to be even more creative.
If you want to see a collection of kids' epic pandemic birthdays, check out TikTok (if you can figure out how to use it). I have watched with delight as my friends with young children have pivoted from the typical birthday parties at venues to car parades replete with honking cars and loudspeakers. Front lawns have now become party central.
And my adult friends don’t want to be left out, so their front yard birthday surprises have included waking up to special chalk artistry on their driveway, a front lawn filled with pink flamingos and the incredible balloon artistry of Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle of Airigami.
Even 80-year-olds are being celebrated with their own parades, including a surprise drive-by parade for National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee astronomer Judith Pipher, which encouraged donations to the Hall in lieu of presents.
My daughter should be nominated for an Oscar for the videos she has created to celebrate her friends’ birthdays this year. And since many of her friends are turning 21, their parents have created epic virtual and actual celebrations. One friend’s parents created a bar crawl in their house, complete with being “carded” at each stop. And there’s a bonus to celebrating becoming legal during a pandemic: no parent has to worry about how their kid will get home from the drunken bacchanal.
Technology has been a gift during these challenging times but especially on birthdays. Platforms like Tribute and Vidday make it easier than ever to create virtual birthday tributes. One friend’s husband put together video greetings from friends all over the world for a big birthday, including an old friend and big star: Sheryl Crow.
And why stop with your actual old friends when you can now hire celebrities and entertainers from all over the world through services like Airbnb Experiences and Cameo to greet and entertain your loved ones for their birthday. A performer has got to perform even in a pandemic, so why not for a fan’s birthday?
Birthdays have always been something I like to control. Not one to wait for someone else to buy my present, I always buy myself a little something on my birthday. I like to pick which friends to celebrate with and even the restaurant for dinner. But on this birthday, when so much is out of my control, I may have to learn to just lose control and see what happens (hint to family).
My father used to say this about birthdays: “It’s better than the alternative.” This year, that is especially true. So in honor of my dad and my husband on my Pandemic Father’s Day Birthday, I’m going to celebrate by giving my husband – who is an amazing Dad – the Father’s Day of his dreams: a nap and his favorite meal, Chinese takeout.
More about Judith Pipher: womenofthehall.org/inductee/judith-l-pipher/
First Published in the Democrat and Chronicle and USA Today Network.