How to Celebrate a Quarantine Birthday

By: Melody Lau

For those lucky few who are on the verge of celebrating their second birthday in quarantine, today may be your luckiest day. 

We’re here to make sure your birthday is better than ever by offering fun and creative ideas to celebrate. You can also use these ideas to uplift your friends on their special day!  

Looking back at my birthday, I deeply regret not celebrating virtually with my friends. I was bummed we were still in lockdown, and I was relying on Netflix as my main form of celebration. It’s truly not the same seeing your favourite TV show characters party on the screen when you’re laying under three of your favourite blankets.

We may not be able to blow out candles anymore, but here’s a list of superb activities that will make your birthday extra memorable!

1. Host a Themed Night

Who’s down to dress up as their favourite character from “Euphoria” or from “Bridgerton”? Set a theme, invite your friends on a video call and guess each other’s character. We dare you to stay in character throughout the night and try your best to mimic their voices, gestures and common sayings! If you and your friends tend to have different interests then try a Hollywood or heroes vs villains themed party. We know you’ll have a blast with just assembling your own costume!

2. Ask Your Friends to Prepare a Roast

As the guest of honour, you are probably expecting to be showered with compliments but why not try being roasted for a change? We understand—roasting may only sound great for achieving the ultimate toasted marshmallow—but you’ll most likely spend the whole night laughing when listening to your friends. You can prepare a list of topics you don’t want discussed and determine what’s appropriate beforehand. If roasting is not your thing then ask your friends to prepare a favourite memory they have with you and embrace nostalgia.

3. Take a Free Trip Around the World

We may not be able to hop on a plane or cross the border nowadays, but you can visit your dream countries virtually with your friends for your birthday. You may follow a guided tour to India one hour and then another detailed photo and video tour of Peru. You will be amazed at the diverse destinations you and your friends can take part in, and the majority of tours are free! These tours will hopefully show you where you want to travel to for your future celebrations. GeoGuessr is a fun way to explore the world, with it putting you in a random location on Google Maps and you have to use clues on street view to guess where you are!

4. Try a Birthday Workout or Yoga Session 

Is stuffing yourself with cake and too much sugar not your thing? For those who love being active—even on one’s birthday—try out a virtual group yoga or fitness session with your friends. Many gyms and trainers are offering free live-streaming workouts. You’ll be sweating, laughing and feeling great with your friends! 

Quarantine birthdays are as odd as they sound, but let’s try to make the most of it until we can be reunited in-person with all our loved ones!

If you have any suggestions or advice on how to celebrate your birthday in quarantine, be sure to message us on our contact form and share with our Apricotton community! Feel free to say hi on IG as well and send us any questions you may have about anything—no question is ever embarrassing or too awkward.

About the Author:

Melody is a Master’s student in Journalism and Communication at Western and hopes to pursue a career in entertainment or investigative journalism. She also loves Letterboxd, country music and is excited to be a part of the Apricotton Team! Connect with her here.