Last year I had the most epic 30th birthday party. There was a bungalow, friends that flew in from all over the country, and fireworks. (It might have been on Disney property.)
This year there was a pandemic.
Luckily, I had a Very Clever Idea.
A month in advance, I stealthily asked all my friends for their favorite pizza and cake styles. (The perk to being a writer–your friends don’t question when you ask “What’s your favorite cake?” and then never explain.)
Kevin and I got the cakes & frostings, slime ingredients, and DVDs of The Princess Diaries. I made up party invites and slime recipes, and sent them out a bit over two weeks in advance.
Everyone’s Party in a Box got there well before my birthday. (Except the Canada one, but I did sent a box of white powder through customs so I guess that was to be expected. Baking powder is just shifty. ) On the day of, everyone made cake and slime at their own convenience.
Then we all played games over video chat for half an hour, followed by a “push start at the same time” viewing of The Princess Diaries with live commentary by everyone (we’re all shocked at our past and current feelings about Michael) and surprise pizza deliveries.
Afterwards, I passed out. It was shockingly like a real party, complete with the post-socializing exhaustion. But it was an absolutely fantastic celebration, with no singing of the birthday song, lots of laughter, and everyone having a wonderful time. That’s really the best part of a party, everyone having fun.
So for everyone else trying to celebrate when you can’t be in the same room as the people you love, here’s one option for how to make it happen! Once everyone got their invite, people started really getting into it. One friend even bought a balloon banner to put up, just to make it that extra bit festive. A party’s a party, even 3,000 miles apart.
Keep celebrating and keep safe, everyone!
Bess Carnan 