We’re all in lockdown but that doesn’t stop life events happening.
Those with birthdays during this time can’t have the usual big celebrations and have to find new ways to celebrate.
Earlier this week, thrift fashion and lifestyle blogger Jo Threlfall turned 28.
She is isolating with her parents in West Yorkshire and can’t be with her boyfriend, friends or the rest of her family because they are all isolating elsewhere.
For My Quarantine Routine, she explains how she spent her birthday on 14 April.
8 am
I hit snooze, I usually wake up reasonably early, but I thought I’d give myself an extra 15 minute of sleep.
8:25 am
I snooze for a little longer than expected, but I get woken up by the french happy birthday song which is playing on the households Google home thanks to my mum.
8:35 am
After trying to sleep past the song, which is on repeat, I finally wake up and get myself out of bed and go for a run as the weather is glorious.
9:15 am
After a 10k run, I went straight for my shower and grabbed myself some breakfast before going back to my room to do my hair and makeup.
9:30 am
I walk back into my room to discover that while I was on my run for my mum sneaked into my bedroom and decorated the room with confetti balloons and happy birthday bunting – super cute!
10:25 am
I quickly curl my hair, put my hair in a half updo and put some makeup on before I have my facetime call with my family in France, best friends and boyfriend.
12:15 pm
After nearly an hour and half of facetime calls, I’m finally dressed with my hair and makeup and started to get my french afternoon tea and birthday brunch prepped to have outside in the sunshine.
1:30 pm
I received a text from my friend Megan to go outside. I opened the front door and discovered that she had put some sparkly balloons on my front doorstep along with some mini flowers, cupcakes, flowers and gifts.
Following social distance measures, she sat on my driveway away from me while I opened my presents. She surprised me with a pending girls getaway which was personalised with notes saying it was valid after lockdown, which gave me something to look forward too when things start to get back to normal.
1:45 pm
The food is ready, and we started to prepare the nibbles and drinks outside on the garden table. We kick start my 28th birthday celebrations which an aperitif and some homemade bucks fizz ( smooth orange juice and prosecco).
2:50 pm
Wow, I’m full, after days of eating no chocolate, sweet pastries or rich Spanish food. It was quite the belly full to tuck into all those goodies. But I don’t regret it as it was delicious.
3:15 pm
It’s time to blow out the homemade cake. I decided to share this experience with my sister and her partner so they could see me blow my candles out from afar so they could feel part of the day ( following social distancing standards).
I also opened the card and gift they got me. My sister has an incredible sense of humour, and she made me my birthday card filled with sisterly love and banter. Her partner also made me a cow toy which is a bit of inside joke to the family.
3:55 pm
The door knocks. Lots of parcels arrived on my birthday from friends, family and my boyfriend, who delivered cards and gifts to my doorstep.
This experience was different from any other gift related surprises as it more or less felt like guess who as some presents came without notes or tags.
4:30 pm
Facetime chats to say thank you! I call up a bunch of people to say thank you for the gifts and cards they have sent as many sent some things in advance to make sure I got them as my birthday fell after the bank holiday.
I also find out from my boyfriend that we will be having a 1-1 cooking class with an Italian chef and will learn to make pasta.
5:45 pm
It’s time to take a mini-break. I decided to chill out in my room and relax before the karaoke and curry evening begins.
8:30 pm
We decided to order a late-night curry. We ate pretty late and consumed quite a few sweet treats, so the hunger didn’t kick back until much later in the day.
So I treated the family to a late-night curry for us to enjoy after a fun hour and a half of karaoke – we sang a lot of ABBA and pretended to be part of the Mama Mia cast.
8:45 pm
I crawl back into my PJs, take my make up and give my face a deep cleanse as wearing make up for the first time in a while.
9 pm
The curry is here. The delivery driver left the freshly made curry at the front doorstep, so we avoided any contact.
We split the two curry dishes between the three of us and sat and watched a movie before I fell asleep on the sofa.
Like many people across the world, I didn’t expect to experience having my birthday during a lockdown.
I thought spending my birthday at home would be incredibly hard, but it was incredibly peaceful. I felt less anxious and stressed, and I felt like I could relax and enjoy the day, which I’ve never been able to do before.
Along with the lovely weather, I was lucky to receive such beautiful gifts, surprises, thoughtful messages and phone calls from friends, family and loved ones which made this day so much easier to enjoy.
I was so overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone which made this a birthday I’ll never forget.
We live in a time where technology allows us to stay connected to the people we care about the most in the world which make spending your birthday away from your friends, family or partners less painful.
With the power of zoom and facetime, you’ll see the way people come together during a crisis like this remind you how special you are.
If you want to take part in My Quarantine Routine, email [email protected].
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