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5 Fun Ideas for Celebrating Your Birthday in Quarantine

We all know that birthday time means party time—but what happens when you’re stuck at home on your special day?

Whether your idea of “party time” is a night on the town without the kids (for once in your life!) or a family-friendly get-together with all of your closest companions, most birthday plans involve some combination of going out and gathering with loved ones. 
When none of your go-to birthday activities is possible, what can you do? Well, you certainly don’t have to settle for a bummer of a birthday alone in quarantine. There are several ways you can celebrate your birthday—or someone else’s—while staying safe and staying home.

Sure, these quarantine birthday ideas aren’t quite the same as a “normal” birthday, but life isn’t quite normal, either. So dig up your spare party supplies for an at-home birthday unlike any other!

Quarantine Birthday Idea #1: Hang Out Virtually

Throw a virtual birthday party using video-conferencing software like Zoom. Quarantine may prevent you from seeing friends and family in person, but you can still share the birthday love! And try to think of it this way—at least we live in an age where distant face time is even possible. (People in the 1900s Spanish-flu era definitely couldn’t just hop on a call and video chat with grandma.)

Zoom is one of the most popular video-chatting platforms available, partially because of its impeccable quality. You can also hold Zoom video chats with multiple people at the same time—making it a real party.

On the other hand, many other platforms offer virtual hangouts as well, including:

  • Facebook Messenger
  • WhatsApp
  • Line
  • Google Duo
  • Discord
  • Houseparty
  • Marco Polo

Most of these options have Windows, Android, and iOS versions, so you can download them to pretty much any device and invite your friends and family to do the same. You can even use these platforms to play games together.

Speaking of games…

Quarantine Birthday Idea #2: Play Games Online

Online game play has a massive following of devoted fans worldwide—but until quarantine became a thing, online gaming seemed to be limited to the most hardcore. Except for the console geeks and PC gamers among us, many people have likely never considered playing games online.

Why not make your quarantine birthday party the very first time for your friends and family?

Through a program like Jackbox Games, you can play board games, card games, and party games with anyone, no matter where they are. Jackbox Games can be played on any phone, tablet, laptop, or other web-enabled device (like a Nintendo Switch, for example)—which makes it friendly for people of all generations.

There are a wide variety of creative party games for purchase, such as:

  • Quiplash
  • Fibbage
  • You Don’t Know Jack
  • Drawful
  • Fakin’ It
  • Trivia Murder Party

If you need some help getting your birthday party “attendees” set up, Jackbox Games offers a quick guide that teaches you how to play these games remotely.

Quarantine Birthday Idea #3: Send a Birthday Card

If you’re celebrating someone else’s birthday in quarantine, send them a card! In a world where everything seems a bit topsy-turvy, you can still send a tried-and-true birthday card—bringing some sense of normalcy and tradition to this slightly strange quarantine birthday.

Not sure what to write? Assuming your friend has a sense of humor in trying times, you could try one of these quarantine birthday messages:

  • Happy birthday (from a safe social distance)!
  • At least you don’t have to share your cake with me this year.
  • Quarantine can’t stop the birthday buzz! Happy birthday.
  • Here’s my hands-free birthday hug. Miss you!
  • We may be socially distant, but you’re right here in my heart. Happy birthday!

Quarantine Birthday Idea #4: Have a Synchronized Netflix Night

If you’re dreaming of a good-old-fashioned movie night for your birthday, try the Netflix Party extension! This extension works on the Chrome internet browser and allows you and others to watch the same movie on Netflix at the same time—without having to figure out how to start, stop, or rewind in unison. The app even synchronizes video playback, so if the movie pauses on one device, it’ll pause on all of them.

Pair the Netflix Party app with a video chat app like Zoom, and it’ll be almost as good as watching it together. Plus, you can hoard all of your favorite birthday snacks—no fighting over who’s hogging the popcorn!

Turn up the birthday spirit with these classic flicks about birthdays and birthday wishes:

  • Sixteen Candles
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
  • 13 Going on 30
  • Liar Liar
  • Wine Country

Quarantine Birthday Idea #5: Send a Dessert

Another idea for celebrating your birthday in quarantine is to have a birthday cake or other dessert delivered right to your door. Order one to send for your friend’s birthday, or if it’s your own birthday, treat yourself! (We won’t judge.) 
There are tons of options for having a sweet treat delivered:

  • Third-party food delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats
  • Online companies like Edible Arrangements or Cookies by Design
  • Local bakeries and grocery stores—a great way to support local businesses that might currently be struggling!

As a fun gesture, you could even send cookies to friends and family who you wish could be at your quarantine birthday party. You can include a fun card or message that says something like, “Here are some of the sweets we could have enjoyed at my birthday party. Now we can enjoy them together from afar!”

Happy Birthday to You and Yours from Foxdog!

Before you go, we just want to extend a big, socially distant, “Happy birthday!” to you or whoever you’re celebrating this year. Life may be a bit strange right now, but we hope that you’ll make the most of this special day—even with quarantines and lockdowns.

It takes a spirit of humor, flexibility, and adjusted expectations…but you can definitely still have a great quarantine birthday. At the very least, you know it’ll be a birthday to remember!

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