Perfect Quarantine Birthday Celebration

Quarantine week...6? 7?

Throughout this crazy time, one topic I kept seeing arise was Birthdays! The March-April-May (hopefully ends there) babies have lost the opportunity to celebrate with friends/family and the choices of how they celebrate have dwindled.

My best friend, Kara, had her birthday April 21. While she is still working full time at an Animal Hospital ( can you imagine the Covid fun she's having?), I have been out of work being in the beauty industry. The bright side is that I had plenty of time to make her birthday as special and an escape from reality as possible!

I took her favorite things into consideration to create the Perfect Quarantine Birthday. Sunshine, Charcuteries, Wine, Art, Intimacy, Music, and Relaxing.

First things first- Food!

Making a charcuterie is actually very easy and affordable. Yes we'd love to have the most expensive cheese and crackers but, Publix has plenty of gourmet cheeses at great prices we can choose from. I got Bellavitano Espresso cheese (a fav!), Publix brand herb goat cheese, and Publix brand sharp cheddar cheese. I also had at home a veggie cream cheese dip I added in.

For jam's, Dalmatia Fig Jam is a staple in my house so used what I already had, and I picked up some Mackay's Blueberry & Blackcurrent Jam (Mediterranean section at Publix). I used Ithaca Hummus (roasted red pepper) I already had as well to add a lighter spread along side the cheese.

For dipping you can see an array of bagel thins, wheat thins, cut up bell peppers and sliced english cucumber. I recommend the english cucumber over traditional, they have more of a crunch and less liquid. Veggies are lovely to add alongside the crackers for a fresh balance.

Other goodies you can see are a colorful bowl of strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and raspberries; a jar of lightly salted almonds and dried fruit; and Publix brand greek salad of olives, mushrooms, and feta.

You could easily add some specialty meats to this, but we had plenty to keep us full and happy here!

To make this spread beautiful I picked up the tray, large bowls, and small jars at Dollar General, and a small mason jar I had at home. The pineapple cheese board and spreading knife I already had as well.

Add a bottle of your wine of choice, and just like that you have an aesthetically pleasing and delicious homemade charcuterie!

Now for activities!

I gifted Kara new sets of watercolor paints, oil pastels, brushes, and watercolor paper. So we spent our lovely picnic painting and listening to our favorite music while enjoying the charcuterie.

To make this space so cute and peaceful all I did was take some blankets and patio cushions to the field outback of my house and spread it all out in the shade. I used 2 wooden craft boxes flipped over to give us each a table to paint on and added some spring beauty with sunflowers to decorate.

So if you or your friend are at a loss of how to make a Quarantine Birthday special and full of love, take an idea or two from this and create your own unique celebration that could end up being even better than what you wanted! All you really need is the right company, even if it's via video chat, some good food, music, and doing something you love.