Sometimes you may have to celebrate your birthday at home rather than going out. Say you’re in quarantine and can’t enjoy others’ company. Or you’re disabled and it’s harder to go out and do certain activities. Or say you just don’t feel like doing a big party and you just want a simple celebration. Read on for 6 fun virtual ideas to celebrate your birthday from home!
1. Virtual tastings!
Recently quite a lot of venues have entered the online arena and started serving their experiences to a wider audience. No longer do you have to go to a vineyard in person – you can have wine shipped directly to you, and enjoy a catered tasting via Zoom! Lots of vineyards started offering this option in 2020 – a simple Google search will bring up lots of choices. The Zoom session allows the sommelier to walk you through how to taste the notes in different wines, and having the physical wine in front of you turns it from a virtual presentation into an interactive and sensory experience.
There are lots of other options as well if you’d like something other than or in addition to wine. Some companies are offering tasting pairings, i.e., they pair wine with foods like local chocolate or cheese. They may hold one-time events, or virtual tasting kits may be available for purchase, with access to either a live Zoom session or a pre-recorded webinar. (Finger Lakes, Wildcrafted Wines, and Voluptuary Wines are a few I found with tasting kits available either anytime or with multiple scheduling options. A search on EventBrite will also bring up numerous one-time events, allowing you to purchase from local shops all over the country – just note that many but not all events allow shipping of the tasting kits, so be sure to read the description and ask the organizer any questions before purchasing.)
Several chocolatiers (like Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, CA, and Taza Chocolate) also offer tastings of various chocolate bars in their collection. Same deal – once you register, they ship everything to you and will guide you through the tasting. For all virtual tasting experiences, just make sure you purchase at least a week in advance, maybe even 2 or 3, due to high popularity and the need to ship items to you. Prices vary depending on the vendor, location (shipping cost), and the type of items you’re tasting (wine will of course cost more than food).
I can personally recommend Dandelion Chocolate’s chocolate bar tasting, which I did for my own birthday this week (not sponsored – it just sounded fun!). You purchase the tasting kit, then sign up for any time slot you’d like once you receive the chocolate (they have tastings most days of the week). The teacher showed us what to look for in terms of sight, sound (as in, the sound it makes when you snap off a piece), aroma, texture, and taste. We also learned how to detect different notes in simple bars made only of cacao beans and sugar. Who knew that cacao beans harvested from different countries in different years could taste different and have specific flavor hints? I certainly didn’t!
2. Online comedy shows!
Lots of local comedy clubs are moving their events online. When all you have to do is sit back and listen to a comedian chat, it doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting directly in front of them or watching from a video screen: the jokes will still come through loud and clear! Check to see if your local comedy clubs are putting shows (live or pre-recorded) up on their website; you may even be able to find some free shows! You can also find access to lots of comedy halls around the country just by Googling “virtual comedy show” or using an EventBrite search (similar to above for virtual tastings). Dry Bar Comedy in Utah and DC Improv in Washington, DC are just two of the many great options out there. So what are you waiting for? Time to laugh!
3. An AirBnB virtual experience!
We may not be able to actually travel right now, but AirBnB is bringing cultural experiences to us! They work with local guides or professionals to teach a class, perform a show, take you on a virtual ride around their town, and so much more. There’s a plethora of options available, with an average price of about $24 per the AirBnb website (most of the experiences are indeed very reasonable price-wise, with quite a few at only $5-15 and many around $20-40). Whatever you can think to do virtually, you can most likely find it. Guides come from all over the world, offering cooking classes in the local cuisine; virtual tours of their hometown (such as Venice or Paris); historical fantasy adventures through Ireland, Prague, and even the world of Harry Potter; magic and music performances; even escape rooms and scavenger hunts. The sky’s the limit!
4. A digital Escape Room!
If you love working with friends to solve puzzles and find your way out of a fantastically-themed locked room, try the digital version! Lots of companies are offering Escape Room experiences virtually now. Some are free; many are paid experiences with reasonable prices (it appears to be an average of $25-30 per person). Like the physical versions, virtual escape adventures are set up with elaborate themes, like Grimm’s fairy tales, Prison Break, hunting legendary monsters, murder mysteries, and Harry Potter. Many of the companies offer a live guide who can answer questions, similar to a physical Escape Room experience. Check out this list from Team Building or this list from Oprah Magazine for top virtual Escape Rooms!
5. Virtual game night!
Who says you can’t play a game of wits with your friends even when they live far away? There are lots of different options to host your own socially-distanced game night. You can use platforms like House Party or Jackbox to bring everyone together in one online space and play games like Heads Up (the one where you try to guess the word that’s stuck to your forehead) or Drawful (similar to Pictionary). Classic games like Scrabble, Monopoly, and Mario Kart Tour are now available in online digital versions (via the Apple and Google app stores) that can be played with multiple players. There are even companies like GameNightOut and Let’s Roam that offer specialized guided game nights (GameNightOut is $199 for a group of up to 12 guests for 90 minutes, and Let’s Roam charges a monthly subscription fee of $19.99 after a 7-day free trial, as of the date of this post). So invite your friends for a little friendly competition!
6. Treat yourself with a little gift!
If there’s something you’ve been eyeing for a while, go ahead and allow yourself to buy it – think of it as your once-a-year gift to yourself! Make the day special by indulging in a favorite yummy treat that you usually wouldn’t partake in on any old day. Do something out of the ordinary to celebrate – you deserve a little something extra on your special day! Or for a slightly different turn of pace, give yourself little gifts throughout the month of your birthday, allowing the birthday joy to linger for a while.
Takeaway
No matter how you choose to celebrate, your birthday is a special day, one of the most special there is! With these stay-at-home birthday ideas, you can celebrate your day with flair. It may be a bit different than normal, but there’s no reason you can’t still have a blast! If you’ve experienced a socially-distanced birthday, let me know in the comments below how you celebrated and if you used any of these ideas!
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Cover image photo credit: IStockPhoto.com/Deagreez.
These are excellent ideas. I especially like the chocolate-tasting idea. I still haven’t tried to temper chocolate (which helps make it snap) but have been trying more types of “specialty chocolate”, as I think of it. I started that at Harris Teeter and continue here at Kroger, which is actually owned by Harris Teeter. One chocolate bar I like is made with coconut sugar and other coconut ingredients, though not flakes or cream. It has a delightful flavor – chocolate first, then coconut!
Ooh, that sounds yummy! What brand? (Hey, I might be able to find it at HT or Safeway!) I’ve really started to enjoy specialty items on occasion other than the traditional things you see everywhere; it makes for a nicer experience!
Love these ideas! I’m sure they’ll still be worth doing once we get back out into the world 🙂
Thanks, Asia! (Pretty name!) I thought they looked like fun no matter what, and these can also be useful for people who might have issues going out even after COVID ends.