I Just Had My Second Birthday in Lockdown, and That’s Not as Sad as It Sounds

Yesterday, I celebrated my second birthday in lockdown.

It was my 26th. It’s crazy to think that I entered lockdown in Melbourne as a 24-year-old and I’m still in lockdown, having just turned 26.

Last week, in the lead up to my birthday, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.

There were a few factors to my initial disappointment.

1. I’m definitely a bit of a party girl and I was absolutely ready to splurge on a beautiful venue, lots of champagne and all my friends in the one room.
2. I’d seen that the weather was going to be raining in Melbourne, which after a few days of sun, wasn’t a vibe.
3. I didn’t feel very excited about turning 26. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling as though too large of a chunk of my life has gone by while we’ve been in lockdown, and it’s easy to get caught in a negative headspace about it all.

But, that said, I’m here to report that lockdown birthdays are actually pretty great. I woke up today (the day after) feeling a good amount of hungover, happy, loved and full.

So, if your birthday is coming up and you’re fairly certain you’ll be in lockdown, know that it’s actually not so bad. Champagne can flow anywhere, after all.

Here are all the reasons that lockdown birthdays aren’t as bad as you might think.

You Get Overflowing Birthday Messages

When you have a party, people are way less likely to send you a message during the day, because they’ll see you at your party or they’ve planned to “take you out for a birthday drink” sometime. Not only do people feel for you having a birthday in lockdown, but they have more time on their hands to think of you and send you a lovely birthday message. I think I received the most birthday messages I ever have yesterday. It was everyone from childhood friends, to old work colleagues, to people I’ve never met but we follow each other avidly on Instagram. In this digital age, it’s funny how messages have become so much more impactful.

Sentimentality Is At An All-Time High

I mean, we’re all feeling a bit emotional right now and when you’re the birthday girl, that really works in your favour. Not only did I receive heaps of messages, but they were packed full of lovely sentiments. People expressed how much they miss me, what I mean to them, how my work inspires them… like seriously lovely things that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Dressing Up is Even More Fun

I dressed myself up in this floor-length vintage Givenchy floral dress yesterday because f*ck it, why not!? I mean, I love to dress up at the best of times but right now, it feels more necessary than ever. My boyfriend and I went to the market to buy food for lunch, and I stood out more than usual in my extravagant frock because everyone is living in their trackies right now (also a mood). I received so many compliments. An older lady me that my outfit had made her day, which made me feel pretty damn good.

You Have Low Expectations

I definitely haven’t gone into either of my lockdown birthdays with high expectations — actually quite the opposite. I’ve always felt a bit sad about it, disappointed that I can’t throw a party and not expecting a day at home to be anything special. So, when people do nice things for you, it’s way more rewarding! I think we often put a lot of pressure on our birthdays, for everyone to have fun and for it to go smoothly, that we often stress ourselves out and don’t have as much fun as we think we do.

You Get Home Deliveries

Call me old-fashioned, but isn’t it just so lovely to get presents delivered to your house? I don’t know, there’s just something really special about it. I think it’s the extra effort it takes to order something prior to someone’s birthday and getting it delivered so it arrives on the day… it just makes you feel really loved.

You Can’t Make Bad Decisions

It’s pretty hard to misbehave at home. I mean, we know it can be done (*cough* Nadia Bartel *cough*), but I absolutely loved that I could drink all the champagne and then just have a quick nap before dinner without judgement.

You Need to Be Creative

It’s good for us all to be pushed outside our comfort zone sometimes and to get creative. Instead of leaving all the creativity to someone else, my boyfriend and I took it upon ourselves to cook elaborate food, drink lavish champagne, make our old clothes feel new and special again and play music loudly like we were living in our own little party world. Honestly, I’ve got to say, our food was pretty yum and I don’t feel like I missed out on anything much. HBD to me!