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BIRTHDAYS NEW A NEW WAY NEW

Think outside the box to celebrate your child’s birthday during the pandemic.

BY DENISE CASTAÑON

Until there’s a vaccine, the days of invite-the-whole-class, indoor kid’s birthday parties are paused. (And can you even envision the birthday kid blowing out candles on

a cake, and then serving it to people? The

DENISE CASTAÑON

thought is horrifying!) But you can still find ways to make a big deal about your kid’s b-day if you are social distancing. And from sourcing supplies to ordering a stellar cake, we’ve done the legwork for you — and we’ve got ideas for every budget.

Free

Virtual Photo Booth Did your kiddo have their heart set on a theme for a party that had to be canceled? Ask friends and family whom you would have invited to dress up according to the theme and text a pic to the birthday kid. Harry Potter, unicorns, superheroes — you’re sure to see some amazing creativity.

We Love a Parade Birthday parades are a new trend we adore! Ask friends, neighbors and family to drive by your abode to wish your birthday kid a happy day — from a safe distance.

Hey, Mr. Postman Go old-school and ask friends and family to send your kid a card through the mail. Getting a flood of cards and letters is sure to bring a smile to your kid’s face.

Birthday Wishes We’ve seen parents on Facebook neighborhood groups asking other families to come and chalk in some birthday greetings on the sidewalk outside the birthday kid’s home. What a great way for kids to spread some kindness!

I Heart You Got construction paper? Cut out hearts and glue photos of your kid in each one. Plaster all over the house on the night before the big day so your child wakes up to a fun surprise.

Low-Cost

Crafting En Plein Air Outside craft parties are a new way to get a few kids together from a safe distance. If you have a big outdoor area, space out tables and set up individual craft stations. Include fun materials like pom-poms, glitter glue, feathers, googly eyes, etc., and let the kiddos create as they chat it up.

Balloon Drop Go for a bouquet of balloons from Portland Balloon Delivery for your birthday kid. They’ve got contactless delivery and a range of options from Spider-Man to kitty mermaids. Prices vary with many bouquets around $35. Pro tip: If you order a birthday gift from local toy store Hammer and Jacks, you can also add helium balloons to your order! Portlandballoondelivery.com. Hammerandjacks.com.

Icing on the Cupcake! If you are over stress-baking, check out page 26 for where to find celebratory cupcakes!

ROSE CAUDILLO

Splurge

Famous Greetings You can pay for a customized video birthday greeting from (mostly B-list) celebrities, like actress Miriam Margolyes who played Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies. But even the coolest teen would probably flip over a message from Gabi Butler or Jerry Harris of the Netflix original Cheer. Cameo.com.

Splashing Good Time While the weather is still warm, we love the idea of a distanced mini-pool party. One clever Portland parent with a big yard spaced out and filled several inflatable pools for tween partygoers to lounge in.

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Dream Cakes Want to go big on the cake? Got a very specific theme? Hit up Jam Cakes. From Studio Ghibli to baby Yoda to Peppa Pig Meets Frozen — if you can dream it up, Jam Cakes can do it! Mini-cakes start at $40, and large cakes range from $85 to $250. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Facebook.com/jamcakes82.

Big Birthday Greetings Hooray Yard Cards will spell out a birthday announcement in huge letters on your lawn. Prices start at $99, and include delivery, set up and pick up. Available in Happy Valley, Beaverton, Canby and beyond. Lawn Party offers a similar service in Portland and donates a percentage of proceeds to Portland Homeless Family Solutions, COVID-19 Response Fund or Don’t Shoot PDX. Starts at $40. Hoorayyardcards.com. Lawnpartynw.com.

In on the Act Many of Portland’s wonderful children’s performers are doing some sort of online birthday performance package. A virtual birthday party from Penny’s Puppets ($150) includes a full 35- to 45-minute puppet show. And she’ll even do it over FaceTime or Zoom so friends can join the fun! (And she’s got a very fun low-cost alternative: a video chat with one puppet is only $10!) Olive & Dingo will put together a 30-minute video of personalized stories and songs for your birthday kid for $50. Portland favorites Micah and Me, Red Yarn and Mr. Ben will do personalized greetings as well. And KCPuppetree will even create a sweet animated birthday card! Pennypuppets.com. Oliveanddingo.com. Micahandmerocks.com. Facebook.com/ mrbenmusic. Redyarnproductions.com. Kcpuppetree.com.

Flock the Yard Think Pink Flamingo Flocking will set up a brightly colored array of pink plastic birds in your yard for any occasion. Birds remain on your lawn for two nights and one full day. Prices start at $45, plus mileage fee for certain ZIP codes. Thinkpinkflamingoflocking.com.

Crafty Party The Craft Factory is offering virtual craft party kits. You order the kits, do your own no-contact delivery to guests, and then create collectively via FaceTime or Zoom. $10 per kit for five or more. Call 503-577-4310.

Keep Birthdays Weird For the ultimate Portland birthday, you can ask The Unipiper to deliver a “birthdaygram.” He’ll roll over to your home and give a unicycle/bagpipe performance while you and the birthday kid watch from a safe distance. Starts at $250. Unipiper.com.

Editor Denise Castañon loves going over the top for kids’ birthdays and she did not let the pandemic stop her from (safely) going big for her daughter’s eighth birthday this summer.