I wrote this last May 3, 2021 :
7:49am.
All days start the same, this is fact. It doesn’t matter what type of day it is. You wake up, you get up, and you begin.
Today is a big day, yet it somehow does not feel like it at all. Months before today, I imagined this day a lot different from how it turned out. We would be together, I would’ve surprised him, cooked his favorites. We would have watched movies or played boardgames (his favorite past-times). It would have been this, if reality didn’t have its way of pre-made plans.
Today, we won’t be spending it together. He told me, last night, he just wanted it simple. And I could give him simple, but I know he deserves more than that. All days start the same, and today is not an exemption. Regardless of this fact, it will be a big day ahead.
Caitlin
Last Monday, I celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday whilst separated from him. We haven’t seen each other for two months since the pandemic cases in the Philippines have increased. I honestly thought there was a big chance that we were going to be together, but 2021 had other plans.
As I’ve written, despite this hurdle, I wanted him to feel extra special on his extra special day – a challenge, since we’re all stuck at home. But my non-negotiables for him were this:
- ‘Celebrating’ with others
- Factor of surprise
- Cute birthday setup
The night before, I decorated my room with birthday balloons. He’s been recently into the Netflix Falcon and Winter Soldier series, so I thought it would be the theme. Around 9:30PM, (I was late) for our call, and I showed him his virtual surprise. It wasn’t as much as a ‘salubong’ as I wanted it to be, but (I thought) it turned out really nice.
Little did he know for the past week or so, I’ve been collecting birthday greetings and photos from his friends, and creating a scrapbook. This way, he would still feel the presence of his loved ones. I decorated it simply with stickers and scrapbook materials. It’s been so long since I made one.
Here’s a sneak peak of how I decorated his scrapbook!
On the day itself, I prepared and delivered his gifts (a combination of his favorite things plus items I thought might be useful to his everyday life) and the scrapbook. I added the ’33’ balloon to his gift box, and it also turned out exactly how I wanted it.
It wasn’t the birthday I was expecting, but I was grateful he was safe. 🙂
List of some resources:
- Gift Guide | My boyfriend loves Nike, and there are a lot of Nike products by Zalora, just choose items that are good quality. Tip: order in advanced, so when you receive it you can check if you like the item or not. If you don’t you can have it exchanged with another item, or simply returned and refunded!
- Gift Guide | If your SO likes boardgames, my experience with Geekbox was smooth and pleasant. They have an extensive list of boardgames, and even categories that will help you select which type of game you want.
- DIY Guide | Scrapbook materials can be found in good ol’ National Bookstore or even online.
- DIY Guide | Fujifilm Wonder Photo prints and delivers quality photos for you! You can send them a facebook message with your photos according to size (2R, 3R, etc). I’ve had many photos printed through the years, and theirs is by far my favorite (though a bit pricier, it’s worth it). They also have branches in several malls like UP Town Center.
- DIY Guide | Lifehack, but Muji has awesome double-sided correction tapes. Here’s something similar on shopee.
- Gift Guide | Number balloons are also online.
- Dessert Guide | Did you know the famous Lord Stow’s also delivers! Nothing new, but they still have the best portugese egg tarts in town.
caitdegreat 