- Kylie Najjar, a mom who lives in Perth, Australia, had to cancel her two sons’ joint birthday party due to the coronavirus.
- She wanted to at least mark her baby’s 1st birthday in a memorable way, so she she came up with a clever quarantine-themed photoshoot.
- The mom of two shared the images on Facebook and she said she has gotten thousands of messages in response.
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When Kylie Najjar canceled the joint birthday party she’d planned for her two sons because of the coronavirus, her family took it hard.
“Obviously we knew it was for the greater good to have to cancel,” Najjar told Insider, “so it made it a slightly easier pill to swallow.”
The original plan was to have a Spiderman-themed party for her 4- and 1-year-olds. She was going to get a ball pit, a jumping castle, and climbing equipment.
Even after, Najjar wanted to devise a way to at least mark her 1-year-old, Jai’s, milestone birthday in a special way. Using some crafts from Home Depot, she crafted a quarantine-themed photoshoot. She wrapped his crib in caution tape, and the baby stood in front of a sign that read “Quarantine 1st Birthday Party, None of you are invited.”
A mom didn't let the pandemic get in the way of celebrating her son's 1st birthday in a fun way
Najjar said that finding a fun, creative way to celebrate the day was important to her.
"I wanted to do something he could look back on and know we tried to find the funny side to an otherwise sad situation," Najjar said.
The Australian mom shared some photos to a Facebook group, called Party Mums, and posted some images on her personal Facebook paget too.
The mom of 2 said she's gotten thousands of messages about her unique quarantine-theme photoshoot
The posts racked up thousands of likes and Najjar said that she received messages from parents asking her to recreate similar banners.
Najjar filled some requests, but wasn't able to keep up with demand. She did provide some pre-made files for followers to download.
The family also celebrated Jai's big day with cake and a dance party
Najjar's husband, Chris, was away for work on Jai's birthday on April 3. She and her two sons made the best of it by having a dance party, eating birthday cake, and singing "Happy Birthday" before bed.
The crafty mom also made Jai's favorite foods: fruit kebabs, pancakes with bananas and blueberries, and fairy bread - which is toast with butter and sprinkles on it.
Najaar said she was glad that she was able to still make his big day feel special.
"This, to me," Najjar said, "just seemed like the only way I knew how to celebrate while trying to find the funny side of such a sad time for everyone all over the world."
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