Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Nine - Impro-Birthday

For reasons you can probably guess, this year Glosette Girl and I had to be a bit creative when it came to Margot's birthday. It was a big one too: 10 years old. Double digits!

So despite provincial restrictions preventing us from inviting over Margot's friends over for a get-together, we put our minds together and came up with...

First ever mountain bike experience! Getting into the Spirit of Place!

• First mountain bike experience in newly opened Morris Island conservation area;
• A few random (but socially distant) visits from friends outside our house;
• Margot got to pick dinner. She came up with Green Papaya, a yummy local Thai restaurant;
• A Zoom/Netflix party where Margot and 5 friends got to play Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, a choose-your-own-adventure style Netflix movie. (Margot shouted out instructins explaining what to do); and perhaps most fun of all...
• Margot's 10th Birthday clue book! Eight clues leading to eight gifts hidden throughout our house.*

There was no order to the clues nor did she have to solve them all at once. But as the day progressed those clues were pretty tempting and by 3 pm she had solved them all and found her gifts.

The "Call Grandma V" clue!

To be honest there was almost too much included in the day's agenda. But I think it hit the right notes. A couple of weeks ago Margot was really down that she wouldn't have a "real" birthday. But she didn't mention that once on her b-day. This is not the "new normal" (I dislike that expression). But I think we were able to pull off a memorable day for a fiesty little girl.

* The clues were: (1) Let's go Biking; (2) Call Uncle J for clue; (3) Pick your favourite game; (4) Call Grandma V; (5) Stuffies have a new friend; (6) A good place to spy; (7) Hit the slopes; (8) Giddy up Horse. Note the clues led to the location of the gifts and sometimes also hinted at the gifts themselves.