Long-distance relationships are tough, especially when you miss important milestones, holidays and birthdays. Whether it's a family member, partner or childhood bestie having a birthday, there are a bunch of things you can do to celebrate their birthday from afar and make it special. Here are some of my ideas!
- Order a unique birthday gift online (not a gift card!) and have it delivered to straight their house so you don't have to try to package and ship something you bought from a store yourself.
- Send them a treat through a service like Edible Arrangements, Sheri's Berries or Insomnia Cookies.
- Throw a virtual surprise party. Plan a time to call them and wait until the last minute to reveal you're actually doing a Houseparty with all of their friends. (This app allows you to play fun party games with everyone on the group call!)
- Print out a picture of a time when you were together and mail it to them with a letter detailing all of your favorite memories you have shared over the years.
- Send them cash with Apple Pay, Venmo or Cash App or PayPal with instructions for what to spend it on. Choose whatever it is you wish you could stop by their house and surprise them with.
- Have all of their friends record themselves singing one line of "Happy Birthday" and put the videos together to make the complete song and send it to them.
- Make a video slideshow of some of your favorite pictures together with a song that reminds you of them.
- Send a birthday message on every single form of social media/messenger/email you use early in the morning so they wake up to an abundance of messages from you everywhere they go.
- Order takeout from the same restaurant (a restaurant you have in both of your cities) and eat it together while on a video call. Make sure you order dessert!
- Start the same movie at the same time and watch it together through a video call for a birthday movie night.
Follow Hayley Hyer @hayhyer