A concerted effort from family and friends in the midst of COVID-19 gave 10-year-old Annika Plamondon a birthday celebration she’ll never forget.
Annika was going to turn 10 years old April 21. Kara Plamondon, Annika’s mother, was worried that, due to COVID-19, self-isolation and social distancing, her daughter would not be able to hold a party or celebrate her birthday.
That’s when the idea came. If people couldn’t come celebrate with the Plamondons, the Plamondons would come to them to celebrate.
Kara and her family shared the plan with family and friends and with people on Facebook, but kept things hush-hush with Annika, hoping the plans would be a surprise.
“We knew about it, but Annika didn’t know about it,” said Kara.
“We were feeling bad that she wasn’t going to have a birthday party and I thought we could ask our friends if anybody wanted to put out a sign or some balloons or something and do like a little birthday tour.”
The Plamondons were hoping to get 10 people involved, one for each of Annika’s birthdays.
They didn’t get 10 people. They got over 40 instead.
“She was pretty surprised,” Kara said.
“I found out a few days before my birthday,” said Annika.
“I found out we were going into town and I thought it would only be a few people.”
The Plamondons went from Bakers’ Narrows to Flin Flon, driving from street to street to see people providing birthday cheer. Family members and friends waved hello from windows and driveways and held up signs wishing Annika a happy birthday. A few times, the family even stopped for pictures with well-wishers, being sure to observe proper social distancing protocols. Others dropped off birthday presents to the family’s van. People from outside Flin Flon sent in video messages wishing Annika a happy 10th birthday.
“We ended up driving around for a couple of hours,” Kara said, laughing.
“We had super participation from friends and family and neighbours and almost total strangers. We decorated our vans and drove around and honked the horn, people waved and that was it. It was really good.”
The outing was a hit, not only for the Plamondons and for Annika, but for the people who turned out to support her along the way.
“It was funny how many people were saying, ‘Thank you for asking us.’ It was some people that were maybe not her best friend, but they were acquaintances or friends of mine and just people who wanted to participate. It gave them something to do that day and it was exciting for them,” Kara said.
“Now she’s saying ‘My quarantine birthday was my favourite birthday ever.’”
Annika herself was overwhelmed by the love and support people showed during the outing.
“I was pretty grateful that all these people were remembering and helping me celebrate my birthday when there was no one else to celebrate with,” she said.
“It was really great to see my friends again, even when we’re not done yet doing social distancing and all that.”
