Stuck for inspiration for a birthday celebration in lockdown? Look no further

Because who doesn’t want to do a homemade murder mystery


Over the last year, a lot of plans have had to be put on hold, changed or, in the worst of cases, cancelled all together. At a time when having the enthusiasm to celebrate has been a little more difficult, some have got brilliantly creative. Here are a few stories of how some students in Brighton have really made the most of celebrating their birthdays with their bubble.

Euphoria House Party 

Having a themed birthday has always been a good idea. One of the benefits to having a house party with your house mates is that you can remind them of the theme, making sure there are no excuses for not putting the effort in.

With Euphoria, we have quite a low risk, low effort but high reward theme for a house party. Everyone can get dressed up and the use of a little decorative glitter means everyone will look the part.  

One student told The Sussex Tab, “I’d been watching loads of Euphoria and loved the show and loved its fashion. I roped all my friends into dressing up… It was so nice to have a theme, which got everyone to look forward to the night!”

Murder Mystery Night 

This may require a little more dedication, but if you have ever had the fantasy to take Cluedo to the next level, here’s a great idea for a bubble-restricted birthday. In this example, everyone in the house got dressed up, assigned characters, professions and backgrounds.

As with the Euphoria theme, the excuse to get dressed up has amazing results. In order to really make the most of the night, 1920s snacks, cocktails and a roaring-20s inspired playlist was also used, creating a truly immersive and memorable experience.

Surprised by Your House 

Sometimes in a lockdown, it’s the little gestures that can really make someone’s day. If a flatmates’ birthday is coming up, how about surprising them when they least expect it? An easy way to do this is to do a little decorating whilst your house mate is out doing a food shop, or maybe late at night/early in the morning so they have something great to wake up to.

One student said “I was nervous leading up to the day that it wouldn’t be memorable or special. But I got surprised at midnight by my housemates with party poppers and confetti.

“The fuss they made for me made up for not being able to see my family and the added benefit of lockdown is that your birthday is not just one day, I get to look forward to a time when I can see family and then celebrate all over again.”

Lockdown-friendly Pub Crawl 

Missing pub crawls? Some of us have even gone so far as to change our homes into our own personal ‘Golden Mile’. In this scenario, every room represented a different pub, you could always get very decorative if you wanted if you wanted to go the extra mile. This also worked great over Zoom because you can all agree to make each room a different pub and give each other an alcoholic tour of each other’s houses.

Another student told The Sussex Tab that she needed a way to satisfy her birthday cravings: “going into lockdown meant that all plans I had for my birthday disappeared overnight. Thankfully, the lockdown didn’t stop the celebrations… We used Zoom before it became mainstream for lectures, me and my friends all got dressed up in gowns and suits for a much needed crawl!”

Balloon Arch 

Because if not in lockdown, when? Things have been hard enough recently, so the pandemic provides the perfect excuse to go a little bit over-the-top with the decorations. This house went full-out: confetti, balloons, cupcake: an amazing way to celebrate turning 21 in a lockdown.

“My 21st turned out amazing! We built a gorgeous balloon arch for our house! Initially I wanted to do a fancy meal at the Ivy, but we made it a memorable and elegant night despite the circumstances!”

However you choose to celebrate your birthday, remember that there are always ways to have fun with your bubble despite the circumstances outside.