Little things mean a lot

IF LOCKDOWN has taught me one thing it is that little things can actually turn into big things. Mind you, that can be both good and bad.

The slightest little quarrel or ill-timed comment can turn a perfectly happy day into World War 500.

I would say World War Three, but we have been in lockdown for 10 weeks, so let’s stop pretending there’ve not been a few cross words uttered in our houses.

I have noticed that with a lot of days blurring into one it doesn’t take a lot now to have a big impact and create a ripple of excitement.

As a family, we have had three birthdays during lockdown. Delilah turned eight, Casper turned the corner to the terrible twos and Mark turned . . . another year wiser.

And we’ve had to be a little more resourceful than usual to try to give the little ones that special-day feeling when they are away from relatives and friends, birthday parties have been cancelled and it’s limited as to what we can get our paws on. Not being able just to pop out for supplies means planning is important and things like wrapping need to be done much more covertly – keeping any surprises is decidedly tougher when you are trapped on top of one another.

But despite assuming they might feel more lacklustre than usual, our lockdown celebrations have been some of our favourite ones, with the exception of not seeing friends and family, obviously.

We’ve had a pinata in the garden, gone on family bike rides and made pizza.

We even managed to see the local ice cream van.

The birthday cards we received had more drawings in and decorations were put up as part of a secret late-night club the evening before, with all little hands on deck for bunting and balloons.

The fact it was cake for breakfast seemed more exciting than usual and even meant home-schooling could wait for a day. (I think that was the real winner for a happy abode.)

Nobody was rushing anywhere, we weren’t on a deadline or even coercing our kids into clean, smart clothes for a celebration meal. It was just us together.

We had friends drop presents over the gate with a banner on the car.

And that two-minute “hello” and a wave saw us all smiling from ear to ear in a way that no other party could.

So yes, a celebration shut indoors may not sound like it’s going to be high in the fun stakes, but sometimes less is more. Make the decorations, bake the cake and, if in doubt, add more sprinkles.