This is my random post about birthdays as I’m not able to post on the actual dates to protect our identity.

We’ve had two lockdown birthdays this year, although one was more restricted than the other. With lockdown there was really only one theme, rainbows and my daughter was happy to embrace this for her birthday. I had brightly coloured bunting in the garden and a rainbow 🌈 happy birthday balloon garland decorating the birthday table in the kitchen. On the photo of the cake, I’ve needed to blank out her name and age which were bright fondant letters and numbers and really complemented the other decoration. I did consider baking 6 layers of rainbow cake but felt that was a lot of cake and icing. Instead I chose orange, yellow and green sponges as these looked the most natural food colourings. I was able to match citrus fruits to the sponges so we had orange, lemon and lime layers and a citrus soft cheese icing as the filling. It was delicious and one of my favourite birthday bakes.

Our second cake had a camouflage style as my son loves everything military. For the decorations I was able to get military themed balloons in shades of green and brown. I wanted to incorporate the camo theme in the sponge and made a marble cake, with one chocolate sponge mix and a lime mix. I didn’t colour the lime sponge but used lime zest to add a little colour. I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I do want the cake to have a great taste, it’s not simply about the aesthetics but the flavour too.

It did feel sad this year not being able to do our birthday treats, no big days out at the local theme park or safari park, or even local treats with friends. However, the days were special in their unique 2020 style, neighbours popped over, we FaceTimed family and just enjoyed being together and playing with the new presents, the Nintendo Switch was a big hit. To end the day, the birthday child got to have a Takeaway tea with Chinese and Pizzas as their choices.

The birthdays were different but memorable and I hope each child got to feel very special and loved on their special day in 2020.