We Asked 7 People, ‘How Are You Celebrating In Iso?’   #iso

Anniversaries
“To celebrate being one year out from our wedding we had dinner at home. I was required to self-quarantine, so I set up the dining room table (sitting at opposite ends) and covered the table in photos of us. We had to keep 1.5m apart so we couldn't hug, kiss or even stand near each other.

“As I couldn't leave the house, Andrew brought over take away from a local thai restaurant and had to serve everything up for us (so I wouldn't touch anything he was eating), shared a bottle of wine and sat chatting with some music playing in the background for the night. 

“I had been in the house by myself for nearly a week by that stage and had only been wearing activewear, so I got dressed up for the night! I wore a playsuit (which I have never worn before – I always thought that they wouldn't suit me, but decided to try one seeing as I wasn't going out in public. Great time to try new trends!), makeup AND heels, I went all out! 

“It felt like we were back in the early stages of dating. And when it was time for him to go home, instead of just getting ready for bed and going to sleep, he had to say goodbye and get an uber so brought back those early dating memories.” – Jessica

Date Night With a Difference
“I started seeing a guy just before lockdown and we have been doing ‘iso dates’ where we choose a dish to cook one night each week – we call each other and both cook it in our separate kitchens and then eat ‘together’. So it’s kind of like we’re on a dinner date but not really. In between dates we also set each other lots of challenges to complete, like seeing how many keepie uppies you can do with a toilet roll.” – Jennifer

Kids’ Birthdays
“My son, Ollie, just turned two. With the new reality of being at home and no playgrounds allowed and realising I’d feel slighting odd with only two of us singing, we decided to do a virtual hat party on Zoom with our family and friends to help us sing Ollie a happy birthday.  

“I created a handmade IRL Zoom background on our wall which included Ollies art work and colourful balloons. (He seemed most excited about waking up to this set up!) Everyone seemed to enjoy it, including Ollie, who lasted longer than expected. I made a cake and we did two rounds of lighting candles and singing happy birthday at the birthday boy's demand. Family were the last ones standing, not wanting to end the Zoom! We opened some presents that arrived in the mail while Ollie showed all his gifts to everyone. Everyone wore a hat with Nanny and Popo winning best dressed. It was a great way to connect and share a special moment with all.” – Rachel

Citizenship Ceremonies
“Becoming a fully fledged Australian was something I’d looked forward to for literally years and when the date of my ceremony was finally confirmed earlier this year, I booked in a big get-together of everyone who had played a part in making this country my home. Covid-19 had other ideas! Still wanting to mark this occasion, I put on my RMs and FaceTimed the rest of my family overseas who all cracked open the champagne in their respective homes.” – Kate

Long Weekend Fun
“My housemates are always looking for the fun in a situation. On the long weekend we created an obstacle course in chalk on the pavement outside our front door, with little challenges to get from A to B instead of just walking down the street. When people passed by we encouraged them to give it a go (keeping our social distance, of course). The adults often got more into it than the kids actually!

“And then for the grown ups (us), instead of chocolate eggs, we hid jello shots around our house and did a hunt.” – Jen, Maggie & Francesca