Seven-year-old Lewis has been looking forward to his birthday for weeks. He started a new school near his home in London in January, and was looking forward to celebrating his big day with friends and family at a pizza-making party at a local restaurant this weekend.
It was going to be the first time he could invite his new school friends to a party, and make him feel truly part of his class. He talked of little else over the past couple of months.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown, his party was cancelled.
Lewis’ mum, Sharmain, says: “Lewis was devastated he couldn’t have his birthday party with his friends. He doesn’t really cry or throws tantrums, but he has felt lonely during this time and misses them.
“He regularly asks questions about the coronavirus and whether you can recover from it. In truth, we are all concerned, but our priority is to make sure Lewis is okay. We are grateful to have more quality time with him and make sure we shower him with an abundance of cuddles and hugs.”
Sharmain and Rowan, Lewis’ dad, wanted to do what they could to lessen the blow of having to cancel their son’s birthday party and make his day special. They decided to hold a birthday party for the three of them in their back garden with music, pizzas and all his favourite toys to make him feel better. They also arranged a FaceTime call with his beloved grandparents.
When Sharmain told their neighbours of how upset Lewis was about having to cancel his party, the whole street wanted to support him. On April 2nd, his birthday, they all came out of their homes and sang Happy Birthday from their front doors together. As his friends and family couldn’t be around, they wanted to make sure he wasn’t alone and felt loved.
Lewis’ verdict? “Best birthday ever!”