Enforced physical distancing is leading to some creative ways to celebrate birthdays.
Over the weekend Newshub - at a distance - attended two special birthday celebrations of sorts which proved unforgettable.
Lucy Grieve has reached a significant milestone - she's five years old.
It isn't the birthday party Lucy had been dreaming of - the COVID-19 coronavirus has turned her little world upside down.
"Picking her up from preschool and telling her 'oh by the way this is your last day' wasn't easy," her mother Martha told Newshub.
"Knowing that all hopes of any kind of birthday gathering wasn't going to happen - it was quite emotional as a mother."
Instead, Lucy's bubble of four are doing their best to celebrate her birthday at home.
"She's got pass the parcel, she wants to do musical statues, musical chairs. Yeah, it's going to be great fun," said her mum.
In Dunedin, seven-year-old Gabi is also having a strange birthday.
"Because of the coronavirus I get to have a birthday on my own," she told Newshub.
The people on her street helped her feel special by singing happy birthday.
Her dad says it's been the easiest birthday yet.
"It's probably been one of the most stress-free birthdays we've ever had," he told Newshub.
"We haven't had to organise food or a venue so from that perspective it's been great."
Here and overseas birthdays are being celebrated in new and creative ways. But no matter what, communities are uniting -albeit at a distance - making sure birthdays go ahead for the important people in their lives.
