Ellie had been planning everything out for her fifth birthday since at least October: a unicorn party with unicorn cake, special decorations and games, plus a guest list featuring friends from her 4K class.
“When we had to tell her we had to cancel it, she was really sad,” said Ellie’s mom, Christel Peterson. Birthday parties were no exception to orders prohibiting gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during a pandemic. Ellie still had a cake and presents, her traditional birthday doughnut and her favorite takeout, but the party was what she planned.
Peterson had read about other communities that had police officers and firefighters roll down the street in their squad cars and trucks to help celebrate birthdays for children who are stuck at home, and reached out on Facebook to see if it could be possible here. On Wednesday morning, Ellie was surprised by a crew of police officers and firefighters singing happy birthday to her.