Ms Chin expected her birthday to be one she would rather forget due to COVID-19 restrictions limiting celebrations, but Ms Chin's friends had other ideas and made her birthday one to remember.
Ms Chin innocently began her day with a walk and coffee with a friend - seemingly unaware nine other friends were waiting for her at pit stops across Shepparton.
“So, apparently each of my friends had an itinerary for each leg of the walk,” Ms Chin said.
“It was a progressive walk, so when I reached a certain point in my journey, another friend would be there waiting to surprise me.
“Three of my friends are primary school teachers so between them they put their collective brains together to ensure I was able to celebrate,” she said.
Each friend walked with Ms Chin for around 20 minutes and steered her on the right path to the next person in her birthday journey.
“It was a really special surprise, and really well organised,” Ms Chin said.
“Some were wearing party hats, then one of my friends gave me a fright when she jumped out to surprise me – it was a lot of fun.
“The people and surprises just kept coming and coming.
“It was a really creative way to celebrate a birthday during COVID-19 restrictions,” she said.
After each friend completed their leg of the walk, they peeled away back to Ms Chin's home.
“When I got back home, my house was covered in balloons, streamers, presents and birthday banners,” Ms Chin said.
“When they each made an excuse to leave the walk, they went back to my house and decorated it.
“They also made me a birthday cake and a pre-made dinner, so I didn’t have to cook that night,” she said.
Ms Chin said she hoped other people could use the idea to celebrate their loved ones’ birthdays during COVID-19 restrictions.
“It was really uplifting and made me feel so loved,” Ms Chin said.
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