Giving children a happy birthday in the midst of a pandemic is incredibly difficult. But this father was determined to make his son’s day special.

Birthdays are incredibly important for children. They’re supposed to be days filled with thoughtful gifts, fun activities and amazing food.

Most parents bend over backwards to make these birthdays just as good as their kids hope they will be.

Jeremy Tuck, a pastor in Atlanta, is one of the fathers who have always tried to make his children’s birthdays special.

But this year, with the onset of coronavirus lockdowns across the world, it seemed almost impossible.

Usually, Tuck takes his family to a restaurant of the birthday boy’s choice (All his kids are boys.) This year, he told his youngest son that he would try to replicate any cuisine he liked on his birthday.

The son asked for hibachi, the notoriously complex Japanese form of cooking.

At first, Tuck was stumped at the hibachi request. But he really didn’t want to let his son down.

After all, the boy would already be confined to his home and away from his friends throughout his birthday. On top of that, there was no sign of many of his gifts coming on time in the mail.

So Tuck told himself that he could become a hibachi chef for his son’s birthday. How hard could it really be?

Tuck watched some online videos of how to cook like a hibachi chef. After a while, he realized that he could really pull it off. All he needed to do was become adept at a few cooking tricks and get his timings right. And, of course, he needed to look the part.

A little before his son’s birthday, Tuck went to the store and picked up a griddle and some toys for his son, as his gifts still hadn’t arrived in the mail.

The boy’s birthday was going surprisingly well. The child had acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to go out. But he knew that his parents were doing what they could for him. When dinner time came around, the child was amazed.

Tuck emulated the hibachi chef look by donning a paper bag and a Union Jack t-shirt (When you think about it, the shirt was a pretty clever move. Britain and Japan have some strong cultural and physical similarities. They’re both island nations; they both place manners above almost everything else; they both drive on the left.)

All five of Tuck’s sons were in awe ask he scraped the utensils together.

Then he threw a bowl of rice on the grill to fry it up.

Next, he added some chicken breast. After a while, the rice was getting nice and browned in the sauce.

Then he cut up the chicken, attempting a few showy moves as he did so. A little later, he had to resort to some more basic chopping, but the kids had been impressed nonetheless!

Then he added some shrimp onto the grill. Again, the attempted to flip the food in the air and was doing pretty well this time around!

All of Tuck’s sons and his wife were amazed at the effort that their father had gone to. This may not have been how they ever expected to spend a birthday, but they were definitely glad they had.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: FOX 5 Atlanta, Yahoo Finance