Erin Steigerwalt knew her niece wouldn’t be able to have a typical birthday party this year.

So she brought the party to her.

Steigerwalt helped coordinate a birthday car parade to surprise her niece Brynn Thompson for her seventh birthday on Wednesday.

With traditional get-togethers out of the question amid the coronavirus outbreak, about 20 cars gathered in the parking lot at McGarvey Field in Jim Thorpe and made their way past Brynn, who was with family and mom and dad Caitlin and Kevin Thompson, to spread cheer and send love on a day she won’t soon forget.

“One of our friends, Ashley (Smith), she reached out to me and a bunch of her other girlfriends, and we’re just going to drive by my niece’s house since we can’t be with her today and do a little birthday car parade for her,” Steigerwalt said. “I think Ashley might have seen it online - I saw it online maybe a week ago - and thought that it was so cute, but I just didn’t think to even do this.

“So when she reached out and said we should do that, I thought that it would be so much fun for her.”

Cars poured out of the parking lot and made the left turn up the hill on West Fifth Street with horns honking as Brynn enjoyed the experience.

“There was no theme at all,” said Steigerwalt. “She’s a very sweet and happy little girl. So the fact that all of her friends are going to be here for her, and she hasn’t seen them in a couple of weeks because of this quarantine, she’s going to be beside herself. I can’t wait to see her.”

Several cars were decorated with signs for the occasion. Steigerwalt’s might have been the most fitting: “Happy B-Day to our Queen B!”

“She’s the only girl; she has a little brother, and I have three boys, and my brother has a little boy. So she’s the ringleader of our little crew. And we all love her; she’s the best. I’m just excited that we get to be a part of it.”

It might not have been the celebration she imagined. But Steigerwalt made sure it was one her niece would always cherish.

“It’s extremely important for me that she knows that she’s loved,” Steigerwalt said. “We usually see her a few times a week, so the fact that I haven’t been able to hug her or kiss her, or just see her in general, that kills me and it kills the rest of our family too.

“I think this is going to be super special for her. I think she’s always going to remember it as one of her best birthdays.”

The most difficult times often have a way of bringing out the best in all of us.