A 9-year-old wowed his classmates with a fancy birthday lunchbox his mom made with lobster, macaroons and gold sparkling water

• Tiffany Keene went all out for her son's 9th birthday by packing him a "golden" themed lunchbox.
• The packed lunch included a lobster and shrimp wrap, macarons, and a gold-painted sparkling water.

A mom packed her 9-year-old son a "golden-themed" birthday lunchbox that included lobster, shrimp, macaroons, and gold-painted sparkling water.

Tiffany Keene, 31, shared a video of the birthday lunchbox on Instagram and TikTok on February 9 for her son Cruz's golden birthday. A golden birthday occurs when the date matches the age the person is turning — in her son's case, he was turning 9 on February 9.

Keene's birthday post has since been picked up by several publications, including The Sun, The Daily Mail, and The New York Post. At the time of writing, it has 279 likes and 83 comments on Instagram, with the majority of commentators wishing Cruz happy birthday.

In the video, Keene, who goes by the handle @real.at.tiffanys on social media, said they started with a breakfast of cinnamon roll waffles.

Turning to the lunchbox, she said she "painted his sparkling water gold to match the theme," before sharing photos of the meal. "Then I took a wrap and I added shrimp and lobster — yes, his favorite, shrimp and lobster — this boy loves seafood so I had to make sure to incorporate it," Keene said.

Later in the video, photos show how the food was wrapped in gold foil and the lunchbox had gold utensils.

"I made sure I had everything gold, from utensils to napkins. I even wrote in gold for his note," she said. For the note, Keene wrote a birthday-themed joke: "Did the teddy bear want cake on his b-day? No he was stuffed!"

Cruz was thrilled with his golden-themed lunch

Keene told Insider her son was so excited on his birthday to see the golden-themed lunch.

"He felt so special. He came home and thanked me a million times over," she said, adding how his classmates were intrigued by the gold bows and golden painted sparkling water can, which she created using Chef Master gold edible cake decorating spray.

While responses to her golden birthday lunchbox videos were "more positive than negative," she said there are people who didn't see eye to eye with the effort she put into her son's lunch. Keene also said there were probably some who were "shocked to see a child with such a mature palate."

"You'll always have someone that doesn't agree with how you do things and that's OK," she said. But Keene was surprised to see some people who didn't know what a golden birthday was.

"I'm happy that I was able to introduce them," she said. "I hope that it inspires others to celebrate their golden birthday."

Keene says she often makes creative meals for her family and that it's a more affordable option than gourmet

In an email to Insider, Keene — who is from Ohio and has two other boys aged 2 and 7 months — said cooking is a creative outlet for her and that she's been sharing how she packs lunchboxes since 2019, when Cruz was in kindergarten.

"I'm not a chef and I did not go to culinary school. I'm self-taught and learned to cook from my grandmother," she said.

The golden birthday lunchbox is far from the first time she's made Cruz food to bring to school, who she said prefers her cooking to school lunches. Although she said some people may see the lunchboxes she packs as gourmet, Tiffany said she looks at making meals for her family as a "creative expression and love language."

Keene said her food budget is "very comparable to the average household" and making her son's lunches, which she shares frequently via Instagram, can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes.

"It makes my family feel special and excited for each meal," she added. "I'm a frugal shopper so although those lunches look over the top and expensive they are not. I love Aldi which is where I do most of my shopping. Aldi recently had lobster tails 2 for $14 which is cheaper than a meal at a restaurant."