Birthday celebration during COVID-19 is becoming a big topic among mom groups all over the world. So many of us have little ones who don’t quite understand what is going on or the severity of the Corona Virus.
In a few short days, we will be celebrating our oldest child’s birthday and unfortunately due to COVID-19, his party is not turning out to be what he had hoped (and we had planned) it to be.
Being as that is, they certainly don’t understand why they can’t have friends and family together or why this year’s birthday celebration is being postponed or changed.
Birthday Celebration During COVID-19
Because of social distancing, I have had to become creative in how we can celebrate our little man and his upcoming birthday. I wanted to take some time to share with you how we are celebrating.
Additionally, I have collected ideas from other fellow moms and want to share how they are celebrating their little ones.
Here are some ideas on how to have a birthday celebration during COVID-19
1. Use Technology to Your Advantage
The call to participate in social distancing, though absolutely necessary, has made it more difficult for our little ones to connect with family and friends for their birthday.
Though we cannot invite friends and family in person right now, technology has given us the ability to see our people in real-time and create a new way to celebrate.
Programs such as Zoom allow parents to set up calls with important family and friends.
Valerie from A Peach in the Queen City shared how her family celebrated her little one“…we did a zoom call with all of the grandparents to sing happy birthday and did all of her favorite things that we could do at home”
“We are going to be doing a bunch of decorations and live streaming her smash cake! (She is turning one!!!)” shared mom Courtney.
2. Ramp Up the Party Decor and Special Activities
Being stuck at home doesn’t mean a birthday party can’t be fun! Transform your house into something special just for the birthday kiddo!
“My best advice is to really up the party decor and to have a few extra special activities for them that are out of the ordinary, making sure everyone knows it’s “because it’s their birthday”, shared Liz from Blue and Hazel.
Related: Birthday Party Ideas
3. Set Up a Drive-by Parade
Depending on where you and your family live, social distancing doesn’t mean kiddos can’t see their loved ones from afar.
Mom Sam shared an idea she found from a friend “My friends and I have all decided that we’ll do a drive-by birthday party! If we can, we’ll decorate our cars and then drive up to the child’s house and honk and sing happy birthday from the cars”.
Amy, from The Homemade Heaven, shares how her whole neighborhood is getting in on the fun. “People in my area have organized a birthday parade FB group! Parents make an event for their kid’s birthday, and then people in the neighborhood sign up to drive by in their cars with birthday signs and honk/wave“
4. Let Them Be King or Queen For The Day
If there is one thing kids like to do, it’s being able to make all the rules.
You can make your little one feel special and celebrated by letting them do all the choosing for the day.
Natalie from One Simple Party, shared, “Some ideas are making your child king or queen for the day, having breakfast for dinner and creating reasons we love you poster.”
Maria, from Found My Story, shared how she made her kiddos feel special during their birthday celebration. “My kids are 5 days apart. I let each child pick all meals and all shows watched on TV. We went swimming in the pool and stayed outside longer than usual.”
5. Set-up a Surprise Party
Who said you have to have a house full of guests to surprise someone? You can still put together a surprise that will make any little one feel magical!
Mom Annette, from Coffee, Chaos, and Dry Shampoo shared “Do a surprise party, decorate inside (or outside) at night so when they wake up they are surprised. You can do a piñatas and when you do cake have a virtual call using zoom with friends and family singing happy birthday”.
6. Let Them Plan Their Party Theme
For our little man, we have let him decide what his theme would be for his big day. He has decided he wants to turn our downstairs into a Jurassic dinosaur adventure.
Related: Birthday Party Planning Printable
For the last week, we have been working together as a family to create decorations for the big day. Working on the decorations has created fun for the whole week!
7. Play Their Favorite Games or Video Games
Our little man is just starting to love the world of video games and to make his birthday special this year, we are letting him play the Wii for as long as he wants on his special day.
I will be setting up a Mario Cart race adventure that includes the whole family!
You can make the day fun by focusing on games and play time together without chores or responsibility for the day.
8. New Traditions with Old (Stuffed) Pals
Hanna from Sweet Hanna Grace shared how her family’s Elf on Shelf came back to celebrate. “My daughter turned 6 during this time and we celebrated by having our elves on the shelf show up in the birthday outfit with her presents laying in the living room for when she woke up. Then I made her favorite breakfast. I had people she was close to send her videos saying happy birthday. We made her cake together and she loved being a part of it.”
9. Count Down In a Fun Way
To build up anticipation we have created a chain to countdown the days until our little man’s birthday party.
On each link of the chain, we have written something special just about him. He feels so special getting to pull down a link each day.
10. Prepare a Day of Special Meals and Snacks
Make the day magical by living in the moment and letting the birthday kid choose their snacks and meals for the day.
A breakfast of cookies? A lunch of pizza and soda? Snacks of candy?
They might crash from all the sugar, but enjoying their favorites is a sure-fire way to remember the day.
It might seem difficult to have a birthday celebration during COVID-19, but by using some (or all) of the ideas above, you can help your little one feel loved and celebrated.
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