Birthday parties are an important milestone for children. Not only do they celebrate a child’s growth, they’re also a great opportunity for your child to feel like the centre of attention on a special day for them.
Unfortunately, ever-changing coronavirus restrictions have made it more challenging than usual to find a way to make your child’s birthday special. Luckily, all it takes is a bit of creativity and forethought to put together an unforgettable day that adheres to all government guidelines! Here’s how you can have fun with these lockdown birthday activities.
Going virtual
We’ve all learned to embrace a virtual social life in the past year, and children are no different. The need to go remote has led to lots of creative ways to stay connected – and these are some of our favourites.
• Throw a virtual themed party. Encourage everyone to play along – and get the parents of your child’s friends involved to make the occasion fun for guests as well. Fancy dress and themed snacks go down well with all ages.
• Hire online entertainment. Many children’s entertainers have gone virtual, and they can be a special surprise on a video call. How often does your child get to speak to Elsa – or have a goat visit their party?
• Go all out with the decorations. Balloons, streamers, bunting – if you can’t have a real in-person party, you can at least make it feel like one. Another easy option is finding a digital birthday background.
• Dress up the birthday boy or girl. Make it clear it’s their special day with a birthday crown, buttons, a specially-made t-shirt – anything out of the ordinary.
• Get creative with the lighting. Multi-coloured lights, disco balls, fairy lights – all create a special atmosphere.
• Keep activities short and sweet. With youthful attention spans, it’s better to plan several short activities than one long one.
Make it extra-special
If more screen time just isn’t the right option for your family, there are plenty of in-person ways to make another day at home seem like anything but ordinary. Social distancing kids’ parties might be tough to navigate with differing rules, but these ideas will help you get creative.
• Stretch out the excitement. Don’t open presents all at once. Instead, make a present treasure hunt by hiding lots of little gifts around the house, or by leaving clues to follow.
• Get outside. Enjoy a restriction-compliant socially-distanced celebration by taking the party out of doors. Bring plenty of hand sanitiser and disinfectant sprays, and serve individually-packaged foods to avoid contamination. Make sure to follow current government guidelines on mixing of households.
• Welcome inanimate guests. If age-appropriate, invite all your child’s toys and stuffed animals to the party. Get your child’s help to make invitations, party hats, etc for their ‘guests’.
• Plan special activities. Do things you wouldn’t normally do, like organising special games or preparing special food, to make it feel different from a regular day.
• Steal from other holidays. Stage an egg hunt in January, decorate a tree in spring, put on costumes and trick-or-treat to various rooms of the house in July – whatever your child loves about other holidays, bring on board for their birthday. Bonus points for doing all the holidays at once!
While coronavirus has made life difficult for families across the UK, many more children than usual are suffering in unsafe home situations with no easy way out. If you think you can provide a secure and loving home for a foster child, please get in touch.
