I have seen a few friends commenting that it is their child’s birthday soon and that their parties and celebrations have been cancelled or postponed due to lockdown and isolation. I feel for them as my birthday will also take place under lockdown and it has annoyed me so I can only imagine how children will feel about it. However, I have been thinking of ways to hold a virtual birthday party whilst we are having to observe the social distancing that might just help raise a few smile on the day.
Hosting a virtual birthday party
Hosting a virtual party is easier than you think and can be organised quickly and easily. If you love a party or your child is disappointed their birthday party has been cancelled fear not, bring the party to everyone’s living room! I’m also sharing with you 7 birthday party games that can also be played so keep reading or PIN to read again later.
Stats show that more than 692,000 children in the UK are set to miss out on planned birthday celebrations over the next three weeks. It is such a shame but there are still ways to celebrate.
The fabulous team at Kinderlist are offering parents who have had to cancel celebrations for their child the chance to win £150 worth of their child’s birthday gift list!
That’s right – parents of children 14 and under on their next birthday will be automatically put in a draw to win £150 worth of gifts when they create a birthday KinderList, providing the birth date falls between now and the 14th April 2020. We will also donate 5% profit from all sales through the site to children’s charities.
Send out a virtual party invite with a date and time on to those you’d like to attend. Decide how you will communicate – Zoom works well for groups or even Whats App. Everyone can have a plate of party food and sing happy birthday to the child whose birthday it is.
Children will love seeing their friends and being able to take part in a virtual birthday party. I have been invited to several virtual catch ups or wine nights online and this can be adapted for children too!
Virtual games to play when on lockdown
Bingo
When you send over invites send over each person a personalised bingo card. On the day of the party, yourself or a guest can be the bingo master, picking out numbers from a hat, meaning everyone can play at the same time together.
Scavenger Hunt
You could also set up games like scavenger hunts for kids to find things around the house, with the rule of the first one to find everything wins. You can partner up with other parents to do this, so children can hunt around their homes to find household items, along with a few sweets and treats along the way. This will take a little bit of pre organising with the other parents but could be fun.
Read my Lips
Each child takes a turn saying a sentence but without speaking out loud and everyone has to guess what was said. It’s a version of Chinese whispers and can certainly bring about a giggle!
Pictionary
Children draw a picture and the others have to guess what it is. Points are awarded for each right answer
Write a quiz
You can plan a quiz using with some quiz cards you already have from a game like Trivial Pursuits or Categories or you can write your own questions on a topic.
Categories
This was one of my favourite games at family parties and can easily be adapted for a virtual birthday party. Write a list of categories which you send to each child who prints it off. It could be examples of a girls name, a boys name, a capital city, a country, a fruit, a sport etc… Then choose a letter and you gave to list the answers. You get ten points for an answer and 20 points if no one had the same answer as you. Most points wins.
Movie Time
A quieter and simpler alternative is to watch a film. Set a time for when all party guests will watch a film together. Make sure to plan beforehand to ensure everyone has access to the same film. Although not as interactive as other ideas it’s still a lovely activity and you can all discuss the film afterwards. Services like Netflix Party exist so you can all watch together.
These party ideas can be played virtually and will hopefully go some way to putting a smile on the birthday persons face. Many children love Youtube so they could also open their presents and do an unboxing to show family and friends what they have received.
