I know, I know… by now there is visible COVID fatigue.

I get that

This new normal is not really all things fun and getting used to it takes time. One of the things that changed in Post-Covid era is the way we celebrate birthday parties.

Just taking a detour here from the main topic at hand; I find it interesting that while adults went from self- adulation to procrastination to cribbing about the ‘new normal’ and the various changes that it brought about, children to a large extent adapted beautifully!

Much better than adults of-course!

I can say this with confidence because I have seen my kids and their friends. They have spent months starting from March to now in lockdown with very less pampering and spoon-feeding. They lost their cherished summer vacation to the pandemic. They lost their time in school as most schools moved online, they missed bonding with friends as the lockdown was in force and now it was their birthdays!

If you are looking for some educational resources to keep children busy in lockdown, you might like the post Educational Resources for children

Virtual birthday parties in times of COVID

July is a birthday month in my house. Both kids have their birthday’s in this month and they are super excited about it. While we never had huge birthday bashes, but calling their friends over for some games and cake was a standard practice. This time they weren’t going to get that as well, as the Covid cases continued to rise.

I truly felt bad that they couldn’t get a decent party and decided to do something about it. As this was the first time, I learned from the mistakes that I did in my daughter’s birthday and improved on it for my son. Here are a few tips from both the virtual parties that we had and I hope you will find it useful for your kid’s birthday’s

5 Virtual birthday party tips in times of COVID

  1. Schedule zoom calls with small groups

This is something I learned the first time around. With my older daughter’s birthday party, we invited everyone to the same call and though there were only around 15 people there was too much happening on the screen for us to focus on anything. We couldn’t really talk to everyone, nor could we manage the approvals and timings well.

The second time around we managed to have two zoom calls – one for the family and another one for the friends. This helped manage the system and have meaningful conversations with all.

2. A birthday video with some pictures

The man of the house had this bright idea and it was hugely popular. He made one each for the kids and it included all the fun moments that we had while the child was growing up. This was played before the cake cutting and hence as people joined the meeting they weren’t just waiting for something to happen. It was also a great conversation starter in some cases.

3. Order gifts beforehand

Both the children’s grandparents had wired the money beforehand to buy them gifts that they would love. This helped us order gifts online and keep it ready beforehand. We gave the gifts during the family virtual call and that helped all feel like they were present at the event. The happiness when kids got what they were looking for just added to the magic.

4. A handmade or virtual background

This is something I saw being done by a friend. I loved it and we implemented it as well. We downloaded some good virtual backgrounds. There are a few available on Canva as well, you can check that out. Another friend actually made a big background with her son’s favorites. It was a lovely idea as well.

5. Virtual Games time

When the kids friends connected on the birthday party, after the cake cutting, we played some virtual games. Children played games like Simon says,  virtual Pictionary and charades. To avoid wasting time thinking about the words to be used, we shared Virtual Pictionary word suggestion and virtual charades as well. That helped them play the game and have fun without thinking too much about the words they were going to come up with.

These ideas helped us make our children’s birthday parties special even in times of COVID. Thanks to technology, this lockdown and the post COVID ‘new normal’ have been bearable. I dread to think what it would have been, had this been say 15 years ago!

Hope you find these tips helpful. If you have had some fun ideas for your children’s birthday do share that in comments so that we can exchange notes and help children have a wonderful virtual birthday party, even in times of COVID

19 Replies to “Virtual birthday parties in times of COVID”

  1. Yeah !! My daughter’s birthday is next week and I am planning too some great surprises for her during this lockdown!! Virtual party is surely gonna be fun!!

  2. Yes , never imagined celebrating parties over ZOOM . But surprisingly kids are loving it for a change

  3. The thing is we adults are ok with virtual or no birthday celebrations at all. But kids have to be pacified and these points are quite helpful to us parents.

  4. In these times, all celebrations have gone virtual. So too birthdays, and one needs to be innovative to make these birthdays enjoyable. These are some nice tips in those directions.

  5. Never imagined that we have to celebrate bday also online but time changes everything. Loved this article and it’s so much relevant.

  6. Many occasions have been held virtually during the COVID-19 lockdown. Happy Birthday! We have meet again, for a virtual birthday party. Great thoughts.

  7. These are some really wonderful ways to celebrate birthday during these times. We sent video messages individually to one of our neighbourhood kid on his birthday. He was really happy.

  8. This is a very nice option to celebrate birthday during this covid situation. Your pointers are very helpful.

  9. Nicely compiled list of things that can be done to enjoy COVID birthdays, Neha. My family and I too celebrated our birthdays with online cake cuttings and virtual games with family and friends.

  10. Okay, my little one’s birthday is nect month and I am already paniking on how to make it fun without her friends. I am saving this post and surely trying a few tips from here.

  11. The pandemic evolved the term “virtual birthday celebration”. We celebrated my kid’s six-months birthday the same way. Zoom invitation, before the party compilation of videos and images, cutting the cake.
    Though we don’t want the same to continue but it was an experience to remember.

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