In response to the coronavirus scare, birthday parties have been temporarily put off. This means no party clowns, no colorful streamers, no sea of people to celebrate your most special day of the year. While grown-ups are perfectly fine with skipping festivities this 2020, kids are having difficulty adjusting to the new normal.
Fortunately, parents can still throw a fun birthday bash for their little ones without breaking the shelter-in-place orders. Instead of mounting a face-to-face party, they can throw a virtual get-together in the comforts of their own home. Here are six steps for hosting a web-based birthday celebration for kids:
Set Up an Account
The first thing you should do when planning an online birthday bash is selecting a video conference platform. There are different software programs you can choose from—Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Skype, FaceTime, and many more. While these programs are commonly utilized for administering work meetings and remote learning, they can also be used for hosting personal get-togethers. These platforms boast clear audio and video calls, screen sharing capability, user-friendly interface, and multi-device support, which are important features when hosting online gatherings. Participants can attend your kids’ birthday just by using their phones and can share virtual greetings without any hassle.
Round up Guests
Invite your children’s friends and their parents to the online party. Your kids will surely enjoy interacting with their playmates and classmates they haven’t seen in a while. You should also ask your relatives to take part in this virtual celebration. Seeing their loved ones, especially during this lockdown season, will put a smile on their faces. When it comes to web-based parties, remember this—the more, the merrier. Make sure to send out reminders to your guests before the celebration. You should also forward the link to the conference call, your meeting ID, and passcode if any.
Stick to a Theme
Just like traditional get-togethers, pick a theme for the celebration. It could be a cowboy-themed, superhero-inspired, or a circus-style event. Make an effort to dress up for the occasion and deck out your living space with party decors such as balloons and streamers. Ask guests to accessorize their background using simple banners and other embellishments appropriate to the theme of the party. But if you don’t want them to go through all the hassle of decorating, video conference platforms have features that enable participants to add background and other video effects to their screens. These filters can surely make your virtual party more interesting and engaging, especially to your little ones.
Build up the Fun
Prepare a program for the virtual party. When hosting online get-togethers, don’t forget to add an element of fun. Incorporate performances into your program to keep your guests amused and entertained. Ask people to pitch in to make the party more alive. Relatives can carry out dance performances through prerecorded content or livestream technology. They can also prepare virtual scrapbooks or video montages that they can screen-share to participants. Those who can’t attend the actual online party can also prerecord their greetings, so you can just play them during the conference call. You can share your screen with all the guests, so you watch it all together.
Work up an Entree
A party is not a party without food. Prepare your kids’ favorite meals on their special day. If you don’t have the time and the resources at home to whip up multiple recipes, you can order food items online. During this lockdown period, food deliveries are the best sources of safe and delicious eats. From pasta to chicken wings to clubhouse sandwiches, you can order a variety of meals for your little ones’ celebration. Of course, you shouldn’t forget about their birthday cake. Make their quarantine celebration extra special by ordering customized cakes online. You can let your kids choose the shape, size, and decorations of their cake, which they will surely take pleasure in. Don’t forget to send out food to your guests, so they can also get a load of the delicious meals you’ve prepared.
Make It Special
Integrate a gift-unboxing portion into your virtual party. Of course, unwrapping presents is more thrilling in the presence of other people. Just like face-to-face get-togethers, the participants get to see the reaction of the celebrants in the process of opening their birthday gifts. Just because people are stuck at home doesn’t mean they can’t experience heart-warming moments like this anymore. That’s the beauty of technology—it brings people together.
Don’t let the pandemic keep you from celebrating your kids’ most favorite day of the year. By hosting virtual parties, you can make your little ones’ lockdown birthday their most memorable one yet.