We all know the wisdom of isolating ourselves and stopping the spread of this awful virus but what do you do if your child has a birthday during the period of isolation? The first thing to remember is that a Birthday Party was always about making your child feel special for the day, and to make them realised how cherished they are and you can do that without inviting other people!
Lets be honest children’s parties are expensive and quite stressful. Someone always cries, usually one child will be sick and there will be at least one squabble to break up so having a Birthday UnParty may not be the worst thing to happen.
Depending on the age of your child we have some suggestions as to how you can make the very best of your child's birthday even without a people at your party.
1st Birthday – a cake with candles will suffice. The First Birthday is always more for the adults than the child so make/buy a cake, stick some candles in and sing Happy Birthday. Don’t forget to take lots of pictures so you can have a laugh at your UnParty at a later date when this is all over!
2nd Birthday. Although not still technically a baby your 2 year old will not have graduated to being truly sociable and will still be happy with a small celebration. At 2 you can be wildly independent one minute but very clingy the next so missing a birthday party at this age should not be a huge disappointment. What most 2 year olds do like is imaginative play so a dressing up or themed party would be great fun. If they are mad keen on Space or dinosaurs the whole family could all dress up, either with masks or full costumes. A themed party with a Dinosaur cake and dinosaur toys would add to the excitement. Even the dog could get involved
3rd or 4th Birthday. At this age kids have a lot of energy! They also have very clear likes and dislikes which makes life easier when planning a birthday. If they have a favourite colour, be it red, pink or green (or all 3) then why not have a one colour tea party with red ice cubes, red sandwiches, red grapes and red cake. A little food colouring can go a long way and make a big difference! They may want to join in and help you make the tea party which would add to the fun. Making a mess will also be a big hit at this age so cast aside your standards for the day and let the kids paint. They could paint the shed/fence/patio or even themselves whether its just feet, hands and face or all over! Other suggestions would be a treasure hunt over the house and garden, or an all out water fight including all the family.
5th or 6th Birthday – Most children of this age will have been at day care or school and so will have experienced birthday parties and want to have some of the same excitement themselves. To make a party with a difference how about camping out in your garden or living room? Create a tent, have camping food, even a pretend fire and then all sleep in on the floor. It probably won’t be the best nights sleep but I suspect it won’t be your worse either! If you can get an instant camera then instant pictures would definitely add to the fun.
You could do a similar thing with a spa party where everyone has face masks and nails done. If everyone gets involved it will make for a memorable birthday Unparty.
If you can’t stand a camp out then how about investing in a toy which requires a lot of time to construct, and then spending that time with your child while they make it? A party is there to make your child feel special and what could do that more effectively than your undivided attention?
All these solutions will be made more fun by the digital presence of grandparents and other relatives and friends. If they could also join in with fancy dress all the better. With Skype, Zoom calls, Facetime and Google hangouts there are plenty of ways that your close friends and family can join in the fun while still maintaining social isolation.
And how friendly are you with your neighbours? One party in USA, where the little boy had to stay in isolation, all the neighbours put signs and balloons in their windows so that the child could see that everyone was thinking of him. What a lovely community.
Hopefully we have given you some ideas as to how you can celebrate while staying safe but if you have any other ideas please let us know on Facebook and Instagram.
And don’t forget that if you need gifts or toys we are open and ready to dispatch toys. As a small business we would really value your business.
