Quarantine is never easy, least of all during special occasions. Celebrating a birthday in the age of social distancing is a strange experience, even as an adult. But celebrating a birthday without a party can be downright confusing for a child. To help bring a little normalcy back into our lives, we put together a few different ways to celebrate someone’s special day during the lockdown. Check out our list of quarantine birthday ideas for kids below.
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9 Quarantine Birthday Party Ideas for Kids
1. Plan a Virtual Event
Just because you can’t invite all of your child’s friends to the house doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate all together! Download your favorite video chat app prior to the big day. Ask all the people on the invite list to do the same. If they can’t “attend” the video call during its scheduled time, you can ask them to send over some video messages for the birthday boy or birthday girl to watch later on.
Of course, video calls always benefit from a little structure. There are a lot of things you can do during your virtual birthday party. Celebrate your child’s birthday by participating in a group singalong, dance party, or even by booking a virtual party performer. There are several companies that offer party and playdate packages, one-on-one character visits, and more!
2. Decorate Your Front Yard
Just because people can’t come inside the house doesn’t mean they can’t drive by it! Decorate your yard with lawn signs, happy birthday balloons, party streamers, and more. Ask your loved ones to drive by at the same time to form a birthday parade! Your child will never forget how special the moment made them feel.
Even after the scheduled surprise, you can expect neighbors and other drivers passing by to wave or honk in celebration of the special day.
3. Birthday in a Box
Bring the birthday party home with a customizable birthday box! Birthdays will never be the same after experiencing such a convenient and thoughtful package. Birthday boxes typically include a small birthday cake, candles, personalized birthday cards, cake topper, paper crowns, and other awesome decorations.
4. Host a Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Looking for more ways to celebrate kids’ birthdays during quarantine? Think about hosting a virtual scavenger hunt. Once all your family and friends have successfully joined the video call, you can start in on the fun and games! Prepare a list of items for your guests to find during the party. It could be a scarf, stuffed animal, or kitchen utensil. The first person who returns to the screen with the right item gets a point!
If your child happens to have a best friend in the neighborhood, ask them to hide some extra surprises in the yard. Once the scavenger hunt is over, wrap things up with a bonus round!
If you’re dealing with younger kids, you can make the event a little more age-appropriate by putting together a string-hunt instead. Thread some string around the house and attach some birthday presents for them to find along the way!
5. Backyard Camp Out
Keep the birthday blues away while venues are closed! Families are getting increasingly creative when it comes to birthday celebrations for their children. Think about throwing a backyard campout in lieu of a traditional party with family and friends.
Grab a tent and pitch it in the grass. If it’s permitted by local pandemic regulations, you can even invite a few kids over to help celebrate your child’s birthday. Of course, you’ll have to check with the parents before the big day. You can either set things up in a large tent that allows social distancing to take place or give each kid their own tent.
Collect some sleeping bags, a few blankets, and a pillow to cozy up with. Sing songs, tell stories and enjoy the classic camping activities. If you don’t have a fire pit, you can always grab a few marshmallows from the grocery store. Roast them over candles in honor of the big day!
6. Netflix Movie Party
Streaming services have been changing the way they do things ever since the pandemic started. If you’re looking for more birthday ideas, think about hosting a virtual movie party. Tools like Netflix Party, Watch2Gether, and Syncplay let you watch television and movies with your friends from home. Use this to your advantage during your child’s birthday party.
7. Video Game Party
Video streaming sites may have had to make some changes due to the pandemic, but video games have always appealed to the virtual crowd. Multiplayer games like Minecraft and Fortnight already have audio communication to make a social experience possible. Throw a few snacks into the mix and let the party begin!
8. Create a Backyard Carnival
Birthday parties aren’t attracting big crowds this year, but moving things outside makes it a whole lot safer for a few friends to stop by (with a mask, of course).
Think about setting up a backyard carnival for your child’s birthday. If the backyard is big enough, you’ll be able to set up stations for the kids to enjoy while following social distance recommendations.
You could also rent a bounce house for the occasion, make a DIY ball pit, introduce a water table or create some carnival-style games like a bean-bag toss or balloon pop.
9. Set up a Spa Day
Spend the day pampering your son or daughter with a DIY spa day! Do facemasks, give massages, paint their nails (do clear for those who don’t want any color), and style their hair! Listen to relaxing music, sip on a kid-friendly cocktail, and don a robe all day long!
Celebrate Your Next Birthday Party With Great Wolf Lodge
We hope you enjoyed our ideas on how to celebrate your child’s birthday during quarantine! If you’re not sure what kind of party they would prefer, toss out a few ideas and let the birthday child take the lead! Remember, there are still plenty of ways to connect with family and friends, even if you’re celebrating from home.
By this time next year, we’ll hopefully be able to start celebrating in person! Let Great Wolf Lodge help make your next birthday celebration something the kids will never forget. You can relax while we take care of all the birthday party details and planning. All you’ll need to focus on is creating lasting memories with the family.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog, either. Each week, we’re bringing you different ways to have fun at home with the whole family. Let’s see what Wiley and the rest of the gang come up with next!
