Hosting a virtual birthday party is a great way to celebrate your kids’ birthday in these times. Scheduling a video call with all of your guests is now easier than ever, and helps you to virtually surround your kids with loving far-away family and all of their friends.

But what if your kids are too young to fully grasp the concept of a video call? Or old enough to have a video call with their friends without wanting their parents present? Or maybe you simply don’t want to be dealing with “tech stuff”.

There are other ways to celebrate your child’s birthday at home – and make it a full day celebration.

Make your child’s at-home birthday special

Celebrating a birthday is all about making your child feel special.

With social distancing, your child may feel sad about being away from family and friends and disappointed about not having a big party.

But even at home – you can still celebrate.

A home celebration is about celebrating your child, focusing on what he likes and some of his favorite things to do.

There are simple things you can do to make your child feel loved and let him know that this day is meaningful to you.

Decorate the house with your child’s favorite things

Decoration is an integral part of any celebration. It is a quick way to let people know you’re celebrating. It helps create a fun and festive atmosphere. When your house is decorated, it reminds you of the reason you’re celebrating and immediately makes you feel happy.

Part 4 of this series goes into detail about all kinds of party decorations you can use to decorate your home, but here are a few key points:

1. Theme – before you start decorating, you might want to think of a theme. Even if you’re not having a party with guests, themed decorations can bring a huge smile to your child’s face.

Choosing something your kids particularly like (such as a favorite sport, a hobby, etc.) lets them know without words that they matter. When the house is decorated with one of their favorite things they know that their passions matter, and that you acknowledge those passions and want to celebrate with them.

2. Printable decorations are a quick, easy and affordable way to decorate your house. For just a few dollars, you can instantly download fun and colorful decorations that fit your theme to print at home. One key item for an at-home celebration is a printable birthday banner personalized with your child’s name.
3. Additional Décor – you can use anything you have at home: balloons, colorful garlands, flowers from your garden, etc.

Some kids love to be surprised, while others like to take an active part in their own celebration.

You can decorate at night, while your kids are asleep for a big surprising impact when they wake up in the morning.

Or you can create the decorations together the day before the birthday. Print, cut, glue and hang on the walls together – This can be a fun crafting activity for the whole family, which will help you bond and get everyone super-excited about the upcoming celebration.

Make your child’s favorite foods

Let your child choose the menu for the day.

A few days before the actual birthday make a list of everything your child would like to eat during the day. Think of 3 meals, snacks, drinks, and a birthday cake. Do this ahead of time, so that you can stock up on groceries beforehand.

On the birthday morning, you can serve your child with breakfast in bed.

During the day you can cook or bake some of your child’s favorite treats together.

Another fun idea would be to display everything you made together on a festive buffet table. You can decorate it with printable food cards or toppers that go with your themed decorations.

And let’s not forget the birthday cake!

This is the highlight of any birthday celebration – singing “Happy Birthday” and cheer as the birthday child makes a wish and blows out the candles.

Let your child choose the Family Activities

Celebrating your child’s birthday at home is a great opportunity to do some of his favorite things together as a family.

By sharing his interests and receiving the whole family’s undivided attention (which is not always the case on regular days), your child feels more confident and empowered.

This also allows you to get to know your child better, understand his passions and see things from his point of view.

Family activities can include:

board games, a family reading of favorite children’s book, building a fort in the living room, sports games in the back yard, an art project the whole family does together, etc.

Present scavenger hunt

Hide birthday presents and snacks around the house and send the kids looking for them. Ask friends and family to send you cards and gifts ahead of time and hide those as well.

To make it even more fun, make clue cards for your kids to follow (“the next clue is where you sleep”, “the next clue is where you shower”, “the next clue is where you can find pots and pans” etc.)

I hope these ideas help you create a fun & memorable day for your child!