I am one of the many who have the bragging rights of celebrating a birthday under quarantine. Those are some pretty epic cool points if you ask me. I absolutely love parties, I love cake, and there is something so incredibly special about birthdays. They are an opportunity for friends and family to celebrate your arrival on this planet and say how glad they are that you’re here. If you have a birthday coming up or are planning one for someone special, don’t let social distancing stop the celebration! Here are some great ideas from my experience and my friend Rebecca at WellWomen on how to let the good times roll.

-Shelby

The Logistics

1. Find a good online platform. We used Zoom. Set it up on your laptop so that it displays through your living room TV.

2. Schedule a time that works across multiple time zones (if you have family or friends overseas). One hour is plenty of time.

3. Invite family to the first half hour, and friends to the second half hour – We found that around 5 attendees works best – we had around 4-5 family groups/members show up at different times throughout the family time which worked really great. Then around 10 friends showed up online for the second half, but it was way too hard to manage and hear anyone. And trust me, one hour is more than enough time (when hosting kids).

4. Set up your party using whatever decorations you have on hand – or make it a family activity to make some in the days leading up to the party. Keep things low-waste, we reuse the same triangle banners for every birthday party.

5. Snacks – low-waste and low-sugar treats such as sliced fruit, popcorn, homemade cookies are all you need and will keep your kids from getting the crazy sugar high which will make them unbearable online. My kids LOVED offering guests snacks by taking plate-loads of them up to the camera and ‘feeding’ them to their family and friends.

6. Birthday cake – schedule the birthday cake for the middle of the party. Beforehand, tell your family guests that you love them and give them permission to log off without saying goodbye, after the cake and happy birthday song. Once friends log on, everyone can sing happy birthday, while the birthday boy or girl blows (or fans) out the candles. Alternatively, you can have a cake and do two series of happy birthday songs and candles – one for family, one for friends.