If it isn’t hard enough that schools are shut down, hobbies are cancelled and meet ups with friends are on hold, there is also the problem that quite a few children are going to experience the disappointment of their birthday taking place in lockdown. That means their party plans have to be cancelled, they can’t celebrate with their friends and there will be no family meal out at your favourite restaurant. It might also mean that they won’t be able to get the presents they have asked for due to shop closures or they might have asked for an experience instead of a present and that will also have to be postponed. So, what can you do to make a child’s lockdown birthday special?
Here are a few ideas to make a child’s birthday special during lockdown:
Let the birthday girl/boy choose how they want to spend the day. Make it all about them. Here are some ideas:
Home Cinema – choose a film / boxset, get in some popcorn, close the curtains and enjoy the entertainment. Maybe have some icecream in the interval
Pamper Day – a long bath with a bathbomb (see https://craftybynature.biz/product/make-your-own-bathbomb-kit/ for some bathbombs you can make yourself), make a homemade facemask (sign up to my emails for some lovely recipes), pedicure and manicure using pretty nail varnish.
Sports Tournament – you could include an assault course or a nerf fight, plus of course all their favourite sports. You could also include board games to the tournament for added fun.
Craft day – get out all your craft accessories and make a memento of the special day.
Nature – make the most out of your daily walk and spend some time in nature admiring the wildlife and blossoming trees.
Online Birthday Party with their friends.
You can use Zoom or House Party to get everyone together. Don’t forget to send out invitations. Here at Crafty By Nature Skincare, we are running virtual bathbomb making parties, where we’ll send out all the ingredients and moulds ahead of the party and then run an online party where everyone can make the bathbombs together. We’ll also send out lipbalms, ready to be decorated, so that’s the party bag sorted! (www.craftybynature.biz/childrens-parties)
Make the birthday cake all together.
Lots of children love baking, so that can be a fun activity to do together. Let them go mad with the icing and decoration and then enjoy the creation together!
Virtual Get Together
Organise for friends and family to take it in turns skyping / facetiming the birthday child. Maybe the friends and family can also have a cake with a candle and sing happy birthday to the child. Alternatively, you could ask lots of friends and family members to record their own individual birthday videos which you could then compile together. Not only would this be wonderful to watch on their birthday but it would also be a lovely video to watch again in years to come
Treasure Hunt
Create a hunt for the birthday presents. Have cryptic clues and an IOU for any gifts/experiences that you have been unable to source
Special Treats
Try and think of any special touches to make the day special: their favourite food (lots of restaurants are doing takeaways during lockdown), some icecream, decorations around the house.
If their birthday falls on a home-learning day, maybe you could give them a day off? If they would normally be at school on their birthday, then it’s a real treat and feels kind of crazy to take the day off. You can make the time up over the rest of the week or at the weekend, but why not make their birthday all about them and forget about schooling for the day
Finally, have a wonderful day. I’m sure the Lockdown Birthday will be one they always remember.
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