Millions of people are going to have birthdays during “Social Distancing” and “lockdown” times. If you are like me, you may be wondering what do you do for a teenager who is having a birthday during. Here are some fun ideas for a social distancing birthday party.

Virtual Birthday Ideas

Set up a birthday party on Zoom or other social meeting platforms. Kids just want to see their friends and having a party when they can invite all of their friends and just talk is great. Make sure to send out the invite at least a day before. Hey people aren’t going anywhere so most people will be able to come. Also, it’s best to be on a computer so you can see all of your friends at once. Watching from your cell phone gets jumpy as the screen jumps around from person to person and you don’t see the people who don’t talk much.

I’m sure by now most of us are pretty familiar with how to get onto a virtual meeting, but what do you do at a virtual party? How can you make a fun kids party so the kids have some fun games to play?

Here are some ideas…

• You Are Not Invited
  • One of my favorite ideas from the Quarantine Birthday Parties is the taped off stay out look. Tape off the house in caution tape and send out “You Are Not Invite” invites.
• “Around the World” Zoom Party.
  • If you could be anywhere in the world on a fun vacation right now, where would you be. Ask your friends to dress up or set their backgrounds up as if they were on vacation. Take turns guessing where everyone is and dreaming of wonderful vacations hopefully soon to come.

• “Celebrity Look A Like” Zoom Party.
  • If you could be anyone or meet anyone, who would you be. Ask your friends to dress up like a celebrity or famous person. It’s fun to dress up, guess, and laugh with the costumes your friends come up with just from their houses.
• Headbandz game through zoom.
  • You can send an envelope with a character card for each guest prior to the party. My niece attended a frozen party on zoom with this game. Each kids received an envelope with a note to not peak at the card. During the party the kids take turns guessing who their headbandz character is.
• Dance party zoom activity.
  • Have everyone dance to your favorite music just over zoom. Some people may be too timid, but other others may have fun and let loose. Have fun!
• Scavenger Hunt zoom activity.
  • Make a list of the birthday kids favorites things. Then tell your friends to go find it. First one back gets a point or wins. For example tell everyone to go find the birthday person’s favorite animal. You can tell them that it’s a panda or you can see what everyone thinks it is and comes back with.
• Would you rather game.
  • Ask your friends would you rather questions about the birthday kid. This is a fun activity and game that can take about 5-10 minutes.
• Favorite things game.
  • Ask your friends what they think your favorite things are. This is another activity that can take about 5-10 minutes.

• Send out a “Flat Stanley” picture of the birthday kid to family and friends.
  • If you have time, mail it to them, print it off and deliver it to them, or have them print it off. The point is to take “Flat Stanley” on a birthday adventure and take a picture of what you did together. You never know what fun pictures you may get back. This is a fun and interactive way to celebrate with family and friends from anywhere.
• Virtual Video messages
  • You can have friends and family send a short video birthday message to you. Throw them into iMovie or PhotoShop Premier or other video editing program and add some music to it. It’s fun to watch these videos and you can watch them over and over. (If this is too much, as your video savvy family member to help. It doesn’t have to be complicated.)

Don’t forget that you can do party favors but these take a little more planning and preparation to put together than usual and take a little pit of time to drive around to all of your friends houses. If you do, make sure you have plenty of time to get around to everyone and have a few moments to talk and say hi.

Of course some of the most memorable events to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic are…

Drive By Birthday Parties.

You know you love having a reason to get out of the house even for just a little while. Drive by birthday parties are lots of fun and can be so easy to throw.

• Make sure you set up a time and a route so people know how to drive by without driving the wrong direction or showing up when the birthday kid isn’t outside to see them.
• Decorate the yard with Happy Birthday yard signs or a balloon tower.
• Don’t forget the camera man. Take pictures and record this fun birthday party. It will definitely be one to remember.

If you are invited to a drive by birthday party, it’s always fun to throw out candy. Or you can do as my dad did at my niece’s birthday and throw out dollar bills.

One fun way to keep the party simple is just to have a family party. No stress and no frills. But don’t forget to do something fun. You can play all of the fun birthday party games and have a piñata or plan a Family Olympics with fun games.

No matter what you do for a Quarantine Birthday Party, remember to HAVE FUN! One day, these parties will be a thing of the past, but we can remember the fun times we did have midst the days that seem like all the other days.

Have you had a Quarantine Birthday Party? I’d love to hear your idea too. Comment Below.