4 Awesome Ideas for a Social Distancing Party

It’s one of the most exciting days of the year, so how do you make your child’s birthday special during social distancing?

We’ve found four options the kids will love and some grown-up get-together ideas too. Just because guest numbers are limited, it doesn’t mean the imagination has to be.

The birthday parade

You might have seen clips of birthday drive-by parties happening and for good reason: it’s a clever and creative way to celebrate in these strange times. Simply ask friends and family to do a pre-arranged slow (and safe) roll past your home, to yell out birthday wishes.

Post an invite and include some balloons in your child’s favourite colour, asking friends to drive past at a certain time with their car decorated. Have a personal goodie bag ready for each of the ‘guests’ and perhaps a slice of birthday cake too. Add a few decorations to your front lawn, blast some music and your child gets a party parade, without any cleaning up.

The outdoor home cinema

As restrictions start to lift, it’s becoming possible to host a small number of guests, while practising social distancing. A backyard cinema, where you project a favourite film onto a wall or sheet fits the bill perfectly. You can space out bean bags and make custom snack plates for each child. This is a clever way for them to enjoy one activity while getting some fresh air too. String up lanterns, add balloons and even organise matching cosy blankets and beanies.

The Zoom party

Now that we’ve all got the hang of screen catch ups, it’s easy to turn your TV into a party portal with an at-home celebration that friends can log into. It’s still important to send out an invitation for a virtual party.

A physical invite in the mail will be even more fun during this over saturated digital time.

You could include some themed decorations or party hats for guests, and adding an entertainer who joins in to do a magic show or host a dance party will take the pressure off parents. Keep the party time to 30-45 minutes. It’s hard to keep kids engaged online for any longer than that.

The virtual craft party

If your kids love to make and create, then its time to put the art in party. Deliver craft boxes to guests beforehand and at celebration time, get creative together, virtually. There are lots of businesses who are making activity kits so you could order them online and have interstate guests ‘attend’ too. Or, you can make your own and have a theme like LEGO where kids all whip up the same creation to compare and keep.