Toddler Birthday Party Quarantine Style
I can’t believe I have a 3 year old! If you had asked me before quarantine if I was going to throw Bean a birthday party, I would have said no. We did it big for year one, but that was mainly because we were just so happy to have made it through infancy. Year two’s celebration was intimate with family and a couple friends that are basically family. The next big party was going to be for his 5th party and then milestone years from there.
Then...COVID happened. So, I planned for a homemade cake with my family on a virtual call. Then, a week or so before Bean’s birthday, I started to feel bad that he wouldn’t get to celebrate with his friends or extended family in person. Not to get too sad, but I thought about whether everyone in his life would be here for the next year. Let’s celebrate.
Here are some tips and tricks to navigate a toddler birthday party, quarantine style:
Theme - Create a theme that can go along with a car parade, because let’s face it, it’s hard to explain and enforce social distancing with toddlers. We chose a firetruck theme and had cars line up for the main event, the local fire truck. Most online invitation sites have virtual event themes during this time. We went with a free punchbowl invitation that featured a fire truck...perfect for our theme!
Skip physical gifts - With unemployment reaching new heights, finances can be tough for people during this time, so we skipped gifts this year. We encouraged families to make signs for well wishes. For those that felt inclined to give something, we encouraged them to donate to Bean’s college fund.
Decorations - We kept it simple. I found everything from the banner, fire fighter suit, and cups on Amazon. Jason picked up balloons from the local party store.
Virtual option - For grandparents that were not local, we set up a Zoom call so they could be a part of the action without physically being present.
These are the tips and tricks that made the start of year 3 a success! I hope these tips help you as you navigate virtual party planning for your little ones.