Plan C- Covid Birthday Party Tips
The current pandemic has taken many everday moments away from us, as well ones that should be celebrated. Siena’s birthday was approaching as restrictions relaxed and our family became comfortable seeing each other again. Of course, everyday life is far from normal and too many special moments have been missed. I had to think about if the current situation called for some break in fear, and letting in a level of joy. With the summer, outdoor gatherings are possible, so we decided to execute a small scale birthday party.
To begin with we kept the guest list smaller than usual. We did not invite extended family and friends. However, I am having a small family party on Siena’s actual birthday. Also, made a point to have small groups of friends over at other times. That is another way to do it if you are worried about hurt feelings. However, this a challenging time for everyone, I feel like everyone is pretty understanding. We are most likely doing our best.
Keeping everything as individual as possible was key. Each family received their own beach bucket. In the beach bucket they had hand sanitizer, a beach towel, and lei’s for each member. Each family was to picnic on their beach blanket (spread apart through the yard). We had Happy Meals delivered for each child. Yes, you can get McDonald’s delivered through certain apps like Seamless, UberEats, or GrubHub. The thought behind the happy meals was that everything is already individually packaged, there is no food sharing right down to the juice box. Not even self serve on a buffet line! Usually, I have tons of food whether I am the one cooking or catering. I love a themed menu, so this was definitely a departure for me. However, the kids loved it and lit up when they saw the Happy Meals arrive.
After the kids had their happy meals we had the Kona Ice truck come by and serve the kids Hawaiian ice treats. This served as both desert and entertainment! It also helped reinforce the Moana theme Siena had asked for! Kona Ice trucks can be found all over the US. You can also look into booking an ice cream truck that is local to your town or county. Again, individual treats, no self service, no worries!
Afterwards, the sun was shining and the weather super warm. We let kids run around throw water balloons at each other. Well, what actually ended up happening is they ended up chasing Brian with the water balloons. They had more fun trying to get their parents wet than anything else. I figured that was the most socially distant game we could play. We went through almost 300 water balloons, we got these self sealing ones from Amazon from Zuru. I had also put Paw Patrol standees throughout the yard for them to hide behind and run through. Just to give it a little extra “something.” Being there aren’t a whole lot of no contact games or games that do not require sharing of accessories. I tried to make what little I could think of, interesting. I always find really great standee props, on Shin Digz. Afterwards they dried off to some freeze dance which was just as much entertainment for the adults. These kids have some seriously hilarious moves!
I wanted to point out that rather than straight up invites, I contacted all of the parents beforehand. That way I was able to explain what the event would look like that way they could make an informed decision. They could risk assess for themselves and decided what, if not anything they were comfortable with. We also set the party time for just an hour. That way the kids would be eating most of the time and occupied. Which also helps with social distancing. It is also very important to stress that you need to have flexibility with people. This is not the time to put pressure on anyone or test your friendship. It is not the time to read into their decision to decline, if so be it. In addition, we asked that there would be no gifts. People may have lost their jobs or their financial situations may have changed. Some are still comfortable going to a store and delivery timelines may prove to be difficult. We really just wanted Siena to see some friendly faces, that was truly gift enough.
Just another note, there may be rain. Which is what happened to us, storms then sun. The indoor party was not a solution so we ended up clearing out the garage and setting up in there. The craziest thing I have ever done but an hour of passing rain ruining the fun was not an option. Was the party as picture perfect as I had planned. Absolutely not, but then again when am I going to learn. Nothing is! However, the kids had a great time, they hadn’t seen each other in so long. As parents we talked about how we feel they all got older in 3-4 months.
In order to transform the garage I used A LOT of balloons and A LOT of background. One of my favorite ways to set a scene at a party is to use a backdrop. My friend Danielle has a great Etsy shop called “The Stylish Detail” with Fringe Backdrops. These are amazing to have on-hand. They make a cake table pretty or the set the scene for a photo booth. In our current case covered the shovels handing on the garage wall haha! I also plan to use them again for Siena’s family party.
A couple of other quick party tips for general get together’s. I purchased a bunch of plastic tongs from Amazon. I always make them available for people to use to grab food with instead of their hands. However, they keep that pair of tongs the whole time they are in attendance. There is enough for everyone. I also do not offer a hand towel in the bathroom anymore but paper towels. I know not the most pretty, but helps lessen the spread of germs. I have hand sanitizer and wipes available everywhere. That way people can wipe down chairs or any handles they touch if they wish to do so.
I am so glad we chose to get a small group together with safety in mind. All of us were in agreement and on the same page. That is what made this work. There is something to be said about not living in fear but healthy precaution. There may come a time again where we will have lock down again, or tighten our circle. You have to do what you feel is right for your family and also respect others in public. I hope this post has given you some ideas on how to make the most of your summer celebrations, even if they are modified.
