This has certainly been a good year for learning how to adapt. We’re also having to learn new skills, like—how can we celebrate a birthday in the middle of a pandemic?
Drive-By Birthday Party
People have given me some very creative ideas for how they’ve solved this problem. Some have done drive-by parties, which I think is a great idea. This is where you have party favors and stand outside. People drive by in their cars and drop gifts off, you say hello to everyone, and then they drive off! This is a great idea! But remember, if you are going to get close to anyone, or hug anyone, wear a mask! If someone is going to get out of their car, keep your distance!
Virtual Birthday Party
We’ve also heard about virtual birthdays. These are extremely safe because no one is in your house! You can be very creative with these. You can have people share about the person. You can do games. On the computer, you are only limited by your lack of creativity!
Yard decorations are another great idea! I think these are adorable!
Birthday Party at Home With Family
Some families are opting to cook dinner at home and keep it a quiet night. I know that with many of our sensory kids, and the challenges they are facing anyway, it might be better to do that. You can have them pick their top 3 most favorite things that they can safely do right now, and allow them to do those things. Maybe that could be things like sitting down as a family to watch something on Disney +, or ordering pizza or from your favorite restaurant and having it delivered.
What To Consider
Please think about what is best for your family. Even in a small family unit, it only takes one person to let that virus in. That one person may have no symptoms and no idea that they are contagious, but they could cause someone to end up in the hospital. We just don’t know! On top of that, we are also in strep throat season and flu season.
It’s important to celebrate so that we have some sense of normal, but depending on your particular situation you might have to be very careful. The CDC is telling us that small gatherings, even family gatherings, are at high risk. We need to be mindful of these situations.
I get concerned about kids getting sick, but I also get concerned about the fact that everything is so different now! We have to think about our kids’ mental health as well. We want them to be able to talk to their friends. We want them to have social time. We want to bring in as much normalcy as we can, safely, and that may vary from my household to your household. Your situation is completely different from mine.
Search For Ideas Online
Think about how creative you can be! I’m sure that if you search the internet, you’re going to find at least 50 articles about how to make your kid’s birthday a blast!
Happy Birthday to those with birthdays coming up! We hope you are safe!
