Originally Published on 21st September 2020.

Throw the best virtual birthday party ever. Follow the unicorn!

You must be following social distancing norms but it shouldn’t restrict you from celebrating special occasions. Plan your next virtual birthday party to make the day special for your loved ones.

“Wherever they may have come from, and wherever they may have gone, unicorns live inside the true believer’s heart. Which means as long as we can dream, there will be unicorns.” – Bruce Coville

You never outgrow the magical world of ponies and unicorns. After all, we all need a little magic in our life. This year we planned to throw a unicorn birthday party for our daughter, but we ended up having a small virtual birthday party with friends and family.  I didn’t want to cancel Mireya’s Unicorn birthday party due to pandemic so I decided to throw a virtual birthday party to celebrate her 6th Birthday. I baked a cake, and I found some unicorn cake toppers online to decorate it. I cooked her favorite food and we were all set to celebrate. And played games like “Simon Says“, “Charades” and “Pictionary” with the kids. As a host of the party, I  noticed  that the kids knew the basic etiquettes of virtual world. They were taking turns, muted themselves when it wasn’t their turn and were dressed up for the party. I am so thankful  that we could celebrate her 6th Birthday the way she wanted. You can check her third birthday celebration, here.

Here is the birthday cake I baked for Mireya. My baking skills are not so good ( Please don’t judge me!) but, luckily, it turned out good. 

Kids are dealing a lot due to the pandemic – no onsite learning, limited/ virtual interactions with friends, no sports, lockdowns.  Even though they understand the situation, but we need to bring back the excitement, and zeal which is missing these days. Parents are trying their best to come up with creative ideas to celebrate festivals, special occasions and birthdays. 

Whether you’re planning a virtual birthday party, Halloween party, Christmas celebration or virtual get together, you will find everything that goes in virtual party planning. Here is the ultimate guide to make you a “perfect host” of a virtual party.

Virtual Birthday Party planning is divided in three broad sections:

1- Technology 

2- Planning

3- Execution

Technology 

In order to have a successful virtual birthday party, it’s is important to make sure that you have good internet connection, set party rules and robust platform. 

Internet connection: As far as internet connection is concerned, make sure it’s stable to avoid any cracking voices and frozen faces. Check your internet speed!

Tip: Using a laptop is better than phone.

Party rules: Set some party rules so that everyone is on the same page. It’s advisable to send general party rules with the invitation. It’s a virtual party so it’s important to make sure that everything runs smoothly without hiccups. You can add party rules like keeping mics muted when guests are not talking. Also, ensuring that your guests are dressed appropriately for the party. 

Tip: You can also send a checklist one day before the party.

Platform: There are may platform to choose from and it completely depends on the number of guests, party duration and availability of that app/platform  in your guest’s country. For instance, FaceTime, Whatsapp chat and Houseparty app doesn’t work very smoothly in the U.A.E so I prefer Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet for virtual parties. 

Tip: Ask your guests to check the App/platform settings and make sure that everything works fine.

Planning

Planning a Virtual party involves most of the elements that you would have used in in-person party bash. The detailed planning of virtual birthday party ensures that everything works out smoothly without any hindrance. The idea is to celebrate with your friends and family.

Party Theme: You can ask your child to select their birthday party theme. Frozen, My Little Ponies, Unicorn or Jungle party? Choose any theme that makes your child happy. I suggest make a list of themes that your child like and find the party supplies online. And if there is paucity of time then it’s best to go DIY way. Pinterest has some great ideas to make life easier.

Guest List: I suggest you should limit the guest list to 6-8 kids. This will ensure that all kids will get their turn to participate in games. Larger the group, harder it will be to manage. Guest list also depends on the age of the kid, for instance, for toddlers and preschoolers the list will have 3-4 kids.

Party Duration: Anywhere between thirty to forty minutes is the perfect time frame for the party.  Within this time frame you can easily play games, have fun and sing birthday songs. You can easily increase the duration, if your guests are happy and excited to stay for some more time in the virtual birthday party.

Party Games: Although you’re having virtual party, it doesn’t restrict you from having fun. You can have some fun-filled exciting games that can entertain your guests. You can choose as simple as quirky old school games like “Simon says” to “Pictionary” to “Read my lips”. You can also send a link to your guests before the party to download Bingo cards and enjoy that too. 

Birthday cake: How can you have a party without a cake! You can get the cake from your favorite bakery or bake a cake at home. After the fun activities, have all your guests sing “Happy Birthday” together and end the party.

Execution 

Now that you have planned the party in detail. It’s time to get ready to celebrate your kids birthday. Time for execution!

Send an invite: Send a beautiful invite to your guests along with party link. If you’re having a theme party then tell them to dress accordingly or choose a dress code.

Set up: Pick a place that has natural bright light or a place that has got good lighting. Make sure that the background shouldn’t be brighter than your face. You can also choose a background of your choice on Zoom. No matter what you choose, make sure your kid finds it comfortable. Or as an extra special surprise, why not order balloon arrangements to make your background look fabulous? No matter what you choose, make sure your kid finds it comfortable.

Celebrate: No party is perfect! You might face some last minute glitches or internet issues or meltdowns. But remember this is a time to appreciate and celebrate every single moment. It’s your kids special day and they will feel loved.

Let’s not forget that we are social animals and we love to celebrate life, occasions and relationships. Plan a virtual birthday party and make your loved one feel special and loved.

Lots of love!

xoxo