It's definitely been harder to #LetsPartyOn during this virus pandemic, but we had to find a a way to continue on. Our two youngest kids have birthdays in May, 9 days a part form each other. We could not let the time go by without celebrating with family and friends even though we were miles apart and staying within the guidelines of social distancing. So we pulled all our resources to help keep the party going. We utilized this virtual world everyone is using so much now, along with some virtual resources to keep add a little fun and keep the participants entertained and interacting with the special birthday kids.
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| Why not stay in and stay safe and still have the Party? |
We've been using these platforms for many years but hadn't really seen the extent of everything that can be done, especially for social events, celebrations, or parties. Here's some tips for what we did and used for our 2 little one's virtual birthday fun.
Planning
The best way to start planning is to simply think of the things your child loves. What do they always talk about, what are they always doing or can't wait to do, or what do they love to play with or watch on TV, just to name a few from my thought process. Once you have a few ideas, try to think of how those things can be transformed from in-person to virtual fun with friends and family.
For instance, our son loves to play games, not just video games but many different games. So I ended up using a company that has a platform that enables you to play multiple games with several people or groups of people at once. Let's Roam is a company we have used in the past for that offers outdoor scavenger hunts for any occasion. Since the virus pandemic with the quarantined time and now continued social distancing, they have started offering even more. We have been using their virtual game night package for family fun. For the virtual birthday party we just made sure to invite friends also. It was a hit.
Keep it Interactive and Fun
The silence on the computer among a group of people can be the worst. You especially want to make sure every moment is filled with something for little kids and their shorter attention span. Its also good to have multiple activities to keep them interested and having fun the entire time.
For our daughter's birthday, this was her 5th, so it was a big milestone. We had to add much more and be able to keep the attention of several other 5 yr old friends, including older family. My idea was to have them be able to do something hands-on together, even though they can't be in the same room at once. I already knew her theme of the year has been Unicorns, she had already asked us to redecorate her bedroom to unicorn everything. So what I did was put together some party favor bags with favors and activities for the actual party. It had different unicorn themed crafts and little fun keepsakes. I also threw in a cupcake for everyone to enjoy with the birthday girl, so they weren't just watching her have a slice of her own cake. The bags were hand delivered for those in town and packaged and mailed to those out of town.
Organize the Party Flow
The key to any party's success in-person or virtually is some sense of organized flow. Whether you are hosting a vending party, a social, or a business gathering, a plan is always needed. Its easy to get off track, lose train of thought, or fall into a long silent moment. Having a plan gives you an outline of what all you want to do and time frames for each part.
There are several tools that can assist in creating a organized flow for your party. For our daughter's virtual birthday party, I ended up using a simple power point presentation. This enabled me to give the guests a visual of what was happening now and what was coming up next. It also gave me a point of reference as I was speaking to everyone and keeping everyone interacting on each part.
Of course there is always the option to hire a party planner, even virtually. With our event planner services, we are now offering a complete consult, and customized/themed virtual events that will have your guests just as excited to log on as they have been to come out. Tell us what you want and sit back, relax, and enjoy the party. Let us know if you would like to know more about our virtual services.
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