Small moments of joy, like blowing out birthday candles with family and friends, are not only important, but can be crucial to maintaining a sense of normalcy right now. You may not be able to meet in person, but that’s where the true power of the internet comes into play. We’ve put together a list of ideas and resources to help make your birthday celebration unforgettable.
“Social connections are very important,” says CEO of Marley Majcher party goddessLos Angeles luxury event planning company, talks about our love for social gatherings like birthday parties. “We still need friends, which is why I think we hear more and more about virtual parties now.”
According to Majcher, the beauty of technology is that virtual events can be held instantly and anyone can participate. However, she points out that even virtual events require planning. Input: This ultimate guide. Here’s advice from Los Angeles magicians and other elite party planners for throwing birthday parties amid quarantine, followed by party ideas for all ages.
make it easy
“The key to all of this is remembering that communication is paramount,” says Kristin Banta founder Christine Banta event of Los Angeles talks about sharing all the details of the virtual event. Communication begins with choosing a digital event platform to share. Google Hangouts and FaceTime are free options, while platforms like Zoom offer basic functionality for free.
Once you’ve chosen your platform, we’ll send you not only an invitation, but instructions on how to join. The more detailed, the better.
“Give instructions like you would give instructions to a 5-year-old,” says Majcher. “Maybe not all your friends are tech savvy. I believe in making things dummy proof.”
(Full disclosure: Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is an investor in Zoom.)
Bring the party to your guest’s doorstep
If even this amount of planning is unbearable, call in a heavyweight to do some virtual work.
“We decided to make this a more complete, seamless, and standardized experience, making it feel like we’re all in the same party,” said Jared Reichert, Founder. Reichert Consultsaid of his new venture: kiki kitone of the first virtual party planning services to emerge from these wild times.
Inside KikiKit you’ll find everything you need: standardized glassware, drink kits, table decorations, flower arrangements and more.
(Kiki Kit)
“We take everything from a digital invitation, create a customized invitation through Paperless Post, and assign a Zoom ID to that invitation,” Reichert explains. “Guests will have her KikiKit delivered the morning of the party so they know what they’re up to.”
Inside the kit you’ll find everything you need: standardized glassware, drink kits, table decorations, flower arrangements and more. This allows guests to feel like they’re in the same space and experiencing the exact same event when they log in.
consider age appropriately
All experts agree that each age demographic has its own wants and needs from a digital birthday party, starting with the youngest set who may miss the birthday party the most. I’m here.
children under the age of 13
Children deserve a grand birthday no matter what is going on in the world around them. The key here is to hold tight.
(Ross May/Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)
Three ways to involve others:
- Quick virtual party: Invite both children and parents to Zoom Catchup. But keep it simple. “Keep the children’s parties short,” Maicher says, noting that it can be as short as 30 minutes.
- Rent a character: Bring your parent’s A-game by hiring a prince or princess to virtually MC via companies like Ever After PrincessThis also means parents can sit back and relax while Cinderella and Prince Charming take over.
Hire a prince or princess to host your virtual party through companies like Ever After Princess.
(Ever After Princess)
- Create together: If Virtual Elsa has already been booked, Reichert suggests sending out tasks such as Lego building sets and Play-Doh in the invitation so parents and children can get creative together during the event. I’m here.
Three ideas for internal experiences:
- scavenger hunt at home: Everyone loves to feel like a winner. Especially children celebrating their birthdays. Create a small scavenger hunt or mystery map that follows the birthday star to reach the final prize, the birthday gift.
- Create a ball pit: Make your birthday VIP happy and keep them occupied for hours with your handcrafted ball pit.All you need is a baby pool and a few bags of balls ordered from places like Goal Create magic at home.
Teddy Casey celebrating his 1st birthday.
(Stacy Leska)
- Involving Neighbors: For even more cool points, get the whole neighborhood involved in your child’s birthday with a neighborhood-wide ‘safari’. Have your neighbors put a variety of stuffed animals on your porch or lawn so that you and your child can walk down the street, spot animals, and check them off a pre-made list along the way.
teens:
All experts agree that it’s best to leave teens alone during virtual hangouts. Not only are they more likely to be tech savvy, they’ll bemoan too much structure. However, Majcher suggests his one tip is to provide virtual invitations with set start and end times so everyone can enjoy the party together.
(Ross May/Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)
Three ways to involve others:
- Stream movies together: If there’s one thing teens love to do, it’s go to the movies together.Luckily they can still do with apps like netflix party, which allows friends to watch together and chat at the same time. (Sorry, don’t hold hands in the back row.)
- make something: It’s time to revive the sleepover staple, the friendship bracelet. Before your virtual hangout, send all your teenage friends a kit to make friendship bracelets (still in some form, Etsy) together.
- dance: You may not realize it, but young people are obsessed with a new app called TikTok. What better way to spend your birthday than dancing with your friends? Record your final attempt and upload it to the app.
Three ideas for internal experiences:
- King or Queen of the Day: Teens deserve to feel like their boss, even if it’s only for 24 hours. Make them queens or kings of the castle for a day and do whatever they say (double for younger siblings).
(Ross May/Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)
- Family Game Night: Gather the whole family around the table for a classic game night. Let the person you’re celebrating their birthday pick a game for (and even give yourself a head start since it’s the day).
- Camp at home: The national park is closed, but the backyard is open. Pitch a tent, bring a few blankets, wrap everything up in twinkling Christmas lights and create a glamping masterpiece at home.
20/30/40 seconds:
For the grown folks out there, it all comes down to one thing: Cocktail time. Log on with your friends. Want to level up? Majcher suggests requiring everyone to bring a plus one so they can “expand their circle of friends in the real world.”
(Ross May/Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)
Three ways to involve others:
- make cocktails together: Instead of everyone pouring their own drink, pick one (or more) and make it together.learn new things like simple old fashioned or Yuzu Spritzer to broaden your horizons. Again, send your friend instructions for your preferred platform (Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc.) and a specific time to log on. Try 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern.
- dance: Not interested in drinking? fine. Alternatively, you can attend Ryan Heffington’s dance class.Hosted by a famous choreographer Almost daily dance parties on his Instagram account, showing everyone how to perform his signature moves. FaceTime your girlfriend to log in and practice (and laugh a lot) together.
- Host a virtual theme party: Who doesn’t love the theme? Have the birthday party choose a theme (Tiger Kings and Queens, Pyjama Jam, Prom Night, etc.) and log on wearing best man.
Three ideas for internal experiences:
- Relax on Spa Day: Sometimes not celebrating at all is the best celebration. Order bath salts, scented candles, masks and magazines to create a spa at home for yourself or a loved one’s birthday. Have some lemon water on hand to complete your spa experience.
- Baking Challenge: Bake gourmet treats and achieve new feats in your kitchen.try something unique like blood orange fried cake or classic chocolate cake For chunky goodness worth a few candles.
- Join TikTok: Yes, TikTok was also in the teens category, but the 30s are the true stars of TikTok. Join the fun, learn to dance with your partner, roommate, family, or anyone else around you, and share it with the world. Please share with It’s your day People will love it regardless of whether you are talented or not.
over 50
If there’s one group that needs to feel love right now, it’s people over the age of 50. You can celebrate their birthday with an online get-together or a little joy at home.
Three ways to involve others:
- Create a virtual scrapbook. Ask everyone involved to email their favorite photos and quick memories and upload them to free services like: Kamba For a virtual keepsake they can have forever.
(Ross May/Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)
- Host a surprise reunion: Host a virtual “This Is Your Life” on your 50th, 60th, 75th and other milestone birthdays.” event. As the night progresses, invite new surprise guests to share their favorite moments with the birthday party.
- Host a with hour with your children and grandchildren. There is nothing that parents love more than sharing their wisdom. Host a one-hour virtual event where the birthday-celebrant can lavish pearls of wisdom.
Three ideas for internal experiences:
- Deliver what you love: Order food, wine and dessert delivery from the birthday celebration’s favorite restaurant.As a bonus, this Helps support local shops that too.
- Organize a drive-by caravan. It’s okay to see someone as long as you’re 6 feet away. Build a caravan of cars, each decked out with streamers and balloons, play the same song, drive to the homes of birthday celebraters, and keep them safe by showing a little love.
- Happily Organized: It’s time to spend at home, so it’s better to get rid of it, right?give it a birthday game Marie Kondo try the method. Ask the birthday party to talk about the object, where it came from, and why it causes joy. And in this way, the person not only celebrated, but also accomplished the task.
In times like these, Banta reminds us that it is important to think honestly. As she puts it, “In a world where we overcomplicate things, moments of independence can still bring smiles.
