Kids Parties at Home

We are fast approaching our second 'lockdown birthday'. The parties we had planned were cancelled; as were the family gatherings and any sort of group celebrations. With our youngest son, we worried about how disappointed he would be....but it turns out you can have a great day at home! Here is our round-up of ideas for birthdays at home and some local services who can help you on your way;

Decorations

We strung up the bunting and banners as we usually would. We ordered a reusable helium canister with balloons but lots of local shops like Enchanted Toys are delivering their helium balloons (and any presents you need to order!) to you. It's best to visit their Facebook page for details of ordering and delivery.

Cake

If you're not feeling up to the baking challenge or you have simply run out of flour, there are a huge number of local bakers who will deliver cakes and treats to your door.

Maisy's Cakes are Farnham based and can be found on Facebook. Maisy makes amazing celebration cakes big and small!
West Street Bakes, Farnham make bespoke celebration cakes and cupckaes to order. Visit their Facebook page.
Hello Bakehouse deliver cupcakes, afternoon tea, brownies and other treats! Visit Facebook.
Taylored Cuisine and So Tasty Ltd both serve a more grown up afternoon tea! Click their names for Facebook pages.
Olive's Kitchen deliver vegan cakes and treats in the Farnham area. Click here for Facebook.

Games

We asked our son which his favourite games were in advance and made a plan of the fun things we would play. We managed 'pass the parcel' with the four of us but our treasure hunt was the biggest hit! A series of clues lead the birthday boy around the house and to his birthday gifts. There was even a laser maze to get through (made of masking tape).

Fancy trying an Escape Room with bigger kids? Escape Kit enable you to download the whole kit you need for home or you could try this free Hogwarts themed Escape room!

Using Zoom or Facetime

My children aren't naturals on video chats! They find them difficult and conversation doesn't flow, so we have tried some of these ideas with groups of their friends to keep the fun going!

Top tip - its' easiest to mute everyone apart from the host...until it's time to sing Happy Birthday!

Scavenger hunt - send players off to find items in their own homes!
Musical Statues - the host plays the music...who can frezze the quickest when it stops?
Quiz - for older children devise a themed quiz. Powerpoint and other screens can be shared on chats like Zoom.
Show and tell - ask the invited guests to biring something to the chat!

Little touches

Left over Guy Fawkes sparklers, a BBQ (in the rain) and toasted mashmallows all made the birthday different to every other day. Maybe you could camp out, have an outdoor film or a disco.

Special 'visitors'

Is there a special friend who could knock at the door for a social distanced hello? If the weather is fine could they sit at a distance from your front door to enjoy a slice of cake?

Did you know you can arrange a special Facetime for your birthday boy or girl with companies such as Koala Kids Parties.

Help from the neighbourhood

After our Zoom party we dropped a balloon and a slice of cake off at local friends' doorsteps. This really spread the birthday joy! Can your neighbours help make the birthday special? Our neighbours put up a birthday message in their window next to their rainbow!

We also had a neighbouhood themed Scavenger Hunt by sticking up cartoon picures along our usual walking route....we took them down as we found them, but why not invite others to find them too?