How To Throw A Special Children’s Birthday Party During Coronavirus Lockdown

We all remember the feeling of waiting for your birthday party when you were a child. Having picked your perfect party theme, spent hours writing invitations to your friends and then the agony of counting down the days.

This year however, coronavirus lockdown rules have meant that the annual large gathering of friends and family is now cancelled and we are now challenged with organising a micro home based party that will still be memorable for years to come.

In early April, our littlest Balloonista turned five and with some advance planning, the help of virtual meetings, bright balloon décor, plenty of garden games and beautiful weather, we were able to still make her day special. Based on our experience, here are our 8 top tips for organising children’s birthday party during coronavirus self isolation.

Buy presents, cards and food supplies early

Delayed postal times, closed shops and limited food meant we had to order presents and cards at least 10 days before from online shops. In addition, three days before, we started shopping for food supplies and the birthday cake as it took more than one visit to get all we needed.

Fill your house and yard with beautiful party décor

While you may not make it to a beautifully decorated party venue, you can still make your home look and feel totally different on your child’s birthday. You may choose to make homemade decorations, like paperchains, flags and decorate inside your home or in the garden. Our DIY balloon kits and video tutorials, will enable you give your home party the wow factor with brightly coloured balloons and a truly professional look.

Host a virtual birthday party

This year we surprised our birthday child with a video call that brought all of her friends together to sing happy birthday and watch her blow out her candles. There are lots of options from House Party, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype and more. Once we set up the party, we sent the link to all those invited. Our top tip for virtual birthday parties is to ensure you instruct everyone to click the link at least 10 mins before as they may need to install software.

Consider online party entertainers

Many party entertainers are now offering the ingenious idea of hosting interactive virtual birthday parties that come with entertainment, music and disco lights. Naturally the parties are shorter, but they are cheaper and offer a great alternative for those who would prefer not to provide their own party entertainment.

Take your party outside

It’s spring, the weather is beautiful and the is so much that can be done in the garden. We filled our pool, played many family lawn, water and sand games and held a bouncing competition on our trampoline. Our little Balloonista’s highlight was the treasure hunt which entertained our children for 40 high energy minutes. Treasure hunts are so very easy to set up. All you need is several clues, which can easily be downloaded or handwritten, plus a prize for the end.

Create and play traditional party games

We all remember our favourite party games as a child – from pass the parcel to musical chairs and musical statues to pin the tail on the donkey. All of these can be easily recreated at home without the need to venture outside for more supplies. Preparing the games together with the birthday child in the days before also provides another fun and crafty alternative to going outside.

Prepare simple party food together

While picnics and BBQs are always firm party food favourites when the weather is good. Holding an afternoon tea party with teddy bears or making homemade pizza, jelly and fairy cakes together during poor weather are great alternatives. Additionally, they don’t require a large variety of food which is great for combating the current food shortages.

Throw a mini disco

It is surprising how much stuff you accumulate over the years. From searching through our garage, we managed to find disco lights, a disco ball, and bubble machine. We combined these supplies with a toy karaoke machine and had ourselves a party. However, we would’ve had just as much fun with music, dimmed lights and a dancing competition.

Cassondra Beck

16:03 06 Dec 22

I love the creativity that is brought to life with Balloonista. It always amazes me of the new and fun ideas they bring to spicing up an event. Customer Service is stellar! Punctual in delivery and detail oriented from instruction to setup, color matching. Really enjoy working with the balloonista team

Louise Brown

08:45 08 Jul 22

Fast, efficient, professional and no fuss event decor service. They listened to what we wanted, delivered as promised and took all the decor away the next day. We will definitely use Balloonista for other events. Highly recommend.

Charlotte Ming

12:16 05 Jul 22

Amazing customer service from Annalisa, thank you so much! The whole design process, install and arranging breakdown without being available on the day myself, was so smooth at incredibly short notice. Looking forward to working with Balloonista again :)

Shanice David

08:31 12 Apr 22

We held a Easter partner party in office last month and had the pleasure of Annalisa & team decorating our office with branded colourful pastel balloons and demi arch which our team and guests absolutely loved. I highly recommend Balloonista for business functions plus the communication with Annalisa was very easy and she made our vision come to light. Thank you again and highly recommend!

Laura Douglas

16:04 17 Mar 22

I can't say enough good things about Balloonista. This company is top notch. I organized a balloon arch, light up numbers, and balloon orbs for a surprise birthday at the Arsenal stadium in London all while communicating from the United States. I couldn't believe we pulled it off with the different time zones. Not to mention, I was asking a HUGE favor by reaching out only a few days before hand, but they were still able to pull it off...beyond my expectations! If it wasn't for Annalisa, there's no way I could have got this done in such short notice with any other company. She correlated with the Stadium due to my time difference and really made it easy for me. She was able to send over everything we needed for approval in a timely matter! Five star communication, customer service, and amazing quality. Thank you again and highly recommend!!