Nobody wants to tell their kids birthdays are cancelled. But due to recent Coronavirus changes, this is exactly what we’re looking down the barrel at. But don’t despair, there’s a whole NEW and awesome trend evolving to keep the birthday spirit alive, and that’s to take it online. Yep, we’re talking virtual birthday parties people, and we’ve got the lowdown on how to plan one, what to do and how to add a splash of magic to make it more memorable than ever!
How we celebrate birthdays is changing. And frankly, what’s not to love about no spilled drinks on your carpet, no dietary requirements to cater for and no massive pinata to fill. SO without further ado, PARTY ON!
How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party
Step 1: Choose a date: First, you want to plan for a time that works for family and friends for a video chat. There are loads of video conference platforms, but Zoom is our favourite.
Step 2: Send out invites: There are several ways to get the invites out. You could choose to create a Facebook event so parents are reminded and most of us are connected anyway. You can also add email addresses and invite that way too. Alternatively, you can print and post or deliver hard copy invites or use platforms like Evite which sends digital invites with a Zoom or House Party link.
Step 3: Set your theme:Â Get creative and have fun with this. There’s so much fun to be had by setting a theme, be it character or colour. Bunches of balloons (or balloon garlands) and rows of flag bunting go a long way to creating a birthday theme and can be quite inexpensive, and there’s loads of online stores happy to ship party supplies to your door so you don’t need to leave the house. Guests could be asked to dress up with the theme, or even have a broader ‘superhero’ or random fancy dress theme. Either way it brings a lot of fun and creates a fun theme (and might even get you recycling your book week costumes!)
Step 4: Create a Gift List:Â Â Why not think about a wish list on sites like Amazon or even Kmart/Big W. Gift cards are a great idea to help your child save for a larger gift or use platforms like Payk to send money towards gifts.
Step 5: Birthday Cake: No birthday is a birthday without cake, right? Why not support your local bakery or cakemaker, or hit the kitchen and whip up some cupcakes (handy for next step). Singing happy birthday and blowing out candles is a rite of passage so don’t forget to keep it as normal as possible for the birthday boy or girl (and their guests!)
Step 6:Â Party favours:Â No kid likes leaving a party without a favour bag, right? Why not prepare some bags in advance and deliver them (with a cupcake) before the party so they can all interact together. You could even include some relevant things like bingo cards or joint activities the kids can do together.
Step 7: The finer details:Â If you’re looking to add a bit of extra magic to your birthday party, why not consider one of these Aussie businesses who can join your online celebration and add a little extra sparkle to the day!
Mum Pick # 1: A Ready Made Party Theme Pack
We just love the Pop Up Party Co’s Party at Home Pack containing everything you need to put on a party at home, in style! With more than a dozen party themes to choose from, even customising to suit your needs, each Party at Home Pack contains:
- a pack of stunning boutique-quality plates or napkins
- 1.5m easy to assemble DIY balloon garland kit in coordinating colours  (including instructions and access to video tutorial to step you through the process). These balloon garlands also make the perfect backdrop for your virtual party too!
- large number balloon (or two foil shaped balloons), and
- a super special cake topper
From start to finish, everything in your Party at Home Pack will coordinate with each other so you can deliver a super sweet party to remember in celebrating a birthday milestone at home!
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: Use code ‘MUMS15‘ for 15% OFF your Party at Home Pack order!
Mum Pick # 2 – A Virtual Magic ShowÂ
Bring a little WOW to their party with a Kiddly-Winks Magic Show, an epic 35-40 minute show full of games, magic and a whole lot of fun! Performed LIVE for your special captive audience, guests can watch, laugh and interact with each other on-screen with a mix of games, magic and hysterical puppetry. Kids will have a hoot interacting with an experienced magician, as well as seeing each other’s reactions to the sorcery (a magical flame produced cake will leave everyone’s minds blown!). Magic shows are personalised for each group with a sincere, professional delivery so prepare to be amazed!
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: All Mum Central readers receive a FREE interactive booster pack – it DOUBLES the entertainment duration!
Mum Pick #3 – An Online Art Party
If a creative angle is more your style, why not consider an  ARTea Art Party Online? Simply choose your party package and ARTea will sort all the nitty-gritty, including delivering the craft materials to your guests! With tailored age-appropriate activities, kids will be guided step by step to create a crafty masterpiece to keep. To round out the party, kids can all sing Happy Birthday together and even finish with a DANCE PARTY! #thecoolest
ARTea virtual party packages are priced from $290 and they’re not just for kids either. ARTea can cater for adult birthdays, catchups, team building and creative hen’s parties!
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: Take 10% OFF your ARTea Online Art Party package! Mention Mum Central when booking to claim your discount. Discount valid while they are running virtual classes while COVID-19 isolations are in place.
Mum Pick #4. Virtual Superhero Birthday Party
Imagine their reaction to a video call from Superman, Queen Elsa or even Buzz Lightyear on their special day. BEST PRESENT EVER! Your kids absolutely CAN chat with their favourite superhero with Super Parties Australia. From a simple phone or Zoom video chat to a full-blown Superhero Virtual Birthday Party with all of their friends. The hardest thing is deciding on which of the 150 and more Marvel and Disney characters on offer you want at your party! There’s minimal set up required for ZOOM calls and parties, making it REALLY easy to deliver an awesome virtual party experience.
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: Book your special birthday message, phone call, video chat or virtual birthday party with your favourite Superhero and quote ‘CENTRAL-MUM’ to receive a special introductory price!
Mum Pick #5 – Showbags for the party guests
Every birthday party needs party loot bags, even virtual birthday parties!  www.showbagworld.com Showbag World is delivering nothing but bags of fun with their huge range of showbags. From licences characters like Batman, Marvel and Disney to your lolly aisle faves and all the most-loved characters – Trolls, Frozen 2 – even Jojo Siwa and all her bows. Showbag World has the BIGGEST and BEST showbags and will create a real WOW FACTOR for your guests! Send these to your guests before the party, perhaps even wrapping before you drop them off, and let the kids unwrap them in unison all at once, Imagine the screams!
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: FREE DELIVERY on all orders over $100.
Mum Pick #6 – Delicious Birthday Cakes Delivered to your door
Let’s face it, the birthday cake is definitely the focal point of any birthday party. And thanks to the Cheesecake Shop, you can get your hands on a spectacular show-stopper cake priced from just $29.95! Pick from pinata cakes, rainbow cakes, pretty sprinkle cakes – even a cheeseburger cake – just to name a few. Their Party Cake range features 7″ (17cm) diameter cakes which are brilliant for sharing at home. Some cakes are even available for online ordering as a half-cake, where they’re literally presented as a semi-circle and serve six to eight people. Plus, they’re now delivering direct to your door – how good is that?!
Pick #7 – Virtual Dance Party
For kids who love to move and groove, let them shake their booty with a Kiddly-Winks virtual dance party. Just like Dancing With The Stars, you can pick your dance genre (hip-hop, jazz or even ballet) and get ready to move with dance games, competitions and even learn a dance routine. The Virtual Dance Party is a live show, performed in real-time and totally interactive. Kids can interact with the dance party host and see, chat and (virtually) dance with each other.  No dance history? No worries! Activities are based on age and dance abilities. Younger kids might just prefer to have some playful dance fun while older kids like to play it cool (and maybe learn a routine for the ‘gram).
MUM CENTRAL READER OFFER: All Mum Central readers receive a FREE interactive booster pack – DOUBLING the entertainment duration!
ON THE DAY:Â It’s time to party!
Virtual Birthday Party Games:Â Just because you’re all catching up remotely, doesn’t mean you can’t have your fair share of party games! Some our favourite and most logical party games would be:
- Treasure Hunt Bingo – Pull together a list of common objects people would have around their homes and call them out and each child has 30 seconds to find it in the house, before returning to their computer to call Bingo on the item, Perhaps first one to ten?
- Dance, Dance, Dance – Play your child’s favorite dance music and dance, dance, dance. Prizes for most creative, stylish and best groover etc.
- Simon Says – Just because you’re virtual doesn’t mean Simon says won’t be a popular game!
Decorate the Room: Be sure to set the scene to create a party backdrop for your party boy or girl and be sure to log on early to capture your guests as they arrive.
So get your party hats on and warm up the modem, we can’t wait to party virtually with you all. Let us know how you go in planning your virtual parties, we’d love to hear!
For more party fun, see our 24 Fun Games For Kids of All Ages which could easily adapt for hilarious family games at home and let’s not forget the party food. YUM!
