Organize a great kids house party for birthdays in difficult times

For kids of all ages, birthdays and birthday parties are one of the highlights of the year: they are anticipated with great excitement and high expectations, putting pressure on parents to come up with artfully designed cakes, fun activities, unforgettable birthday parties and attractive presents.

Not an easy feat, and certainly not in times of lockdown. But also other limiting conditions that life brings along, be it parents’ tight schedules, tight finances or just bad weather, can pose a challenge for parents when it comes to organizing birthday parties that are expected to make children's hearts beat faster and their eyes shine.

So what can you do and have a memorable kids house party?

1. Involve the kids in the preparations of food and snacks

Children love anything doughy and sticky, and – especially girls – go crazy for glittery, shimmering and flashy stuff. Why not take advantage of this. Gather together all sorts of colorful and fun ingredients you have at home (rests of sugar sprinkles left over from last Christmas baking, cake and chocolate leftovers etc.) and let your child and his friend(s) experiment with it (the level of supervision by you depending on the age). But be warned: Strong nerves are necessary in kids house parties. Prepare for the kitchen cleaning afterwards.

Here are some ideas:

• Cake pops (easy to make with cake leftovers or ready-made cake if you want to avoid baking)

• Freak shakes (here you can give free rein to your child’s imagination and creativity)

• The classic: cup cakes (garnished with just about anything edible)

There are countless recipies on the internet. Have a look at our recent “results” for some inspiration.

Cake pops

2. Set them in motion

Activities that involve some movent are fun and a great balance to eating cakes and candy – and they make time fly. This can be possible also in kids house parties!

How about a twist on the classic treasure hunt?

• Flamingo challenge (or unicorn, dinosaur, pirate etc.): Prepare some small presents for each child, wrap them up nicely and hide them somewhere inside your house or outside, e. g. in the garden, if weather allows. Get some envelopes, sticky notes, stickers (with flamingos, unicorns etc. whatever is your theme of choice), washi tape etc. and get creative. Place envelope no. 1 with “START” and a flamingo (unicorn, pirate etc.) sticker in a prominent place that your child is sure to notice. Place the first hint inside the envelope, the difficulty level depeding on your child’s age, e. g. “go to daddy’s favorite place at home” or “go to Greece” (e. g. a photo on the wall from a family trip to Santorini) and hide the second envelope there with the next hint. You can hide as many hints as you like, at least 6 to make the activity last for a while). On the last envelope you can write something last “You are almost there” to increase the excitement. The last hint finally leads to the hidden present. If you want to join in the fun, you might follow the kids to cheer them up, give some extra hints and make some snapshots of the quest.

Flamingo challenge

• Gym/Airtrack mat: An Airtrack gym mat is great fun for sporty children, especially in times of lockdown when sport clubs are closed or when it’s not possible to play outdoor due to bad weather. The mat enables kids to practice sports in a house party just as they would at the gym.

• The classic: Trampoline – Check out https://bigfamilyblessings.com/45-trampoline-games-your-kids-will-love/ for some ideas for trampoline games.

3. Presents for kids that already have just about “everything”

Are you tired of bringing to your home just another package of Playmobil, plastic toys or other stuff that children absolutely want to have, but which then just lie around, collect dust and become tripping hazards? Here’s some inspiration…

• Wood carving set: Wood carving is a fantastic hobby for kids, especially in times in which childres’s room are filled with mountains of plastic toys. It strengthens the hand-eye coordination and can improve concentration, fine motor skills and creativity. And it helps children to connect with nature and learn to value it. Check out this website here for more information and some great ideas: https://www.schnitzel-germany.de/2019/08/29/wood-carving-a-great-hobby-for-children/

• Voucher for family activity: A great idea to avoid bying stuff is to give your child a voucher for an activity: a visit to an amusement park, climbing center or zoo, tickets for a theatre performance, concert or sport event. The options are countless…

• Combine learning and leisure: There are some great online courses for children, be it computer/programming skills, language or art classes. Especially art classes are suitable for indoor kids house parties with a limited number of kids. For example - in Germany - the Kulturhaus Munich (https://www.kinderkunsthaus.de/) offers some fantastic online art classes including various techniques and sends the necessary materials in advance by mail. We tested such an online activity in our latest kids party at home and it was a great success.

As you see, there is a plenty of ways to transform a kids house party into a active and fun experience. We would of course be glad to have your views.

#birthday, #party, #partyathome, #kidshouseparty, #partyinlockdown