32 ways you’re celebrating your kids’ birthdays in lockdown

So, you've got a child's birthday party to celebrate in lockdown, but don't know where to start? Good news, we've put together 32 ideas for hosting the perfect lockdown kids' birthday party, ensuring it's one to remember

If you're in a hurry, watch our video highlights below, otherwise be sure to read on for plenty of ideas for inspiration!

Top tips for a lockdown children's party

• Choose a theme

Before you even blow up a balloon or start writing your Amazon Wish List, have a think about the characters or activities your child is into. Be it Disney Frozen or Thomas & Friends, or Tea Parties. Once you have a theme, everything else will fall into place.

• Plan two or three activities

The days are definitely long. So break up the fun with two or three different activities or birthday party games during your lockdown party. You don’t need to have a full-on schedule, just a couple of activities dotted throughout the day.

• Serve food in Munchy Play plates
  

Serve food in Munchy Play plates – it’s a great way to bring fun to your kids party, especially if your toddler loves cars, trains and Tea Parties! Party food is always the highlight of a kids party, so stock up on all the favourites; jelly and ice-cream, finger sandwiches, cake-pops, marshmallows dipped in chocolate, super sausage rolls, the list continues. There’s plenty of mouth-watering ideas on BBC Good Food.

• Create a WOW moment

The good news is that children are easily impressed! An empty box, sparkles, wrapping paper… you get the picture. Nonetheless, you’ll want to create a ‘wow’ moment, especially for that treasured family photo album. Think a giant balloon with their age on ir, or a huge piñata, or perhaps Dad, it’s time to invest in that fancy dress ‘Baby Shark’ outfit for a guest appearance! For one precious moment and much-treasured photo-opportunity, it’s worth it.

• Connect with loved ones

Birthdays are meant for sharing, so when you can’t be with your nearest and dearest, let technology step in. Zoom is a great way to organise group celebrations with your child’s friends, whilst grandparents might be more au-fait with FaceTime.

32 Lockdown Birthday Ideas

Ready to get going? Here's 32 fab ideas for you, or if you're in a hurry, just scroll to the end to watch the video....

1. Host a (kitchen) disco

Aint no party like a kitchen party, and who else better to host it than the Queen of home disco...Sophie Ellis Bextor. Fire up her tunes, put on your dancing shoes, and let the good times roll!

2. Make a Piñata

If you can’t bash the living daylights out of a unicorn on your birthday then when can you!?

This Mexican tradition has gone mainstream’ of late, widely regarded as the new ‘pin the tail on the donkey’. One bash and you’ll see why! It’s one of the most fun birthday party games during lockdown. Sure, you can make your own piñata, but equally so many high-street shops and supermarkets sell them.

3. Hire a magician

You may think that lockdown birthday party ideas are confined to your home… however, thanks to the wonder of the web, you can now book magicians, party entertainers and even princesses online for a one-on-one appearance. Prices start from £20 for 20-minute package, which includes plenty of hands-on tricks for your child to get involved with. Money well spent…

4. Treasure Hunt

Fact – kids LOVE treasure hunts. Which is handy, since they’re easy peasy to do. Just leave some clues around the house and a little birthday treat for them to find.

5. Decorate the house

Bunting, balloons, party poppers… it’s time to go BIG or go home. Oh you are home, well it’s time to go BIG then!

6. Friends zoom party

If your little one is missing their friends from nursery or school, then a surprise Zoom party is a touching way to bring them together. We all know how chaotic group zooms can be, so you may choose to keep it to a select few, and that’s ok too.

7. Nans behind the mask!

If you’re into The Masked Singer, you’ll know just how much little ones love it. Want to give them the surprise of their life? Why not get some family members to sing behind a mask and get your child to guess who’s behind it.

8. Host a talent show

Or, if your child is more unmasked than masked singer, try an X-Factor talent show. All you need is a microphone, some tunes and an opinionated judging panel! Lucky Voice has a great ready-made pack for home-singing.

9. Netflix Party

The ‘Teleparty’ is the big trend to come out of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.

Get your child’s friends together and have a movie-night virtually. You just need a Netflix subscription and Google Chrome, then log onto netflixparty.com to get the party started! (Ps; here’s some child-friendly movies for you - Pets United, Ugly Dolls, Early Man, Trolls and Rise of the Guardians).

10. The cake!

It’s the highlight of any lockdown toddler birthday, after all, who doesn’t love cake! If you’re looking to make it yourself, Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for kids parties. For a real show-stopper, The Hummingbird Bakery, Lola’s Cupcakes and Cutter & Squidge have a mouth-watering selection to ogle over.

The big cake must-have at the moment is film inspired toppers – everything from Sonic the Hedgehog to Trolls World Tour.

 

11. Charades

The perfect after-food activity, charades is the classic family game to make you feel like it’s Christmas all over again!

12. Home Spa

For this you’re going to need a bucket of warm soapy water, some body cream and plenty of imagination. Your very own home spa can be magicked up in super-quick time, and makes a fun way to spend a morning. Canva is a great resource for making homemade signs to put up around the house.

13. Home bowling

The bowling alleys may be closed, but your toddler will be just as happy with a few wooden skittles and a tennis ball in the alley. If you’re not so down with keeping it old school, you can buy a skittle pack online for very little.

14. Transform your house into a pizza parlour

Even if you’re a parent to a fussy eater toddler, you can bet they love pizza! Which is rather lucky since the world has suddenly woken-up to home-pizza kits. Franco Manca, Pizza Express, and Little Cooks are just some of the businesses offering home pizza kits.

15. Musical chairs

Birthday party games during lockdown don’t get better than musical chairs. This one is guaranteed fun for all ages.

16. Puppet show

Grab a puppet, or perhaps an old sock, and bring smiles all around with a fun puppet show. It’s behind you!

17. Tea Party

Depending on the weather, you can head outdoors for a Tea Party picnic, or create a magical ‘Mad Hatter’ party indoors. This one will take some planning, but there’s some great inspiration to be found on Pinterest. Be sure to have your Tea Party plate at the ready.

18. Chalk surprise

Wake up and smell the… chalk? That’s right. You’ve probably seen it everywhere from the first lockdown, but chalk has made somewhat of a comeback. Surprise your little one with a big birthday heart, rainbow or self-portrait on the house wall or garden patio, just for their special day.

19. Camp out

If you’re blessed with good weather, camping out under the stars is the perfect way to end a kids lockdown Birthday. But even if it’s a bit gloomy you can still enjoy all the best bits, like hot cocoa, yummy S’mores (pictured) and some campfire tunes indoors.

20. Pass the parcel

If you’re looking for birthday party games during lockdown, look no further than the birthday classic – pass the parcel. You’ll need to stock up on sweets and wrapping paper for this one.

21. Mcdonalds home birthday

Children of the 80s will remember that a McDonalds party was possibly the most exciting party you could ever be invited to. For all the nostalgia feels, McDonalds now deliver, that’s four Happy Meals and eight Bic Macs then!

22. Gaming with friends

This one’s for slightly older children. Gaming with friends needs no introduction and is the perfect Birthday treat.

23. Pancake flipping contest

Pancakes are great fun any time of year. Make it extra special with a smattering of toppings for your little one to fill their birthday pancake with.

24. Dress up time

Is your child mad about Minions, bonkers about Baby Shark, or a huge fan of unicorns? Whatever the obsession, there’s a fancy dress costume for that. Go on, you know it will make their day.

25. Movie Night

Can’t get to the cinema? Don’t worry. It has never been easier to create that home-movie experience from your living room. Print out some makeshift movie tickets and dim the lights, and you’re halfway there! Don’t forget to add popcorn, fizzy pop, hotdogs and pick n mix for the ultimate indulgence. Amazon, Now TV and YouTube all make it easy to rent movies. Some popular choices for little ones include: Coco (great for Mexican theme nights), Peter Rabbit 2, Dolittle (perfect for pet-theme parties), Trolls sing-along (ideal for popstar wannabees) and the Lego Movie 2.

26. Cameo guest appearance

Here’s another guest appearance of the celebrity sort – hire a celebrity (this also includes pets and characters) to wish your child a Happy Birthday in person. If you haven’t already checked out cameo.com, now is the time.

27. Face paints

Face painting is SO much fun when you’re three-years old. Whether your little one believes they’re Spiderman, Elsa or a Minion, you can find a handy tutorial on YouTube.

28. Biscuit Baking

Homemade biscuits don’t just taste great, but they’re lots of fun to make too. In keeping with your party theme, invest in a cookie cutter to their preference (eg, butterfly, dragon, dinosaur shape) and get them involved in some home baking. Make sure you’ve ordered plenty of biscuit toppings and sparkles to top them off.

 

29. Pet party

Got a pet? Brilliant, it’s the perfect time to wheel them out for a special appearance. Pet tricks, pet shows, pet karaoke, there’s no reason why your four-legged friend shouldn’t be part of the big day. Don’t have a fury friend – no problem, just choose a teddy instead!

30. Lockdown Den

Kids love dens, like grown up’s like luxury holidays… or something like that! You can buy an online den kit from as little as £10, or failing that, gather some cushions, get an old rug and hey presto. It’s what birthdays are all about… well, at least in lockdown.

 31. Birthday Cake smash

Wait, what... you haven't done a cake smask, well  now's the time. All you need is one willing toddler, a cake, and plenty of wet wipes. Oh, and don't forget your camera, this is one photo you'll wan to keep.

32. Party Bags!

And finally, lockdown toddler party or not, a birthday wouldn’t be a celebration without a party bag. Fill it with sugary gifts and 10p toys, you can’t go wrong.

Looking for further inspiration? Check out 17 ways to host an outside kids garden party.

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Munchy Play Choo-Choo train plate.