We all love a party, especially here at Katie Bakes, whether it’s just an opportunity to get together after weeks of being apart or marking a special event.
Celebrating the birthday of your child is one of those important events and after weeks of cancelled parties and gatherings, which has taken it’s toll on adults and kids, it’s now time we get playdates and parties slowly back to normal in a safe way. So, as we slowely come out of lock down, don’t let social distancing get in the way.
To help you, we have put together some great ideas and tips to get you on the road to hosting a successful, fun and safe event for all.
Planning & organisation is key and there are numerous things to consider so let’s break it down.
Who to Invite?
With so many family and friends wanting to be involved in these occasions, why not divide the day and invite family to the first half and friends to the second half.
If numbers are limited you can always send a small gift to those you can’t invite to say you are thinking of them. Our baking mix party bags are perfect to give your child’s friends a small personalised treat.
Keep things short – after so long of little social interaction it can be quite exhausting for everyone.
Where possible host the event outside and it might be worth borrowing a gazeebo or two in case of bad weather. .
Keep the numbers small and manageable. Guidelines on numbers are changing all the time so much sure you adhere to the latest government advice. Consider your child’s social bubbles or invite the children in their schools class bubble.
Who ever you ask, make sure you explain the arrangements and plans for the day to ensure they are comfortable with the environment for their children and/or themselves. They might be able to offer some advice, help or ideas for you.
On the Day
On arrival ask everyone to wash their hands and have anti bacteria hand gel available.
It’s hard to keep kids socially distance but you can try to encourage this by making it fun. Provide zones for each child by each having individual picnic blankets or spots for them to sit or stand on which can be spread out.
Colour coordinate spots or flags and items for each child to use.
Consider a theme such as teddy bears or similar and turn it into a picnic or for older kids create an outdoor movie experience.
With Covid we seem to have moved away from worrying about waste but it is still an important consideration with regard to any party:
There are plenty of companies now that will provide eco friendly decorations and products that create less waste. Eco party supply company, Little Cherry, have a fantastic selection.
We also love the Party Kit Network, a not for profit, community project, who offer reusable party kits, including plates, cups, bowls etc and even decorations, for a more putting on a more sustainable party. Reduce both the carbon footprint of your party and the waste going to landfill. They have a nationwide network of kits and you can visit their website to find a local supplier.
Food
To stop the sharing and diving in, create each child a cardboard food box or paper bag with their own lunch or party tea. Schedule to have the food at the end of the party and bring the cake out at the beginning so you have time to cut it up and wrap it up to take home. Alternatively, make some cupcakes or cake pops for each individual. Don’t forget however, to ditch the candles on the cake, blowing out candles isn’t advisable at the current time but instead why not use mini cake sparklers or a cake sparkler fountain for that bit of excitement and the wow factor.
Games:
Some of the good old traditional party games can be great, however thing like pass the parcel and pin the tail on the donkey sadly are not advisable. Here are some of our favourites:
- Musical statues– play some music and encourage everyone to join in dancing. When the music stops everyone has to freeze and anyone who moves is out. It’s pretty impossible to get anyone ‘out’ but it’s still super fun.
- Musical bumps – The same as musical statues, except when the music stops the children have to sit on the floor. The last person to sit down is out.
- Memory Tray – Suitable for older children or team younger ones with older children. Have a try of random objects (approx. 20), give everyone a minute to study the tray to try and remember the objects. Cover with a tea towel and ask the children to write down as many objects as they can remember. The winners are those that have remembered the most.
- Charades – have fun acting out well known words or phrases.
- Humdinger– hum a tune or nursary rhyme, while the others try and guess the song.
- Simon Says– take turns with one person acting as ‘Simon’ to tell the others what to do, and the others only do the actions if they hear ‘Simon says….’. If Simon doesn’t say ‘Simon Says’ at the beginning, then DON’T follow their instructions or you’re out!
So good luck, have fun and stay safe.
