How to Throw a Virtual Birthday Party That's Just As Good As an IRL One
Just because you can’t leave your house doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to get together (virtually) with the people who you love and care most about. This is especially true for big occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. Specifically, hosting a virtual birthday party isn’t that difficult at all. All it takes is a little scheduling, some technology, and a handful of creativity. Plus, some introverts might even like a virtual birthday party better than the real thing. No matter who you’re throwing the party for, though, there are easy ways to throw a virtual birthday party that is specifically catered to the guest of honor’s personality and preferences.
Does this person only like small gatherings? Only invite a close friend or two. Do they hate the part where everyone sings to them? Skip that altogether. Do they prefer physical gifts or more sentimental, meaningful presents? Suggest one or the other to the guests beforehand. No matter what you plan for the special someone in their life, though, they’re sure to appreciate the sentiment, so don’t let the idea of personalizing things add too much pressure to things. The best part of a birthday is feeling special, and that’s easy to do no matter how you organize your virtual party. Here are some places to start, though.
Make a thoughtful guest list.
If the person with the birthday generally doesn’t like hoards of people or gets overwhelmed in large social settings, keep the group celebrating the birthday small. If the person would usually prefer to celebrate with only family, do that. If you have a young child who has a birthday and you know they’ll want to see all their friends, then the more on the invite, the merrier!
Schedule the party via an online video messaging program.
Cross check the schedules of your most important guests and send out an invitation (via Zoom or Google Hangout, perhaps) that works for everyone. This doesn’t have to be super fancy — a simple email with any pertinent details (we’ll get to those later) will usually work just fine.
If the party isn’t a surprise, let your special guest know so they have something to look forward to. If it is a surprise, odds are the birthday boy or girl doesn’t have a ton of upcoming plans, anyway, so it’ll be easy to catch them off guard.
Tell the guests what to bring.
Obviously guests can’t bring drinks or wrapped presents, but they might be able to bring something else to the virtual hangout. If you’re throwing a kid’s birthday party, maybe you can ask each child attending to name one thing they love about your child (this is kind of fun for adults too). If the party is for an adult, perhaps every attendee could chip in for a digital gift card for the guest of honor.
Plan some activities — and let the guests know.
Whether your party is of children or adults, you’ll want to make it clear how the party will go and how long it will last. Will there be a birthday song, candles, and presents? Will there be another game or activity? Try sending out a rough schedule of the party to your final guest list so they know what to expect.
Have the guest of honor’s favorite snacks and drinks present.
If you’re able to safely order delivery or groceries before the party, stock up on your guest of honor’s favorite snacks and beverages. Even if there aren’t dozens of people there to enjoy them, you can buy them and have them handy if you live with the person or you can have them delivered for a special surprise if you don’t live with the person.
When in doubt, keep things small.
If you’re not sure exactly what’s best for the party (or you’re overwhelmed by the technology of it all), keep the guest list as small as possible. Even just asking individual people to send celebratory video messages via text and then presenting them to the birthday person at a party with just immediate family present can make things special. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top or complicated to be a wonderful sentiment or a fun party.
If you’re a Zoom pro, get creative.
Ever considered a virtual flash mob where all the party guests do a surprise dance for the guest of honor? How about a coordinated song that focuses on the birthday girl or boy? What about leading a craft instruction for all the kids at the party? If you and all the other guests (or their parents) are Zoom Pros, then don’t be afraid to get creative.
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