When you have a special occasion like a child’s birthday on the horizon, there’s a lot of expectation to navigate – add COVID precautions to the mix and it can be extra-tricky to show your child and guests a good time. Here are six party-planning tips to make hosting a breeze!
1. Take advantage of the great outdoors.
COVID realities are making indoor parties trickier so take the celebrations outside – whatever the weather. A picnic in the park, a birthday bike trek to see autumn leaves, a skating party or a classic backyard BBQ can allow for guests and social distancing much more easily than your living room.
2. Plan a contactless meal.
Communal bowls of chips and dip are definitely not on the menu these days. Prepare grab-and-go options for guests. A bento box can hold apps and mains and be a fun party souvenir, too.
3. You can’t spell “perfect party experience” without P-P-E
Make your guests feel extra-comfortable by having fresh masks and hand sanitizer ready. If guests will be using your washroom, provide single-use paper hand towels or napkins and switch from bar soap to a pump soap dispenser.
4. Make a game of social distancing.
We’ll have to keep our Twister mats in the closet for a while but there are still classic party games that can keep a crowd happy without getting too close, like charades or trivia challenges for tweens and teens and Red Light/Green Light or Statues for younger kids.
5. If it has to be on-screen, go big.
The unexpected bonus of meeting via Zoom, Teams or FaceTime is that the world can literally be available to you. If a party has to be virtual, you can invite relatives and friends who live too far away to attend an in-person event. Netflix users can host a movie night through Teleparty. Book a musical guest from another country. What else can you dream up to max out the potential of the tech?
6. Give a giving option.
Whether in person or on screen, hosting an ECHOage party adds generosity and empathy to the festivities. Guests make a gift through ECHOage and 50% is donated to a charity and 50% goes to the family to purchase a large gift or smaller gifts of the child’s choice. Second Harvest is proud to be an ECHOage party partner. You can start planning your ECHOage party and support our work of food rescue by clicking here – and share your ECHOage party pix on social and tag @SecondHarvestCA so we can celebrate with you!
