Low-Key Birthday Party Ideas
The coronavirus threw us all a curveball when it comes to gatherings, and I had to get creative to celebrate my youngest’s fifth birthday in April and my eldest’s 10th birthday in June. I’m sure you’ve seen on social media the amazingly creative ways people are celebrating birthdays, but we can all use some insights on how to have a low-key (but still fun and memorable) birthday party.
In general, our loose family rule is to have a bigger party every other year and a low-key birthday on the opposite years. This has worked out pretty well for us, and there are definitely simple ways to make all birthdays special for your child. Think the different aspects of a typical birthday party and simply make those happen at home with family.
A key determining factor for keeping a party low-key is timing in relation to meals. To keep preparations as relaxed as possible, consider hosting a party between meals so that snacks and cake are sufficient for guests. This helps keep stress and cost down and actually leaves more time for fun for the kids. Another idea is to host a pajama party in the morning and have birthday donuts and fruit. This is a fun spin on a less-expensive party, and the festivities are over with before lunch!
Decorations are an easy way to add some excitement to the birthday boy or girl’s day. Add streamers or an avalanche of balloons to your child’s door for him to wake up to, order or make a balloon garland, or tie a fun helium balloon to her breakfast chair. If your youngster has a favorite hobby or movie, go all in on a theme! While home during this pandemic, Rachael Kennedy, mother of five, celebrated her daughter’s fourth birthday. “We got super into decorations since we couldn't go out. Each room was a different party theme (we have lots from past parties), and she got to pick each meal throughout the day.” For older kids, put a dollar in a balloon in their room for every year of their age. They have to pop all of them to retrieve their birthday cash!
Another fun and simple way to make the birthday kid feel special is to incorporate all of his favorite foods throughout the day or make special exceptions like breakfast in bed or ice cream sundaes for dinner. In one of my MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) meetings, we decorated a special plate that we use only for birthdays. It doesn’t seem like much, but the kids remember it and feel special on their special day. We usually do birthday pancakes, and I try to make their pancakes into their age number. You could also do silver dollar pancakes for their age too. Another idea is to incorporate Funfetti cake mix into your pancake batter. I also advise asking your kids what they would like for all birthday meals, because mine often surprise me. Most of my children don’t like traditional birthday cake (even though I enjoy being creative and making them, but it’s not my birthday). So we’ve developed a fun tradition of coming up with a favorite or new dessert just for them. We have had ice cream cake, brownies, skillet cookies we call pizookies, and Scotcheroos. This can be an easy yes to make birthdays special and memorable. Dinner out, whether it’s a simple kids meal from a favorite fast food joint or entrees at or from a favorite restaurant—is usually an easy win, too. Joellyn Nauman, mother of three, says, “We let them be the boss of their birthday. They get to choose all their favorite foods that day and anything they want to do. They don’t have to do any chores or homework that day either. Only fun allowed!”
Speaking of fun, the next aspect to consider is entertainment. Obviously, kids are unique in their interests, so lean into what excites them, but with our first Covid-19 birthday this spring, we discovered a love for a birthday scavenger hunt. I was trying to figure out ways to make my son’s day special and stumbled upon this idea on Pinterest (where else?). It was simple and a huge hit! I honestly just printed off premade clues, and that’s how my son found his birthday gifts! His older siblings were totally into it too and have requested this as a new birthday tradition. Then, letting the birthday child call the shots most of the day is a fun way to make sure the honoree feels special. Maybe he would love to play his favorite family board games, watch favorite movies or shows, or play outside all day.
Friends are another fun part of any birthday celebration. To keep a birthday low-key, consider inviting only a couple close friends to come play for a couple hours. Taking just one or two friends along to go bowling, to an arcade, zoo or trampoline park is a simple proposition. For my daughter’s fifth birthday, she had a couple neighbor girls over for an afternoon tea party, and it was super sweet and simple.
If hosting a low-key birthday party doesn’t sound low-key enough, hit that easy button and let a venue handle it all! KC has so many options for parties that pretty much take care of everything, and all you have to do is show up!
A final thing we have done over the years is to read Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Suess each birthday night. My older kids are trying to age out of this tradition, but they still secretly love it. Traditions are a powerful part of family belonging. Recounting your child’s birth story is another special tradition that can be done just orally or by looking back on baby photos too. Our children’s birthdays are always a special day for us parents to remember how our lives changed that day and how far we’ve come as a family.
Stephanie Loux is the mom of Layla, 10, Mason, 8, and Slade, 5, and enjoys birthday planning and celebrating her kiddos each year.