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33 Of The Best Lockdown Birthday Ideas For Kids

January 27, 2021

Looking For Lockdown Birthday Ideas For Kids? Here are 33 Lockdown Birthday Ideas

Lockdown Birthday Ideas With Themes For Zoom parties, And Easy Birthday Ideas With No Zoom Involved

So, your child is having a lockdown birthday and you’re looking for lockdown birthday ideas for kids to help make the day really special?

More birthday party ideas for lockdown birthdays for kids - cool quarantine party ideas

How To Have A Kid’s Birthday During Lockdown

We have a children’s lockdown birthday coming up soon (my Baby On Board is nine, how?!). Although I have lots of ideas, as her birthday got closer and closer I was starting to panic that none of them would be…special enough.

For birthdays in ‘normal’ times we usually have a party, see family, go out for pizza or have a day out. And, obviously, all of those ideas are off the table this time.

So how do you make a lockdown birthday special when all days are the same, at home, again?

Making A Kid’s Birthday Special During Coronavirus Lockdown

Our October-born child’s 6th birthday happened before the tiers were tightened, we weren’t in lockdown and the  UK schools were still open. This time it’s a different experience all round.

Lockdown birthday ideas for kids

Naively, way back when, I’d thought we might be able to go somewhere fun if having a party was out of the question – but then now it’s apparent that no-one is going anywhere for a while.

To Birthday Zoom Party Or Not To Birthday Zoom Party?

We’ve attended some great online birthday parties, and have a weekly club that takes place over video calls. And as our relatives all live three hours away we regularly keep in touch over Facetime.

However, I worry that too much Zoom makes everyone zone out, people quickly lose interest – including the adults! – and I don’t think they always work that well for quieter kids. So I’ve included ideas for both Zoom parties and ideas for non-video call birthdays.

Here Are 33 Lockdown Birthday Ideas For Kids:

Children's party ideas for corona lockdown

Here’s a list of 33 lockdown birthday party ideas you can do at home, with two people minimum, or more if your child has siblings. They are probably most suited for school-aged children.

Are they are all simple little ideas to hopefully make their day a lot more special.

Lockdown Birthday Ideas For Kids – With No Zoom Or Video Calls Involved

  1. Have a day ‘off’ homeschooling and work and day-to-day activities, dedicated just to them.
  2. Let your child choose whatever they want to do for the day, whatever that may be – be it reading, colouring, a day of screens.
  3. Hide presents around the house and have a present treasure hunt.
  4. Stagger the present time, so they have them throughout the day (this 100% wouldn’t work with my impatient kids though! But it might with yours).
  5. Set up a special birthday den, with fairy lights, cushions, bunting, the works (here’s our Halloween den and blanket and bunting den).
  6. Let them eat dinner in the den.
  7. Let them sleep in the den.
  8. Let them pick the menu for the entire day
  9. You could have pancakes for breakfast, lunch or / and dinner.
  10. Or have a pizza party, where they can pick their own toppings (which will probably be cheese and maybe ham, let’s face it).
  11. Let them chose what to get from Deliveroo / Uber Eats. Mine have already decided…
  12. Have a normal children’s party, but for just for the 2,3,4,5+ of you – with all the regular activities, from pass-the-parcel to piñatas via musical chairs – less people mean much more chance of winning, right?
  13. Give them flowers (tulips and lovely cheap daffodils are in shops right now).
  14. Stock up on crafting kits and do them all in one afternoon.
  15. Alternatively, I have loads of ideas for low-effort lockdown craft activity ideas over on Pinterest.
  16. Make sure they get post or a delivery on the day (everyone loves post!)
  17. Set a baking challenge – someone I follow on Instagram let their child make a birthday croquembouche, which they’d always wanted to do. It looked like a lot of fun.
  18. Hire something big, like a hot tub or soft play equipment.
  19. If you have one, Fill your trampoline with balloons (I’m thinking soft play balls and a banner could also work well)
  20. Have a cinema party, with popcorn, where you all watch a film of your choosing. You can even print personalised cinema tickets here.
  21. Have a Just Dance party. If you don’t have a games console you can watch lots of the videos, and dance along, on YouTube.
  22. Arrange for people to walk by your house to say hello.
  23. Have a treasure hunt that takes you to friend’s houses for clues.
  24. Have a family fancy dress party, either with a fancy dress theme or fancy outfits. Challenge everyone to dress themselves so you can have a surprise ‘reveal’.
  25. Have a mini pamper party, with wash-out hair dye and nail varnish (especially if this isn’t allowed at school).
  26. Host a birthday kitchen disco, with a kid-friendly playlist, flashing lights and a guest appearance from All. The. Snacks.
  27. Have a sleepover, but obviously only with everyone from your house! Let everyone pile in your bed, or set up camp in the front room.

Lockdown Birthday Ideas For Kids – Over Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Facetime

Cakes for kids lockdown birthday party ideas
  1. Play bingo.
  2. Have a dance party, where you play music and everyone dances.
  3. Take part in an online escape room for kids, where you have to work out clues to escape (here are some ideas for ones you can play online).
  4. Set up a scavenger hunt, where you challenge children to find items around the house beginning with a specific letter, which can then spell out a word.
  5. Send out craft kits or activity packs for everyone to do together, virtually.
  6. Arrange for everyone to play online games together, at the same time – like Roblox, Animal Crossing or our current favourite Among Us.

And Finally, Don’t Stress About Making The Birthday Special…

As lots of people have pointed out to me, you don’t need to overcompensate or spend a huge amount of money for a lockdown birthday, especially at a time when we’re all about as stressed as you can get.

Children won’t be as aware that it’s such a terrible time with unusual circumstances as adults are. It’ll probably feel weird to you, but not them.

All birthdays are special when you’re a child, aren’t they? And even the little things you do will make it a lot more magical.

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