This past year taught us a lot about being creative. Finding creative ways to plan weddings, finding creative ways to share important events. And while we are all eager to celebrate in person again, maybe we’ll keep some of that creativity with us—like for planning a children’s birthday party or other celebration. Maybe you’re not quite ready to transition back to in-person parties. Or maybe your kids have friends in other states. Maybe you even like the mess-free nature of virtual parties! Whatever your reason, it’s never a bad idea to have some fun virtual party activities for kids up your sleeve.
Below, we outline five simple ways to make your kiddo’s virtual party a blast, even if they’re not in the same room as everyone else. Granted, these ideas all require a little bit of set up. After all, you’re planning a party—there’s going to be some planning involved! But there’s no venue to book or entertainment to find. Preparing for these activities is much easier!
Bonus Tip: We do, however, recommend decorating your space and getting dessert to make your child feel special.
The activities we’ve chosen can be done on any video chatting tool, and you don’t need any special equipment. Just have everyone use their phone or computer to join! And once you return to in-person parties, you can still use any of these ideas, too. They aren’t just reserved for virtual calls!
1. Bingo
Set Up:
Bingo is an easy favorite! The day or two before the virtual kids party, drop off bingo boards and markers at everyone’s houses. You can print boards at home or spend a few dollars on boards and markers at your local dollar store. Make sure to give enough boards for multiple rounds, too!
Bonus Tip: Don’t forget prizes for the winners.
Before the call, determine how you’re going to call numbers. You can use a virtual bingo number generator, or you can splurge on a bingo cage and balls for an authentic experience.
Playtime:
Playtime is simple for bingo, too! Once all the kiddos are on the call with their bingo cards ready, start calling out numbers—it’s really that simple! Just keep calling numbers until someone wins. Then have the kids switch their boards and repeat the process! This continues until all the prizes are given away. And if you’re hosting a birthday party, you can ask the guest of honor to read the first ball as a ceremonious kick off.
2. Group Craft
Set Up:
Similar to bingo, you can drop off supplies beforehand or choose to use household items that would be readily available to your guest list. You can choose to tell everyone what you’ll be making it ahead of time—or save it for a surprise.
Playtime:
This is the fun part! After the kids say their hellos and catch up, put their favorite music on in the background, and start your virtual crafting party. You can create jewelry, spend time coloring, or even let the guest of honor choose. Crafting is certainly one of the easiest virtual party activities for kids!
3. Dance Party
Set Up:
Who doesn’t like to dance? Of course, if your child doesn’t, then there are way better virtual party activities for kids to choose from! But if your kids loves moving around, a virtual dance party will be a blast—all you need is tunes. And you can get those from the kiddos. Ask the kiddos or their parents to email you some requests, so you can create a playlist that everyone can enjoy. Of course, you may still need to add more songs if the playlist isn’t long enough.
Playtime:
Once everybody is ready, turn up the volume! You can play the music and let the kids freestyle it. But you can host virtual dance offs and even teach some new moves, too. Don’t forget to schedule a snack break, too, so the kiddos can hydrate without missing anything.
4. Movie Night
Set Up:
As promised, set up for this activity is simple, too! You just have to choose a movie. Instead of getting a suggestion from every kid, we recommend giving 3-5 options to the kids a few days before, and putting it to a vote. Whichever movie most of the kids want to watch gets screened. Of course, how to choose to watch the movie may affect the movie selection—so make sure you can actually watch the options! And consider dropping off some movie snacks so the kiddos are all eating the same treats during the movie.
Playtime:
Using Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party), you can sync up movies using Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. All the other kids just have to join the party you created! For added fun, children can attend dresses in their PJs or as their favorite character from the movie or series that was chosen.
5. Individual Zoom Calls
Set Up:
If your children are shy, introverted, or overwhelmed by video chatting, you can schedule individual calls with all their friends instead of one big, group call. Beforehand, drop off a little treat—in place of a party favor—at each friend’s house for the birthday kid and their friend to share virtually. It could be a cupcake, a fun game, or science experiment.
Playtime:
Now it’s time to chat! Keep each call short, around 30 minutes, and plan for some time in between for your child to decompress, if needed. Remember that you’re doing this because they feel overwhelmed by big events, so taking it slow will help prevent burnout.
Conclusion
There are plenty of fun virtual party activities for kids, no matter your reason for playing them! If none of these sound interesting to your kiddo, simply ask them what they want to do and see if a virtual version will work. Chances are, you can make it—or something similar to it—work. This past year has taught us all that!
Which activity would your kid enjoy most? Would that be difficult or easy to pull off?
