Anonymous wrote:Im so sorry you are all sick. Once everyone is better you can have a small family party. We have done that before and during covid for our 2 and 5 year olds. Also cake for breakfast is fun. A balloon arch which is later disassembled into a room full of balloons brought them a ton of shrieking fun.

Such a good idea! And I agree a special day with family will totally make her happy op, but I completely understand the disappointment. Balloon arches are easy to order on Etsy though I will warn it took us longer to make than I expected so give yourself time even though the kids make it easy in a lot of ways. And buy a balloon blower upper thing on Amazon, comes fast and was well worth it. I guess Etsy it may not come fast enough but if you message a seller and tell them your situation they may be able to help!

As a kid I remember being so excited to pick my favorite birthday meal for my Mom to cook, and having a few balloons or "happy birthday" banner up. This was in the day before Zoom, but I'd ask the kid who they wanted "virtually" at their party (e.g. favorite Aunt, Grandparent, friend, etc.) then dial them in for the festivities. Really, your kid will be fine!

Little kids get excited by a bowl of M&Ms.

Just have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a few gifts, and make a cake together. Zoom with grandparents, cousins, or friends. Sing “Happy Birthday.” Pizza for dinner. Ta-da! A birthday party.

Im so sorry you are all sick. Once everyone is better you can have a small family party. We have done that before and during covid for our 2 and 5 year olds. Also cake for breakfast is fun. A balloon arch which is later disassembled into a room full of balloons brought them a ton of shrieking fun.

Actually instead of a Zoom party, we did individual or small group Zooms with family members. One grandparent bought the child a book and sent one copy to us and had one copy sent to them. Then grandma read the book to the child over zoom while the child followed along in the book. Another sang songs to the kids. One adult cousin did a dance party over Zoom. We scheduled the family like once/hour for about 15-30 mnutes so that he had breaks, but he had like 4-5 events throughout the day and each one was different so it helped to make the day feel special. At 4, attention is one of the best things to give them. And our kids at 4 did not handle big group Zooms well (of course this was pre-Covid, we had to do all this because our family was spread out around the country, but it still applies).

Zoom party. Have people send gifts in advance. Have them play up the excitement level via zoom.

Thanks for the reminder! Of course, the adults all are the disappointed ones here, grandparents especially. We need something to look forward to more than she does!

Even in a world without COVID, a cake, some balloons/decorations, and a few presents is all you need to make a birthday special for a preschooler. No need to overthink it.

I hope you all feel better soon.

We’ve all just come down with COVID and our older child is turning 4 next week

Any ideas on how to make her birthday (and our isolation period…) special in spite of isolation and symptoms (hopefully symptoms will dissipate by actual bday)?