How to celebrate a child's birthday in lockdown... in winter!

As if having to celebrate a child's birthday in winter wasn't hard enough already, what with it being just after Christmas, and the weather usually isn't great - now we've been thrown into lockdown, it makes everything so much tougher!

So I've pulled together some ideas which I hope will help you out; here's my top 10 ideas on how to celebrate your child's birthday this winter, whilst in lockdown.

Hi, five birthday slogan t-shirt

1. Let's start with something fun to wear... when you're a kid, there's nothing more exciting than being able to say 'I'm this many!', as they proudly hold up the correct number of fingers to show their age. From an early age, children are often able to recognise numbers too, so being able to wear a special t-shirt with their age on is something they'll absolutely love! Take a look at my collection of birthday t-shirts, and you'll be off to a flying start.

2. Zoom, FaceTime or any other means of connecting virtually to friends and family is a great idea. It's the perfect opportunity to show off their new shirt too! You could schedule a time to meet online, or if it's easier ask family members to send you pre-recorded video messages. We did the latter and stitched the videos together using a simple video editing platform to play one longer video. It's something to keep and watch over and over, making a lovely keepsake of the year their birthday was in lockdown.

3. Kitchen disco... cheesy music, flashing lights and all the dance moves you can imagine. Seriously, why not let your hair down too and have a good old dance like no one is watching! Children always love it when you get involved with anything like this. I recently did this with my son to break up the day of home schooling - it was such a laugh and something we'll never forget!

4. Bring back the Christmas lights! Well, sort of... I'm not saying stick an illuminating Santa back on your lawn, but get the fairy lights back out. Take advantage of the early dark evenings, string up some lights somewhere different to how you displayed them for Christmas. Decorate their bedroom, or create an amazing play tent or den in the living room with twinkling bright white fairy lights.

5. Movie night with a difference... if movie night is something you usually do, then do it differently this time. If you usually have popcorn, then treat them to pick 'n' mix. Print out tickets, or make them from scratch - get any siblings involved too. Change the seating, make it dark or get a projector and have a movie screen as big as the wall! It may be just watching a film, but it'll feel special with a few tweaks.

6. Play the weather to your advantage! That's right, use that cold winter weather to have some fun outside. Did you know that if you blow bubbles outside when it's frosty or icy, that they actually freeze? Honestly, it's amazing to see. And you don't have to just blow regular bubbles, you could get a kit to create giant bubbles. This is something we got for our daughter for Christmas and she loves them! We're waiting for the perfect frosty morning to go out and attempt our own frozen bubbles. Plus hot chocolates at the ready afterwards are a must, so you can warm up quickly afterwards. Think sprinkles, spoons, cream, marshmallows and any other treats you can rustle up to make it a birthday delight.

7. Try a treasure hunt... what is it about clues and searching that children love so much? I'm not sure, but we're forever making treasure hunts in our household. You could even make a present treasure hunt to spread out the fun!

8. Have a search online for virtual parties or activities... One of our firm favourites is Mrs Bun the Baker. She's simply amazing; you can join in one of her online classes. Before corona ever happened, for our daughter's second birthday we bought her cooking lessons with Mrs Bun. She's now 4 and we still use some of the recipes we learned during those wonderful sessions.

9. Check out your local Mum bloggers for more ideas. They are in invaluable source of knowledge from tried and tested activities, days out - or in, in this case! And they've usually got endless suggestions for nearby walks. You may very well discovered a local gem that becomes a firm family favourite. We've certainly used Mum's Family Fun and Red Kite Days this lockdown already for ideas.

10. Make it a games night... if you've never done this before then you're in for a real treat! It's fun, easy to organise and simple to do. If you're a regular gaming family then try something new. Dig out an old favourite from your own childhood - this is something we did over Christmas and it was such a hoot! Or play the games your children always ask you to play but you don't want to. You're bound to get kudos for giving it a go. For me, I'm not that keen on playing video games but my 9 year old son always loves it when I finally give in and play. Apparently I'm hilarious when I start swaying with the cart whilst I'm 'driving' Mario around, ha!