Disclaimer: I am not a health professional and am in no way liable for any health issues. Before making plan, please read the CDC guidelines and your state and local guidelines on social gatherings. Also, carefully ensure it’s possible to maintain social distance, wear masks during the event, and maintain the health and safety of all party guests.
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Times are tough here in the year of 2020. When this all started, our hearts went out to those with birthdays in March-May. And now, it seems that all our upcoming birthdays celebrations are in jeopardy. In order to keep everyone safe, we all have to do our part to party while social distanced. Here are some of my top tips on social distancing birthday party ideas for adults.
The Invitation
The first step to hosting a social distancing birthday party is to announce your plans! The best and safest way to do so in this day and age is to use an e-card! You can find some fun designs at Paperless Post or any similar site.
Virtual-Only Ideas
If it’s not possible to safely gather, then consider a virtual birthday party. Use an online social site like Zoom to gather everyone virtually. Feel free to get creative with some of the ideas I pose below:
Create a Compilation of "Happy Birthday" Video Messages
This requires a bit of prior planning. However, it’s a great idea if it’s difficult to gather everyone together to celebrate a birthday in person. If you’re the party organizer, send out some texts to friends asking for a short video clip saying happy birthday and sharing a memory or two! It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to the birthday person’s face. Added bonus if it’s a surprise party too!
Compile Notes with Kind Words from Friends
A similar idea to a video compilation is compiling notes from friends for the birthday boy or girl. You can present this using Powerpoint slides or a virtual story book format. It will be a thoughtful touch to any social distancing party.
Online Game Night
Once upon a time, I would have thought this was a bit lame. Now, I look forward to online game nights with friends! There are so many options to choose from: a virtual escape room, a trivia game, Jackbox, or Cards Against Humanity. Some of these tend to work best with smaller groups, but you can also set breakout rooms on Zoom if you need to split into smaller groups.
Social Distancing Party Following Relevant Guidelines
If your area allows a social gathering of a certain number of people, then consider some of these social distancing party ideas that can happen in person:
Picnic
Set out some chairs or blankets six feet away from each other. Pack picnic baskets with food and goodies for everyone or instruct everyone to bring their own food. You can pack birthday cake into each picnic basket. You can find affordable picnic baskets for guests here.
Movie Night
Similar to the idea of a picnic social distancing birthday party, you can set up chairs or blankets in a lawn and break out a movie projector. Set out individual popcorn bags for the guests and celebrate the birthday from six feet apart! You can even check out if your town is having drive in movie theatres in local areas.
Corn Hole
Corn hole is the OG social distancing party game. Just set it up and you’re good to go for social distancing party fun. You can even start a tournament to up the stakes. If you don’t own one, you can buy one here.
Beer Pong
In a similar vein as corn hole, beer pong is a fun game that maintains social distancing from across a table! Just be careful with who is drinking from which cup…
Painting Wine Glasses/Portraits
If beer pong isn’t exactly the vibe you’re going for, check out painting portraits or wine glasses ideas with a wine-theme to your social distancing birthday party. Turn on the Bob Ross videos and paint some happy little trees. You can even do this virtually while someone shares their screen with the video playing.
Camping/Hiking
For a smaller and more intimate social distancing birthday party, you may prefer really getting away from people in the outdoors. Setting up individual tents and hiking while keeping social distance could be a great way to celebrate turning a year older.
Beach
If you’re more of a beach person than woods, take your party to the beach. Doing so responsibly and making sure the beach isn’t too crowded will be a good idea to keep everyone safe while having a good time! You can even set up corn hole or others games on the beach.
