Party in Place: 11 Tips for Throwing an Awesome Virtual Birthday Party

You can still make your birthday kid feel special and safely celebrate at home

For now, it looks like virtual birthday parties are here to stay. Whether or not “stay home” orders are in place, social distancing is still on everyone’s mind. Not to mention restrictions or closures at popular party locations.

Keep the celebration going at home and make your kid’s heart smile even if birthday parties are looking a bit different these days. Try these unique online party ideas that can help (virtually) gather everyone to create a truly memorable birthday party, safely and comfortably at home.

happy birthday bunting party hats decorations cupcakes round labels mason jar party

Get creative with labels and postcards to make personalized party details that pull together your virtual birthday party. A cohesive theme makes your online party stand out from video chats for work or school.

1) Pick a cohesive virtual birthday party theme

Picking a theme that matches your kid’s personality is one of the best things about throwing any birthday party. Getting creative with applying the theme to food, décor and party favors is a fun DIY project for you and makes the whole celebration feel more magical.

Just because you’re online, doesn’t mean your virtual birthday theme isn’t important. In fact, it’s even more important in quarantine because it makes guests feel like part of the party from a distance. Plus it helps your virtual party feel different than regular video chats with family or distance learning classes.

Avery Design & Print Online (ADPO) is our free online design software that makes it easy to quickly create coordinated, cohesive details for your party. You can personalize any of our pre-designed templates or make your own from scratch using your own images or selections from our image gallery.

2) Decide where to host your online party

There are tons of video chat apps out there for hosting groups online whether your guests are social distancing or isolating in quarantine. Here’s the essentials to consider when choosing the right app for your virtual birthday party:

Function vs. cost. Does the free version of the app have all the features you’re looking for? For example, password protection for entering or unlimited time and number of guests.
How easy is it to use? Will your not-so-tech-savvy guests have trouble logging in and participating?
What apps are you’re already using? Is there a group video chat app you already love or are using regularly? Your virtual birthday party will go much smoother if you know the ins and outs of the app ahead of time.

birthday gift box labels round rectangle jungle theme party animals zebra stripe

Create DIY animal stickers and matching birthday message labels using the graphics library in ADPO. A colorful printed postcard (Avery 35704) with your party schedule is a thoughtful finishing touch.

3) Provide guests with a schedule of events for your online party

It’s hard to expect virtual guests to sit in front of their device for several hours. Creating a schedule of events for your virtual birthday party gives guests the opportunity to get up and move around without worrying they’ll miss something important.

Some key activities to include in your virtual party schedule are: (1) singing happy birthday and cutting the cake, (2) opening presents, (3) specific times to play games together. Other activities you can schedule are times for crafting as a group or a fun “dance break” where everyone boogies together for a few minutes.

4) Create virtual birthday party kits to party in place

Party kits that tie in with your theme are a fantastic way to make your guests feel included, and can be shipped or dropped off during quarantine. Fill your virtual birthday party kits with non-perishable snacks, activities, décor, party favors and other items that are easy to ship.

Pro tip for shipping virtual birthday party kits: use corrugated mailer boxes. Regular treat/gift boxes will have to be packed inside corrugated cardboard boxes for shipping anyways. Use colorful themed return address and shipping labels to create immediate party vibes.

Add finishing touches to your virtual birthday party kit with personalized brightly colored labels for decorating the box inside and out. Shipping labels are perfect for adding a big message inside your box lid too!

birthday hat rainbow animal labels round zebra party money cupcakes box

Virtual party games and activities are awesome to include in your party kit. Recreate the cute animal stickers shown here using the blank template for our glossy round labels (Avery 22807) and adding colorful animal silhouettes from the Avery image gallery.

5) Include crafting activities in your virtual birthday party kit

Arts and crafts activities that your virtual party guests can easily do at home give your kit an interactive feeling. Coloring pages, friendship bracelet kits, 3D puzzle kits and other small contained crafts are perfect for including in your virtual birthday party kit.

You can also send supplies for DIY birthday crafts. One idea we love is sending plain party hats your guests can decorate with themed supplies. Or you can go full DIY and send a stencil and card stock for your guests to trace and cut out their own cone-style birthday hats.

Here’s some ideas for supplies to complete our Party Animal hats:

Custom animal stickers
Several sizes of color dot labels
Crayons, markers or colored pencils
Glue sticks and elastic for assembling DIY birthday hats

6) Send out supplies for virtual party games you can play on video chat

Virtual party games that are played entirely online are fun for adults and older kids, but younger kids engage more with hands-on games. A really easy and fun game to include in your virtual birthday party kit is a twist on traditional charades with modeling clay.

Print the game rules on colorful postcards using our zebra print template. Apply a different animal sticker to each card and send along with modeling clay for kids. Instead of players drawing a card and acting out clues for others to guess a word, players use modeling clay to sculpt an animal for others to guess.

You can play the game two different ways based on the age group of the players. Younger sculptors can take turns secretly picking an animal from the postcard and getting others to guess it using the clay. For more advanced sculptors, you can pick an animal and make it a race to see who can sculpt it first.

cupcake box paws off round labels birthday girl giraffe

Create a fully themed experience for your virtual birthday party guests with personalized details. Colorful round labels (Avery 4330) are fantastic accents for cupcake boxes and fabric transfers (Avery 3271) are a quick and easy way to make custom t-shirts at home.

7) Set up a cupcake drop for local guests

What’s a party without treats? Especially when “stress baking” is such a great way to relax during quarantine or isolation. Enjoy yourself in the kitchen with a calming baking session for your virtual birthday party guests. Pack up cupcakes in individual treat boxes with personalized themed labels.

Gathering the whole family for a cupcake drop “adventure” a day or two before the online party adds to the spirit of celebration. Parents and kids alike will appreciate getting out and about for a while. You can make it extra special by having the birthday kid choose a playlist of their favorite music for the trip.

8) Make a T-shirt for the special birthday kid

Birthday outfits and accessories are an awesome way to make your kid feel celebrated during a virtual birthday party. Crowns, tiaras, sashes, over-the-top birthday hats and personalized t-shirts are all fantastic ways to help the birthday kid stand out on video chat.

You can make your own custom t-shirts at home using a blank t-shirt, printable t-shirt transfers, an iron, ironing board and our free Party Animal birthday shirt template. Customize the template online, print it out, follow the package’s instructions for ironing and you’re good to go.

zebra bunting happy birthday honk wave road safari party

Set the scene for your virtual birthday party. Decorate with a themed happy birthday banner that doubles as a video chat backdrop. Decorate a birthday parade sign by cutting out animal shapes from bright colorful label sheets (Avery 4332).

9) Set the stage for your virtual party inside

Create a festive atmosphere for the birthday kid with decorations inside your house. Making a themed pennant banner for your virtual birthday party adds to the festive mood and also makes a cool backdrop for video chats and selfies.

To make your own: (1) Use ADPO to add letters to spell out your custom message on round labels, (2) print fun patterns and prints on colorful postcards and cut them into triangles, (3) add the stickers to the pennants and string them together.

10) Arrange a drive-by birthday parade

Drive-by birthday parades are a creative new trend to help celebrate kids’ birthdays in quarantine and isolation. Invite friends and family to drive by your house to honk, wave and otherwise celebrate your birthday kid while safely socially distancing.

Add decorations to your front yard for the parade of friends and family. You’ll likely get neighbors and even passing cars to celebrate with you too. Incorporating a drive-by birthday parade into your virtual party allows your guests to remain safely socially distancing but still feel an in-person connection.

Go all out with a big sign that fits your virtual birthday party theme like the Party Animal sign we created. Use fun animal shapes, permanent markers and extra animal stickers from making your virtual birthday party kits. Make it a family arts and crafts project by letting siblings add their own smaller signs to the mix.

11) End your virtual birthday party with a group movie

Watching a movie together is a relaxing way to end a virtual birthday party. It gathers everyone together and gives the kids some quiet time to wind down from “party mode.” There are several ways to watch movies online together, including popular streaming services where you may already be subscribed.

Get more virtual birthday party ideas

Whether you’re throwing a big virtual birthday party, or celebrating at home with just immediate family, now more than ever, your kids deserve a little extra birthday magic. Discover more birthday theme ideas you can use to make your kid feel celebrated on their special day.

Personalize décor, party favors, gift wrapping and more with free birthday templates for labels, cards, tags that you can filter by shape, size and material. We have tons of helpful how-to videos to help you customize any print project using Avery Design & Print Online.