So, I know that it’s been quite a while since my son’s first birthday passed. That being said, I wanted to share what it was like to throw him a birthday party during covid. I’ll be making another post regarding how we decorated and celebrated at another time. Even though his party went better than I originally anticipated, there were a lot of changes we had to make for our plans.
Planning:
Anyone who knows me knows I plan events far in advance. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, maybe it’s my anxiety; I have no idea. But, for whatever reason, it’s just what I do. So, for our son’s first birthday, you can bet that I was planning it… well, pretty much from the time he was born. (Yeah, I know, I’m crazy.)
In my planning, I researched all of the venues in the area for a first birthday party. At the time, we were living in a tiny, cramped townhouse but I wanted a fancy party for his first birthday with all of our friends, family, etc. so our house wouldn’t have been nearly big enough. That’s when I stumbled upon Funtastic Playtorium.
It was perfect! They had a party room as well as a fun place for us to make memories on Kiddo’s birthday. So in January, WELL before his birthday party, I made sure we got on their calendar and we paid our reservation fee. It was reasonable for the number of people we were inviting and it included admission for all of the kiddos we were planning to invite.
That was… until WA state was the first state in the U.S. to have a positive case for COVID-19.
Emotional Change of Plans:
As soon as COVID-19 hit, I knew in my heart that the situation was going to get serious. In March, when the stay at home order began, I didn’t know if our son would have a party at all. I was devastated. Some people told me “Oh well, he won’t remember it.” The issue isn’t him remembering it though, it’s ME remembering it. Those statements denied my emotions and made me feel that my feelings weren’t valid.
I think it’s important for people to know that it is OKAY to mourn the experiences you were looking forward to that changed due to COVID. Here is an article talking about how others are also feeling the same about missing out on once-in-a-lifetime events right now. Our child only gets one first birthday, and to me, it was important.
Why Was it So Important To Me?
Our kiddo’s first birthday party was something I put a lot of time into preparing. First birthday parties aren’t just for the baby, but they’re for the parents too. Parents go through quite a bit in a baby’s first year of life, and that first birthday is a celebration that “Hey, we did it!” The baby’s first birthday is a celebration for the mother as she recalls all of the pain she endured that day one year prior, and how it was all worth it. Those statements denying my feelings were actually very hurtful.
Regardless of my feelings, as we got closer and closer to the end of June, it became more readily apparent that Funtastic Playtorium was not going to be open in time. We had to cancel our reservation. I was heartbroken. But, I was determined to still give our kiddo the most memorable first birthday party that we could, given the situation.
Birthday Party: Covid-Style
Because we couldn’t have his party at Funtastic Playtorium, our only real option was to have an intimate party at our tiny townhouse. At the time of kiddo’s party, COVID rates were the lowest they had been in quite a while for our area. With recent omicron case numbers, I would personally advise against any sort of large, indoor gathering. I would have been upset, for sure, but I just wouldn’t have felt safe enough. But, even with our son’s party being during a period of lower COVID counts, we still made sure to take a lot of precautions.
Number of People
First and foremost, we pared down the number of people we were inviting significantly. In total, including ourselves and the birthday boy, I think we had 15 people present at the party. We only had our closest family members as well as two of my best friends that may as well be family. For anyone else, we had a video chat present during the party so that everyone could watch and still be a part of our celebration.
Masks and Sanitizing
Secondly, we required everyone over the age of 3 to wear a face mask and sanitize their hands upon coming into the house. We actually purchased everyone a personal sanitizer and a handmade cloth mask as party favors. The masks we got were super cute dinosaur themed masks to match the dinosaur themed party! You can purchase the child sized version here on etsy. Unfortunately, it appears that they this seller no longer has the adult size for this mask, but the masks we got were great quality! Feel free to check out their other patterns!
What’s a Party Without Food?
Third, for food, we required everyone to eat and drink outside and immediately mask back up and sanitize their hands upon coming back in. I started off being very ambitious and I tried dishing everyone up myself, but it was incredibly difficult to orchestrate everything AND dish everyone up. Instead, I set out sanitizing wipes and had each person sanitize their hands and the serving utensils as they went through and dished themselves up. My husband, son and I also ate ahead of time and threw out leftovers since most of the food could not be reheated to kill bacteria. We now know this isn’t as big of a risk as we once thought, but at the time, we didn’t have as much knowledge regarding the virus.
We also required everyone to eat and drink outside. By having everyone eating outside, it was much easier to ensure social distancing during the times when people were maskless. Upon coming back into the house, as I noted previously, masks were required and we had people sanitize their hands again. We had signs on the door reminding everyone of this as well, and I also gave reminders as people came in and forgot. Yes, I was the “mask police” but in the end, I feel like being so strict protected everyone involved.
Conclusion
After all was said and done, I feel that given the circumstances, we were as safe as possible. Nobody at the party ended up contracting COVID. That doesn’t mean that your outcome will be the same though, especially now that COVID numbers are the worst they’ve ever been. At the time of our kid’s party, covid rates were the lowest they had since before the pandemic. Please make sure you follow your local guidelines regarding group sizes, mask usage, etc. and use your better judgment regarding gatherings and COVID. Again, if I had to do it all again and COVID numbers were what they are now, I would have canceled his party, just as we canceled our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Mask up, stay safe, stay healthy, and most importantly, stay HOME.