Kate, from Bedfordshire, sent in this great idea. Let’s take a look at it…
What did you do?
Our daughter was turning 12 during lockdown. We would usually have a party for her or go out and do an activity. This year I needed to get creative and make it as special as possible for her.
I decided to surprise her with a carnival and movie night themed birthday celebration at home with myself, her dad and older brother. I set up the garden in secret with handmade carnival type games or used what I already had at home. I downloaded free printables from Pinterest for the posters , tokens and invitations. A local friend owns a balloon company so I asked her to create some bespoke ballon stands with a red carpet for a movie night. She always amazes me with her creations.
We already had a garden bar which my husband made last year so I made use of it to make a concessions stand with drinks , snacks and sweets.
I bought and wrapped some small prizes from pound toy and the winner of each game selected a prize from the mini hamper.
The games were a great success and the children liked keeping scores to see who had won each time.
For the movie we set up a screen and projector in the garden under our gazebo . We had popcorn and hotdogs .
Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…
I’m Kate , married to Matthew . We have two children ; a son who is 14 and a daughter who has just turned 12 . We live in Bedfordshire , close to Rushmere Park .
How are you finding being housebound so far?
Being housebound was very challenging at the start of lockdown. It was like being thrown in at the deep end with homeschooling. Getting to grips with the on line learning was not a smooth journey as I am not tech savvy but it has become a new way of life now .
My daughter has ADHD so I have to take this into account and set realistic targets for her to achieve each day with schooling .
In some ways it has been nice to spend more time together with opportunities to play more games and have quality family time.
Do you have any tips for other parents?
If something isn’t working, readjust the sails.
Being creative doesn’t have to be expensive. The best ideas are often the cheapest I find.
I would say don’t make it all about school work, there are so many other ways for children to learn so be guided by their likes and dislikes and don’t try to do too much in one day. Most importantly, have fun and make memories .
