We threw a “Wild One” first birthday party for our little David, and I love the way it turned out! It was a little different throwing a party during a pandemic, but we made it work using a virtual platform so our friends and family could join in on the fun.

Check out the images above to get some inspiration for your own “Where the Wild Things Are” party. And click on the links below to get some adorable themed party decorations and supplies.

If you’re planning a virtual party, I've also got lots of ideas and tips to make it easy, entertaining, and memorable.

Keep scrolling for the best virtual hosting and planning hacks!

Wild One First Birthday Supplies, Favors, and Decor

Use these tips to plan and host a killer virtual party!

So, you’re planning a event or party but you’re dealing with a bunch of challenges. Maybe you don’t have the budget. You probably have friends or family out of town that won’t be able to travel. Perhaps you’re even in a situation where you can’t be as mobile as you’d like.

We live in a time now where we have things like social media, smart phones, and other technology that allows us to connect with anyone, anywhere at any time. Because of this, we have the ability to have virtual events for just about any occasion. Because of the trying times in which we’re currently living, I unfortunately had to cancel my little one’s 1st birthday party - but I refused to just not celebrate at all. With a couple of tweaks, and again, the help of technology, I was able to host one of the best virtual events ever!

No matter if it’s a birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, or just a kick back, please believe me when I say that you, too, can have an awesome virtual party with right tools and resources.

1. Decide on a theme.

What’s any kind of an event without a theme? That’s virtual events included! A them helps to set the mood and gives your guests an idea of what to expect. Plus, a them will help everything come together visually too! Browse Pinterest for lots of creative ideas for themes you can apply to your virtual party - you can find great themes for birthday parties, baby showers, and even graduation celebrations!

2. Determine your guest list.

Decide on who is important to invite to your virtual event. Is this a casual kick back for friends? An intimate gathering for just a few people? You know what kind of an event you’re planning, so take you guest list seriously. You’ll also want to make sure you get an accurate count of the number of guests you want to invite, and you’ll see why in the next tip!

3. Pick your virtual party platform.

There are several platforms you can use to schedule video conferences for your virtual event. You want to ensure you select the right platform for you based on price (if it applies) as well as the number virtual party attendees it can hold.

Here are just a few options for video conferencing

to host your virtual event:

• Google Hangouts

  For Little David’s second birthday party, I used Google Hangouts. It is an easy, no cost, no time limit option that allows you to have up to 10 people on a video conference. This is perfect for a smaller, intimate gathering, like the party I had already planned for Little David, and it was easy for everyone to download the Hangouts app right to their smart phones.

• Skype

  Skype is another great no cost option if you want just a few more people invited to your virtual event. Also easy to use, Skype allows up to 25 people on a video conference. That’s a nice sized virtual event to host!

• Zoom

  Zoom is a great option to use if you’re looking to host a virtual even with more invitee, as you can have up to 100 people during a conference. The one draw back on the free plan is the meeting limit is 40 minutes. For more conference time, you’ll have to pay for the “Pro” plan that is $14.99 a month. Yet, a steal when it comes to finding event venues!

*FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME - Right now, Google is offering limited time access to advance Hangouts Meeting capabilities to G Suite and G Suite for Education consumers. Some of these advanced capabilities include meetings for up to 250 participants, live streaming, and the ability to record as well. This limited time access is available until July 1, 2020!

4. Select and send virtual party invitations.

There’s no way to plan for a party without sending invitations, right? Luckily, to match your virtual event, you can also send virtual invitations. I’ve always loved sending online invitations because they are easy to design, come with lots of different themes, and they’re much less costly than traditional invitations.

Check out these great online invitation platforms to include in your virtual party planning

• Paperless Post

  My first time using Paperless Post was to create online invitations for my casual wedding reception back in 2016. I’ve been hooked ever since. First, it’s free, they style is so sophisticated, and there are options that you can pay for if you want extra bells and whistles added to your invitations (i.e. envelope liners, special backgrounds on invitations). There’s a feature to add all of your email addresses, the names that correspond to those email addresses, and you can assign a certain number of guests per invitation. Paperless Post is a wonderful option to invite people to your virtual party!

• Evite

  Evite allows you to create invitations that can be sent via email or text message. Also with plenty of themes to choose from, it’s free! They’re great to use for baby showers, birthdays, and even save the dates. You can also customize these online invitations for your virtual event to your liking.

• Smilebox

  Smilebox is a fun online stationary creator. There are countless themes for various occasions and event types, plus you can add music and other great animations to your online invitations if you want. To get the most use out of Smilebox, there’s a $5 pro plan that works great.

*FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME - Right now, Minted is offering a NEW online invitation option that is free during the beta testing period! Minted makes great products that have never failed me, so check it out if you’re planning a virtual event!

5. Gather your decor.

Based on your theme, you should spice up your party space, even though you’re throwing a virtual party, to add some flare!

• Decorate a back drop

  Set up a back drop with your theme such as colors, sayings, and anything else. Find things that you have at home first to use, and buy what you don’t have.

• Set a tablescape

  Setting tablescapes is a favorite of mine. Depending on the virtual event you’re having, a tablescape just may be what you need to create the mood and ambiance needed to really make your invitees feel like they’re there!

6. Find creative areas for your virtual party.

It’s likely you know the venue (whether it’s your home, or apartment, or somewhere else) better than your invitees. It makes sense to choose the most creative space in the dwelling to host your party. Do you have a back patio? Get it all decorated nicely and host your party there! Hosting a virtual event for an intimate spa day in winter? Get ready to host your party near a cozy fireplace if you have one. Just get creative!

7. Create a virtual party agenda.

By all means, you don’t need a schedule, but have planned in your head how you’d like to facilitate your virtual event, just as if you were hosting an in person party. Think of things you may want to include for your guests like:

• ice breakers

• music

• a menu

• games and other activities

More than anything, make sure you virtual party hard! I mentioned in the beginning of this post that Little David enjoyed his virtual birthday party so much, and danced his heart out. I know we all have the perfect events in mind - complete with all the best themes, details, menus, favors and everything else. Remember, at the end of the day having fun, laughing your heart out, and making memories to last a lifetime is what’s most important!

If you have questions or you’re looking for more advice on how you can plan and host a great virtual event, Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram.

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