If there is one thing that coronavirus hasn’t stopped is kids celebrating birthdays and having fun. Sure, celebrations these days might be smaller and held outdoors instead of crowded indoor spaces, but all that is for the better – who needs 30 screaming kids together anyway?

My younger son turned 5 just two days ago and I wasn’t going to let this milestone slip without a party, Minecraft themed party that is. I had perfect south California weather and Walmart with Personalization Mall on hand to help me with festivities, so we went ahead with the planned celebration.

Birthday party took place on a Wednesday afternoon at a local park. We were very confident that meeting at a park will feel safe even for guests who were a little uneasy about COVID-19.

I always enjoy celebrating our birthdays on the read birthday days and then throwing another party on a weekend, because it can never be too much celebration of kids’ birthdays!

Michael is very much into Minecraft, so naturally it had to be the theme, and also some pirates’ motives. Having a theme like this makes moms; life easier, because we know what decorations and cake to get. Michael’s cake was absolutely stunning with Minecraft decorations, cupcakes also came with Minecraft details, and so did the tablecloth, paper cups, wall decorations, and even birthday boy’s shirt.

Walmart is absolutely amazing to shop for themed birthday supplies and clothing. I got Michael his shirt and part of my decorations there. Prices don’t bite at Walmart and because I was only going to use these items once, I was very happy to save on all of them.

Minecraft shirts come in various styles and sizes, but none of them are more than $20. In fact, small sizes go for under $10 and for this price I don’t care if it gets destroyed with play dough and markers after just one birthday party.

The party took place at a local park, where all these kids were meeting regularly for the international summer camp and became friends. It’s a beautiful place with plenty of open space and spacious pavilions. One such open space and plenty of tables were used to the fullest by our party. I set up soap bubble machine and supplies for kids to enjoy on the ground and took up an entire table for kinetic sand, play dough, bracelet making station, and claw machine.

I even had a bucket from Personalization Mall with Michael’s name for a game of bean bag toss. Bean bag toss game was for little pirates and captains and the blue bucket was indeed great for storing the bags. I am always for personalization and love ordering stuff from Personalization Mall because of their low prices and great selection. Kids loved all of those activities and everybody stayed busy while adults caught up over snacks.

After games kids had pizza, cookies, crackers, fruit, and sparkling apple cider to toast the birthday boy. Cake and cupcakes were, of course, big hits, but especially because of volcano candle, which I also got at Walmart. I recommend getting sparkling party candles that look like exploding volcanos, especially if you have a bunch of 5 year olds to get very excited about them!

The party turned out perfect because of nice weather, wonderful people, and all the supplies from Walmart and Personalization Mall! While celebrating during a pandemic could be controversial and challenging, I felt good about our party and so did all the participants. This goes to prove that even during challenging times we need to stick to what makes us happy, with a few adjustments, and continue living our best lives.

Happy birthday, Michael, and cheers to hope that next year the world will be a little less chaotic!