A Drive-by Birthday parade isn’t generally long but there are some fun ways for both guests and the birthday person to continue to the party safely in their own homes. If you have been in one, been a recipient of one, or just seen one go by you have probably noticed they are pretty short compared to a regular birthday party. When everyone is scheduled to come by at a certain time it can be over in 5-10 minutes. It can be a let down after putting in the time to get dressed, possibly putting up some decorations. Both for the birthday person and their guests. I mean truly who wants to go to a birthday party knowing you have to leave 5 minutes later.

Well, I am sorry to say I don’t have the magic solution to making the drive-by birthday parade last any longer safely but I do have a way for the guests and the birthday person to continue the party at home.

What do you need for a Drive-By- Birthday Parade

• music
• decorations
• party favor bags
• sweet treat
• phone or camera to take video
• tripod

music

What is a party without music? You gotta have tunes going to keep everything lively. Not too loud since you can’t hear each from 6 feet apart but some fun lively music will help to set the right mood. Also a tip if you have a another source besides your phone to play music on, like an iPad, Alexa device or something else, it can be helpful. If you are already using your phone to take photos and/or video adding music too can be a lot going on one device.

decorations

The decorations, keep it simple. Remember this party is short so don’t spend hours upon hours setting up decorations for a 10-minute party. A large outdoor banner is nice. The banner I did was a 6ft x 2ft outdoor vinyl banner. If you are interested, just send me a message. Ignore the plywood frame, I used a different type of banner, that I would never use again. We also had 40 miles an hour winds that day and it tore right it up. Anyway, I have a much better quality banner, that won’t rip like this and won’t require a plywood frame. They come with grommet holes in the corners and can be easily hung with some rope.

The other decorations I bought was a few packages of the triangle-shaped stringed party flags from the dollar store. I knew there was a chance of wind at my parade and there certainly was. These little suckers are pretty strong, I left them out overnight they were still up the next day. I used plenty of tape and string to hold them up though. Other things you can add are balloons, crepe paper streamers, tissue paper balls. If the parade’s at night you could string up some lights. Like I said it doesn’t have to be complicated just enough so everyone knows that this is where the parade is at.

Party favor bags

Yes, party favor bags for both kids and adult birthday parties. At a regular birthday party for adults, I won’t necessarily do favor bags. But why I say you should for a drive-by birthday parade is because this is how everyone can take a little of the party home with them and extend the party past the 10 minutes of driving by. I will explain more about what to fill them with a little further down.

These bags should be self-standing, so if someone was to grab one for themselves they would touch only the bag they’ve chosen and not touch any others. So paper gift bags with a flat bottom, paper lunch bags, or cellophane bags could work if there something substantial in them to hold them up. I used the paper gift bags that are personalized with the name and age of the birthday girl. You can check these out in my shop if you are interested, they are included in the Drive-By Birthday Parade Party in a Box.

One question is how to give out those party favor bags safely while social distancing is in place? None of these ideas are guaranteed safe so practice at your own risk. You can pass the bags out using a broomstick, holding the broom end and picking up the bag handle on the other end, and passing it to the guests in their cars. Please do so very carefully, with no broken windows, please. Or you could also put a table curbside with a sign asking guests to please take one per car or per person. Lastly, if you can designate someone to hand out the bags to each car, just make sure they are wearing gloves and a mask.

sweet treat

Birthday cake is a classic part of a birthday party but with social distancing requirements, it is probably not the safest option. Cupcakes though are the next best thing and they come individually wrapped. The hard part is serving them. You could use tongs but people are driving, it might be a little hard for them to manage cupcakes in the car.

The solution is popping the cupcakes into a plastic cup and wrapping them with clear cling wrap. A couple of things you want to make sure your cupcakes will fit into your cups. These cupcakes I picked up at Sam’s Club, at an unbelievable price, and they a good regular sized cupcake. If you have a local bakery, I totally recommend using them, small businesses could really use our support right now.

Another tip, freeze the cupcakes ahead of placing them in the cups. This prevents the frosting from smudging all over the inside of the cups. Mine only needed about 30 mins for the frosting to be hard enough. Also if it is warm outside on the day of the parade frozen cupcakes will survive the weather much better.

Of course, you don’t have to use cupcakes any sweet treat will do. Brownies, cookies, mini pies, cake pops, etc. Whether you buy or make your sweet treats be extra careful when baking and handling the food. Wash your hands repeatedly, wear a mask and gloves if possible.

These cupcakes I personalized as well with the birthday girl’s name and age on a sticker I printed, cut, and attached to the cups. They are also included in the Drive-By Birthday Parade Party in a Box in my shop.

phone or camera to take video & tripod

I recommend an extra phone or camera, along with a tripod for video because the drive-by birthday parade can be over so quickly. You may feel like you missed it, while you are waving to people and taking photos. So if you can set up another phone or camera on a tripod and set it to video the entire time. Make sure you have plenty of space on your device ahead of time and just let it run the entire time. Since the parade can be over so quick this will be another fun memory to relive after the party and great to share with those who couldn’t attend.

How to Extend the Party Past 10 Minutes

Getting the party to extend past the drive-by-birthday parade is really all about what you put in the party favor bags. Give your guests something fun to go home and do. First, they have their sweet treat to go home and enjoy but then include a little activity for them.

A cut-out of the birthday person’s face to take a selfie with and instructions on how to send the photo to the birthday person. We did this for my mom after her birthday parade and she loved it. She was giggling with joy as her phone was lighting up with text notifications and photos. We also asked people who couldn’t make it to the parade to join in as well. It was the best.

How about a little activity from the dollar store, maybe a mini-puzzle or a catch and throw game for a family. If it is an adult party maybe a mini bottle of booze with a note to “please wait till you get home to enjoy”.

Will Drive-By Birthday Parades Go out of Style?

Hopefully not but I do hope social distancing goes out style. I certainly hope it does and we can have “normal” parties and gatherings with people again. But I think drive-by birthdays and celebrations are a new type of party that we can still use. I have a grandmother who is 101 soon to 102 and I think a drive-by birthday is perfect for her no matter what the world circumstances are. She no longer has the stamina or good hearing for a large party with a lot of people, it’s too much for her. But a drive-by birthday parade is perfect, she gets to see everyone she loves but it is short and sweet.

It could be great for an in-between birthday, between the big celebrations. Also perfect for someone who doesn’t like big parties, or for someone who isn’t feeling well. Drive-by parties could also be used for other celebrations, like getting a driver’s license, passing a major test, or after a baby is born.

Hope you have a reason to celebrate and have a drive-by birthday parade soon!