Day 1 of Kavi’s 13th birthday celebrations went well — today was her virtual party with her friends; tomorrow is her actual birthday, and she’ll be celebrating with us. For her friends, we did a virtual ‘visit to France,’ because Kavi is very excited about going to France someday.
I kept the Zoom open on my laptop from 10 – 5 or so, so they could hang out together. (I signed up for a pro Zoom account for work a month or so ago, which has been very helpful in a variety of ways.)
Kavi wanted to keep it small, so it was just her and her three best buddies, who have friends since second grade. The four of them hadn’t ever done a group Zoom before, and Kavi said it was really fun: “10 out of 10, would recommend!”
She’s been to a big group party Zoom, and she didn’t think that worked as well, because there were so many kids and many didn’t really know each other, so there wasn’t so much talking in the group. (I also find large groups harder to manage in Zoom; it takes a facilitator and some serious planning / managing of tech.)
I’ll go through the day in a series of posts, both to share photos, and to comment on it, in case people might want to borrow bits for their own virtual birthday celebrations.
This post is just the itinerary. Kavi said it worked well — “It’s good to have some scheduled stuff, so they don’t get bored, but also give them some alone time to just hang out and talk with each other.” Done.
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*Welcome to your Paris art & food adventure!*
*We hope you find this itinerary helpful!*
11 a.m. – brunch: Connect with Kavi on Zoom and enjoy a Nutella croissant, plain croissant with strawberry-raspberry jam, European butter, and milk / chocolate milk. (small blue bag)
11:30 a.m. – Every vacation needs photos – pose with your sparkling mustaches and glasses in front of golden backdrops. Paris Zoom backgrounds also make for great photos! (also small blue bag)
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: break for a bit if you like, or join Kavi on Facetime as she explores a virtual tour of the Louvre: [https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne](https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne)
1:00 p.m. – luncheon: join us on Zoom for a cheese tasting with baguette, fruit, Oui French yogurt, Nutella with pretzels, and rose lemonade – don’t forget to spread out your picnic tablecloth! (medium red bag)
Which cheese do you like best? Blue cheese, French brie, Alouette garlic & herb, and blueberry goat cheese. We encourage you to debate a philosophical question over lunch, in the best French tradition, such as:
• does nature or nature form a person’s personality?
• would you rather have one big present, or a five little presents?
• if you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
• what is the best country to visit, and why?
And if none of those sound good, there’s always the classic:
• what is the meaning of life?
1:30 p.m. – enjoy a selection of desserts; please choose one to add a candle too, and sing Kavi happy birthday:
strawberry French twirls, lemon cake, chocolate and vanilla mini cupcakes, palmiers, Petit Ecoliers, and Pym’s (small pink bag)
2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. — Zoom drawing class (courtesy Magical Minds)
*Thank you for joining us for Kavi’s 13th birthday!