This Company Is Hosting Virtual Parties and Daily Music Classes
Birthday parties are among the many celebrations that COVID-19 has taken away. As more and more people find creative solutions to celebrate birthdays in a safe and quarantine-friendly way, virtual parties have steadily been on the rise. One event planner, when she saw the world as we know it shutting down, quickly pivoted her business to a virtual model.
Jamie Kolnick spearheads Jam with Jamie, a nationwide children’s music entertainment and education company, which thrives off of in person events, parties and classes. But as more in-person events started to get cancelled in mid-March, including her own son Evan’s 2nd birthday party, she began to switch focus.
“I immediately thought about all of the families that had to cancel celebrations in addition to feeling lost and confused in our new normal, needing an outlet for connection in a world of social distancing. We kicked off our virtual world with a community birthday party on Sunday March 15th, inviting all families that had to cancel their parties in addition to our entire community to join,” Kolnick tells The Bump. “Nearly 300 people tuned in live for the party, we gave personal shout outs to all of the birthday kids celebrating. It was an incredible experience.”
Kolnick gets creative in virtually customizing events for kids until the age of 10, with interactive music, dancing, songwriting and beatboxing lessons. She runs the private parties through Zoom and plans activities, such as interactive music and dancing with familiar children’s songs and “scavenger hunts" for the children to go on. “It’s incredibly important to us to provide everyone with a celebration right now and to go above and beyond to ensure it feels special and customized. We recently had a request for a superhero party and our performer dressed up like Clark Kent for the jam!” Kolnick says. “Celebrations are not cancelled. Family and friends and joy are not cancelled.”
Along with hosting virtual parties, Jam with Jamie also provides free live jam sessions every day, and all donations received support their team, with a portion of proceeds going to Baby2Baby. To learn more about the sessions, check out the schedule on the website.
“As a mama of two, I know this is not an easy time, but you are doing amazing. We all had an idea of what we expected for our child’s birthday. The balloons, the cake, the hugs, the everything. You can recreate some of that at home or you could do nothing and you would still be doing amazing. Whatever you do, know that the best birthday gift your kid could want right now is you. Anything else is icing on top!”
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.
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