To make a birthday video for a child, write a very short story in which the child is the hero, built from the things they love right now: a favourite animal, a toy, a place, a joke they repeat. Keep it to one or two minutes, which is 150 to 300 spoken words, and give it a simple shape: an invitation, a gathering, one small problem, the celebration. Say the child's name and age out loud at least twice, because that is the part they will ask to hear again. Turn the script into drawn scenes with a narrated voice or your own, watch it together on a big screen, and keep identifying details out of any version you post publicly.

What makes a child want to watch it again

Adults judge a birthday video by how it looks. Children judge it by whether they are in it. The single biggest factor is hearing their own name, followed closely by seeing the things they care about this month, which for a four-year-old may be very different from what they cared about last month.

So before you write a word, make a short list:

• Their name, and any nickname they actually like
• The age they are turning
• Two or three favourite animals, characters of their own invention, or objects (a red tractor, a blue blanket)
• One thing they are proud of this year: learning to swim, a new baby brother, starting school
• One running joke in the family

Leave out licensed characters. A video built around a famous cartoon character runs into copyright problems if you post it, and generated drawings of trademarked characters tend to look slightly wrong anyway, which children notice. An invented giraffe called Mabel is better, because she is theirs.

The shape: four beats

Every good birthday story for a young child has the same four beats. It is the shape of most picture books, and children recognise it.

1. The invitation. Something tells everyone it is a special day.
2. The gathering. Friends arrive, one at a time, each with a small detail.
3. The small problem. Something goes slightly wrong. The cake is missing, the balloons float away, the giraffe is too tall for the door.
4. The celebration. The problem is solved, often by the birthday child, and everyone sings or cheers.

The problem matters. Without it the story is a list of animals arriving. With it, the child has a moment of "what will happen?" and a moment of relief, and that is what makes a story.

A worked example: an animal birthday party

Here is a complete script for a child called Leo turning five, who loves elephants and counting. It is about 230 words, roughly ninety seconds.

Deep in the green jungle, a parrot flew from tree to tree with very important news. "Leo is turning five today. Everyone come to the party."The first to arrive was Ellie the elephant, carrying a present in her trunk. Then came two monkeys with a basket of bananas, three tortoises who had set off yesterday so they would not be late, and four frogs who hopped all the way.Leo counted them. One elephant, two monkeys, three tortoises, four frogs. "That is ten friends," said Leo. And he was right.But when it was time for the cake, the cake had gone. The monkeys looked under the leaves. The frogs looked in the pond. The tortoises were still thinking about where to look.Then Leo noticed something. Ellie the elephant had a little bit of icing on the end of her trunk. "Ellie," said Leo, "where is the cake?"Ellie looked a bit embarrassed. She had hidden it behind the big tree, so it would be a surprise. She brought it out, with five candles burning on top.Everyone took a deep breath. One, two, three. Leo blew out all five candles at once."Happy birthday, Leo," said the whole jungle. "Happy fifth birthday."

Look at what it does. The counting is his interest, built in as a game he wins. The number five appears four times. His name appears seven times. The problem is gentle and he solves it. No one is mean, nothing is scary, and it ends with the line he will want to hear again.

The scene list

Eight scenes in ninety seconds is about eleven seconds each, which is a comfortable pace for a small child. Faster than that and they lose track of who is who.

Make it

1. 1

   Make the list

   Name, age, two or three favourite things, one achievement, one family joke. Leave out licensed characters.

2. 2

   Write the four beats

   Invitation, gathering, small problem, celebration. Keep it to 150 to 300 words and say the name and age at least twice.

3. 3

   Paste the script and keep your wording

   In openCanviz, paste the script, choose Keep my wording so the names and numbers stay exactly as written, and pick a friendly style such as doodle on paper or cutout.

4. 4

   Check every scene

   Count the animals in each drawing, check the candles match the age, and redraw any scene that looks frightening or confusing.

5. 5

   Record the voice yourself if you can

   A parent's or grandparent's voice is worth more to a small child than any generated one. Record over each scene and your recording sets the timing.

6. 6

   Make a private and a public version

   Export the full version for family. If you post one publicly, duplicate the project and remove surnames, school names and the birth date first.

Check the details a child will notice

Children are exacting about the things they care about. A five-year-old will count the candles. A dinosaur fan will tell you that the long-necked one is not a T. rex. Before you show it, go through every scene and check:

• Numbers in the drawings match the numbers in the words. Five candles means five candles. Three tortoises means three.
• The same character looks the same in every scene. If Ellie is grey with a pink bow in scene 2, she should be grey with a pink bow in scene 8. If you are making a series of birthday videos year on year, openCanviz can keep a recurring character across videos, and keeping the same character across a series explains how.
• Nothing looks scary. A generated jungle at dusk can look dark and a crocodile can look fierce. Redraw anything you would not put in a picture book for that age.
• The cake comes back. Every small problem must be fully solved by the end.

Sharing it safely

A birthday video is personal, and most of it should stay in the family. If you want to post it on social media, make a separate public version.

Leave out the child's surname, the name of their school or nursery, the street or town, and the full date of birth. A first name and an age on their own are low risk. Together with a surname and a birth date they are the details used to answer security questions and build fake identities. Many parents also choose not to post a child's real name at all, and use a nickname in the public version.

Free videos carry a watermark, which does not matter for a family showing. If you want a clean copy to keep, a one-off payment gives you a clean export of that one project.

Watching it together

For small children, a birthday video is best as a shared moment rather than something handed over on a tablet. Play it on the television at the party, or at breakfast on the day, with the family watching. Health bodies such as the World Health Organization recommend no more than an hour of screen time a day for children aged two to four, with less being better, and watching together rather than alone. A ninety-second video watched three times on the sofa fits easily inside that.

If they love it, you have the start of a tradition. Next year, write a sequel: the same animals, one year older, a new small problem. If your child is curious about how things work, the same approach makes a short science video for kids, and for the youngest children there is a guide to nursery rhyme videos.

Common questions

How long should a birthday video for a young child be? One to two minutes. Under-fives rarely sit still for longer, and a short video they ask to see again is better than a long one they wander away from.

Can I put a photo of my child in it? The simplest approach is to describe them in words and let them appear as a drawn character, or not appear at all and be the voice in the story. A drawn video can be shown at the end alongside a real photo slideshow if you want both.

Can I make it in another language for grandparents? Yes. Narration can be generated in other languages, including Hindi and Spanish. Make the video once, duplicate the project, and switch the narration language for the second copy.

Can I add the Happy Birthday song? openCanviz makes narrated drawn videos, not music. The simplest option is to end the story on 'happy birthday' and then sing it together in the room, which most children prefer anyway.