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Posts Tagged ‘birthday party themes’

Themed parties are always so much fun. Everyone gets into the spirit when there’s one cohesive décor and everything works together. Before you select a theme for your child’s birthday party, read a few friendly suggestions.

• Let your child guide the theme. If they love Hershey bars, who’s to say they can’t have a Hershey chocolate themed party including a Hershey's candy bar cake? Even if you had your heart set on Strawberry Shortcake, your little lady may want baseball or soccer as her theme. Your child will love her or his party if it goes along with their tastes and likes. Put your own suggestions to bed and let your child decide (within reason).

• Suggest some ideas for your child to select from. If you know your child loves fish, ask if she wants a Nemo birthday party, a Mermaid birthday party, or a SpongeBob birthday party. She may surprise you and want a Starfish party, but guiding her along will help her to visualize what she sees as the perfect event.

• Don’t go crazy with the theme. If your son loves monkeys, go with a jungle theme and include monkeys. Don’t feel you have to have a monkey on every napkin, cup and surface that isn’t nailed down. Suggest the theme with a monkey cake, some stuffed jungle animals and maybe some cake plates that feature monkeys.

• Where you have the party will also have an impact on the theme. If you’re already having it at a kids’ place or themed restaurant, you don’t need to add much more. Maybe select a color for the plates and cups and napkins if you’re bringing them. Otherwise, just let the venue provide their normal birthday party fare and don’t step in.

• Small children have no idea what a theme is. If you’ve got one under three, they probably won’t know the difference between a Star Wars party and a Lego party. You can do either and make him happy. It’s having family and friends around—and lots of cake—that matter at the younger ages.

• Before planning a theme party for a tween or teen, ask them specifically what they want. There’s nothing more embarrassing to a young person than having a theme that’s too kiddie-like. Don’t have a Tweety birthday party for a 13 year old. Cars in general for a boy or flowers for a girl should work just fine. If they happen to love a character like Hello Kitty and are still happy to show it, then by all means, have a Hello Kitty party.

• Don’t make kids come in costume to match your theme. They may not want to get dressed up, depending on how old they are. You can suggest to any moms that you are having a themed party and if they want to dress up, it will add to the fun. Or, give out cowboy hats for a Western party or masks for a Super Hero party. Limit the dressing up to a simple item that you provide.

• No matter how good your theme is, the party needs a specific start and end time. Never leave a birthday party time open on the invitation. Writing “3:00 till ??” can mean you’ll have people there well through dinner time.

Your little superhero can leap block buildings in a single bound, is faster than a 2 ½ mile per hour speeding ride-on, stronger than flimsy plastic toys, and messier than ten normal children.  The life of a superhero is never dull – especially for his parents.  If your birthday boy has enough energy for the entire Justice League and a love for all things superhero, then why not give him a party that even Clark Kent would change into his blue tights for?  Here are some ideas for making a superhero birthday party as fantastic as all your child’s favorite characters.

Holy birthday party, Batman, it’s time to get going!  The first step in planning the party is to talk with your child about what he (or she!) would like.  Does he like a particular superhero, like Superman or Wolverine, or does he just like the overall idea of powerful beings with superhuman powers?  This will guide your planning, decorations, menu, activities, birthday gifts and cake decisions.

If your child has a particular hero in mind, the first step is to find invitations.  You can go on sites like Bonanza.com and find invitations featuring your child’s favorite characters.  You can have personalized invitations, which include your child’s name and age, party date and time, location, and RSVP phone number, printed.  These cost about $1.25 each, so they would be ideal for smaller parties.  You can always find fill-in-the-blank style invitations at party supply stores.  You can also find free, printable templates online.

A superhero party demands super decorations.  You can buy party supplies for a specific hero or a more general theme, or you could go with a less expensive option.  Instead of buying a ready-made party pack, focus your decorations around the colors that distinguish the superhero.  Superman, for instance, is bold blue, red, and gold.  Batman is dramatic black and yellow.  Buy streamers and balloons in these colors, and mix in a few character-themed Mylar balloons, which can double as party favors.

Don’t forget the bad guys.  Find pictures of the superheroes’ arch enemies online and print them as Wanted posters.

You can add to the festive atmosphere by buying a few yards of fabric in your superhero’s trademark color (red or blue always work for a generic hero).  You can cut these to size, get some clothespins, and have the kids make their own capes.  Get some construction paper or paper plates, yarn, and markers, and have them make their masks.  This helps with the ambiance as well as giving the children an activity.

Train your future superheroes with an obstacle course.  Include a play tunnel or large cardboard box with the bottom cut out for them to crawl through, painted cereal boxes to be buildings for them to leap over, a chalk or tape line as a tightrope, hula hoops as windows to be jumped into or out of, and whatever other child-friendly obstacles you can think of.  At the end, have a stuffed buddy that needs rescuing.

For the menu, freeze colored juice or water with food coloring in ice cube trays.  Serve a clear drink, like Sprite or water, and let the kids pick their own colored cubes.  You can tell them that the cubes give them superpowers.  You don’t have to plan a special menu, but make the food you do have more heroic.  Sandwiches, for instance, can be cut into bat shapes.  Cookies can be cut into diamond-shaped Superman emblems and decorated with icing or edible markers.

At last, it’s time for the cake.  You can have a baker create a superhero cake with a mold or on a sheet cake with icing, or you could tackle the project yourself.  Bake a regular sheet cake.  When it is completely cool, carve it into a diamond shape and then ice.  With some colored icing, you have a great Superman insignia.  You could also decorate a cake in superhero red, white, and blue, and buy an inexpensive package of superhero cake toppers or figurines.  The kids will love it, and it is an easy and inexpensive option for you.

A super time will be had by all when you create a superhero-themed birthday party.

More Birthday Party Ideas:

• Littlest Pet Shop Birthday Party Theme
• Thomas The Train Birthday Party Theme
• Disney Princess Birthday Party Theme
• Elmo Birthday Party Theme

I s someone you know celebrating a milestone birthday soon?  Throw them a party! There are two different ways you can celebrate - either an over the hill humorous birthday bash or a sentimental party that celebrates the life of the birthday boy or girl. When deciding what type of party to throw, consider the personality of the person because you want them to feel special on their big day!

Birthday Theme Ideas:

Memory Lane:  A sentimental birthday celebration may be your theme of choice. Feature poster boards or a slide show with photos of the birthday boy or girl throughout their lives (from birth through the present). A great idea is to send guests a blank 'scrapbook' page where they can add their own thoughts or photos of their dear friend or relative. Mention in the invitation that you would like the guest to bring photos or mementos to contribute to this one-of-a-kind memory book.

Over The Hill: If your birthday boy or girl has a great sense of humor, an over the hill themed party is entirely appropriate. Use over the hill themed invitations, decoration and tableware available at many local party supply stores or online. Decorations are usually black - black balloons, black streamers, etc. When you send out the invitations, be sure to tell guests that gag gifts are entirely appropriate. You'll be amazed at the funny ideas that people come up!  Some gag gifts include canes,  laxatives, adult sized diapers and more!  Make sure you have your camera ready for the gift opening portion of the party!

Hawaii 5-0 Party: For a 50th birthday, a Hawaii 5-0 party is a fun theme because so many party stores sell luau themed supplies which make this type of party an easy one to plan and throw. Just ask guests to dress in tropical themed attire. Be sure to have the guest of honor wear a grass skirt and lei! Decorate with blow up palm trees and colorful lanterns. Serve drinks in coconut or pineapple glasses and have tropical themed food such as pineapple-chicken kabobs, fresh fruit and blue Hawaiian drinks. And don't forget a game of Limbo!

Fabulous 50's! (or 40's or 60's !): Celebrate The Decade that the birthday boy or girl is entering! For instance if it is a 50th birthday party, have a fabulous fifties (1950's) themed party and for a 60th birthday, have a psychedelic sixties party. Ask guests to dress in decade appropriate clothing (e.g. tie dye, leisure suits, etc). Decorate with movie posters, vintage home appliances and colors associated with the particular decade. You could even play games like Hula Hoop. The most important aspect of a decade party is the music. You should have mix CD's with songs just from that decade playing. You could even consider having a Karaoke machine with songs from a particular period.

A great birthday party theme for both boys and girls is pets!   You could focus on one particular species like puppies, kittens, horses, etc or use all types of animals in your theme. You can also tie your pets or animals theme into the birthday party favors and decorations.

Below are a few games and activities that would make the day even more memorable!

Pet Adoption Set up a pet adoption center with small plush animals and let each child "adopt" one. Give each child a shoe box to create a home for their new animal. Provide colorful paper, sticky backed craft foam, craft foam flowers, glue sticks, scissors etc. The children can cover and decorate their very own pet house to take home.

Animal Make-Overs Let the kids become the pets! When the children arrive give them an animal ear headband of their choice, or let them make some of their own! You can use felt ears on a plastic headband, or use construction paper to create bunny, kitty or puppy ears. Use fake feathers if they would like a bird headband. You can complete the look by drawing whiskers and noses on the children with face paint.

Hopstacle Course Players will hop like bunnies through an obstacle course you've created with pillows, boxes, chairs etc.

Lilly Pad Hopping Like musical chairs! Make fabric or felt lily pads and place them in a circle. Play music while the kids hop from pad to pad. When the music stops everyone has to find a pad. The frog without a pad is out! Take one pad away and start again.

Pin the Tail on the . . . Monkey, Bunny (use cotton balls), puppy or kitty.