Birthday parties, though important and wonderfully fun, do not have to be expensive and complicated extravaganzas…not if you exercise a little imagination and ingenuity. The simplest of themes can, with a little creativity, become an exciting event that will “wow” your child. Hey, you may even “wow” yourself with your own untapped originality!
Here are some simple party theme ideas to get your creative juices flowing…
Little Girls Princess Ball
Is your daughter a Cinderella, a Belle, an Ariel, a Jasmine, an Aurora? Well, of all days in the year, her birthday is the day her true “princess” should shine through. Either make or help her find a princess dress in the style she likes best. Arrange her hair dramatically – as if she really were on her way to the ball. Find an inexpensive costume tiara and heels (perhaps also a scepter and jewelry set) covered in dazzling gems. For her guests, make tall, pointed princess hats out of construction paper – complete with a strip of gauzy material attached at the top and flowing down. If there happen to be princes present, you can easily find metallic painted paper crowns at a local party supply or craft store. Decorate the table with all things that sparkle and glitter. (Those glass paperweights shaped like gemstones would be a nice touch, but be sure to place them at the middle of the table so that the hands of little princes can’t easily reach them to hurl them at other princes!)
Fairy Garden Party
Is your child such a lover of nature – always flitting from flower to flower in your yard, drinking in the fragrance – that you sometimes wonder if she is really a fairy? Does she love Tinker-Bell and wish for a pouch full of pixie dust? Then I think a garden party for your little fairy is perfectly in order. The effect can be created both outside and inside, entirely dependent upon the weather. Cover the tables with gauzy fabrics in springtime colors. As with the tea party, strew the tabletops with flower petals, but, in this case, also add a touch of gold glitter to represent pixie dust. Make or find wings for your little fairy and her pixie guests. Make flower chains for party hats and stick them in their hair. If a little elf (or a little Lost Boy, if you run with the Tinker-Bell idea) is present, a pointed party hat in a coordinating color should work fine for him. Give your little fairies homemade magic wands and your little elves (or Lost Boys) magic swords for defending the fairy kingdom. By the time the party is over, there’s no telling what sort of stories their imaginations will have written.
Tea Party
I don’t think I’ve ever run into a little girl who didn’t love a good tea party. For this, you could bake shortbread cookies and have tea cake instead of a large bakery cake. Peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches shaped into crust-less, dainty triangles are always a hit. Just make sure whatever you serve is eaten from the “finest” of china tea sets. Cover the table in an inexpensive lace tablecloth or in a combination of solid and sheer tablecloths in fresh spring colors. Arrange a centerpiece of your child’s favorite flowers – fresh picked or silk – and strew some petals across the table. Find or make special tea party hats for your child and her guests – complete with all the frills, flowers, and sparkles they can possibly hold. Some dainty little gloves to match would be an excellent touch. Also, if your daughter is a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you could turn the occasion into a Mad Tea Party – complete with a Mad Hatter and a March Hare. This can be done very inexpensively, too, if you can trick…er…I mean find a family member or friend to play the parts well.
Little Boys Knights in Shining Armor
Depending on the age of your little boys, they may or may not be thrilled about the idea of rescuing “damsels in distress.” But, as definite “little boys”, they’ll be hard pressed not to glory in thoughts of valiant swordplay, dragon slaying, daring jousts, bow-and-arrow contests – genuine King Arthur/Robin Hood stuff.
Swords and shields for your little knights can easily be made out of cardboard and shiny aluminum foil. Print out a traditional “coat of arms” symbol or the quintessential lion passant of European heraldry, and tape it to the front of your homemade shields for added flair. “Knight” your child and his guests with one of your homemade swords. For example, if your child’s name is John and you live on Lakeshore Drive, dub him “Sir John of Lakeshore.” Do the same sort of thing for all the other guests. If this party is not “knights only”, then dub all the little girls “ladies” (e.g. Lady Alicia Westbrook) and make them princess hats as described above. Depending on their personalities, they’ll either want to be locked away in a tower and rescued or to help fight off dragons. Let your imagination really run wild with this one!
Pirate Party
Is your little boy a fan of pirates (the real thing, not the baseball team)? Well, just think “Captain Hook” and you’ll have no trouble planning this party. Send your child on a treasure hunt for his presents. Have someone dress up like a pirate and give your little boy an “X-marks-the-spot” map leading right to his treasures. (Maybe make up a mysterious tale to go along with it – of sword fights and robbery, mutiny and shipwreck. You could really go all out here!) Decorate your child’s cake with those chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Cover the tables with the same coins and strings of pearl or gem-like beads. Make pirate skull-and-crossbones hats out of construction paper instead of buying party hats. (Maybe stick a special feather in the hat of the birthday boy, making him the pirate captain). Some other ideas could be homemade cardboard swords and hooks, cloth eye patches, maybe a stuffed parrot here and there. Again, just think of old Jas. Hook…and you’ll do just fine!
Mad Scientist Party
Do you have a little Dr. Frankenstein on your hands? Well, channel that “creative energy” into something wholesome…like a birthday party! Find an inexpensive costume lab coat to fit your child. Buy some brightly colored sports drinks and pour them up into different containers (maybe things that resemble beakers or test tubes…like canning jars of various sizes.) These will be the mad scientist’s “chemicals”…but they’ll be perfectly safe. You can also do some very intriguing things with molded gelatin…depending on how “imaginative” you want to be. At some point during the party, you could have a “real” mad scientist come around – dressed in the quintessential stained lab coat, with frizzy hair, and enormous glasses – to do some simple experiments. (They could be things like vinegar and baking soda or Diet Coke and Mentos…simple things that will put a big smile on a little boy’s face.)
Little Girls and Little Boys Costume Party
It doesn’t have to be Halloween for you to throw a grand masquerade. Kids love to play pretend, so this theme is a sure-fire hit at any time of the year. Let the kids dress up as their favorite characters – Cinderella, Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Jack Sparrow, etc., etc., etc. (Discreetly discuss parameters with the parents, however, because you might not want another child coming dressed as something out of a horror movie your children have never seen. Birthdays and nightmares should never go together!) If you want, you can make or buy masquerade masks for the children and hand them out when the party starts. Make sure the ones for the birthday girl and/or boy stand out from the rest – more sparkles, more feathers, something to make them extra special.
Candy-Land Party
Every child loves candy. As a matter of fact, most parents love candy! You generally can’t go wrong with it, and making it the theme of an entire birthday party – like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Room – is just a delightful thought. To decorate, buy inexpensive licorice whips, candy sticks, and hard candies, and display them in canning jars of various sizes around the room and on the tables. Use plates, napkins, cups, and tablecloths in bright colors to continue the candy motif. Strew the table with bits of rainbow-colored confetti.
If you have time to get really creative, you can make giant lollipops out of balloons and wrapping paper tubes. Paint the wrapping paper tubes white for the lollipop stick (usually about two coats of paint). Then blow up the balloons and tie off the end. Attach a length of ribbon (a few inches longer than the tube) to the balloon, tie it to a small weight, and drop it through the wrapping paper tube. Cut the ribbon free of the weight and tape the end to the inside of the tube. Wrap the balloon in a 3′ x 4′ square of cellophane, and you have an enormous (and surprisingly economical) jaw-dropping lollipop!
Mystery Party
Have you got a little aspiring Sherlock Holmes, Frank/Joe Hardy, or Nancy Drew on your hands? Then throw a baffling mystery party for his/her birthday! Clothe your little sleuth after the fashion of his/her choice – complete with flashlight and magnifying glass, of course. Decorate the tablecloth with handprints, footprints, fingerprints, and question marks either printed out and taped on, or stamped onto the fabric. Come up with a mystery for your child to solve – perhaps leading them to all of their presents or to a very special one you’ve set aside. Let the other party guests hold clues to the mystery, and let your child “question” the “suspects” to find out what they know. Maybe leave a trail of construction paper footprints from Clue A to Clue B. Also, wrap the present(s) enigmatically – as in multiple “nesting” boxes. This will not only increase birthday anticipation and excitement, but it will also encourage your child to think and increase that precious imagination.