When it comes to kid party themes, it’s easy to default to decorations featuring the cartoon character of the moment or, if you have a little girl, princesses. Always with the princesses! Not that there’s anything wrong with those themes, in theory. But if you’re getting a bit, shall we say, fatigued by the party aisle, we have 10 simple ideas that your little ones just might appreciate. Like this adorable pink gingham theme pictured above, ideal for the girly girl in your life.
Check out more pink gingham details (and printables) over at the always-genius Piggy Bank Parties.
The appeal of this old-school fishing game lies in the deceptively easy challenge of hooking your own fish. But since this is a kids’ party, the hook is actually a paper clip and the fish are (thankfully) made from plastic.
For the full tutorial, including printables, visit Mini Eco.
While we’re on nautical themes, how about a pirate party? It’s amazing how much fun kids can have with eye patches, which you can make by threading a circle of black construction paper or felt onto an elastic. And decorating’s a cinch: Just put pirate flags all over the place, like on toothpicks to create sandwich toppers.
For free skull-and-crossbones templates, visit A Creative Desktop.
Non-scary monsters need only apply to this fun theme. Here, the hostess took a basic bright palette and livened it up with a few monsters made by decorating small balloons. Tie the decorated balloon to a straw, then insert into a floral foam-filled bucket. You can disguise the foam with some of that crinkly paper gift bag filler.
Want to be everybody’s favorite hostess? Then bring on the candy, sister! Buffets of sweet treats have become a mainstay at weddings as of late and are now popping up at birthday parties as well. Simply pour candies into (non-breakable) containers, stick in large spoons and invite guests to help themselves.
Lego building blocks appeal to the kid in all of us. We guarantee that all parents in attendance will ooh and ahh over a cake festooned with one of their favorite childhood toys. And creating a similar cake isn’t too difficult: Just use clean blocks as a mold for shaping fondant.
For a seriously easy marshmallow fondant recipe, visit CakeJournal.
Don’t you love how butterflies get a pass as the official non-gross insect, just because of their pretty wings? We agree that butterflies are an enchanting motif to base your party around, especially for tweens. Put paper butterflies everywhere — strung on a garland, on chandeliers, on napkins — to create a magical atmosphere.
Learn how to make your own paper butterflies over at UK Lass in US.
Fact: Kids love zoo animals. A silly safari theme can probably take you to at least age 10 before your kiddo grows out of it, so make this your new default party theme. And who wouldn’t love these adorable animal party picks anyway? Just shape animal heads from pipe cleaners, then attach to drinking straws using hot glue. Googly eyes are mandatory.
For the easy pipe-cleaner and pom-pom crafts visit Making Friends.
Of course, this DIY robot station doesn’t involve any sort of engineering, but takes a more imaginative approach with spare boxes and craft supplies. (Cereal boxes make great robot bodies, by the way.) For the most cohesive look, paint all “components” the same hue using craft paint.
We know what you’re thinking: School party? Really? But for the pre-pre-school set, school is a very exciting event to think about. So break out the erasers, gold stars and art supplies — they’ll feel so grown-up. (And we don’t need to tell you how inexpensive the decorations will be … just raid your office supplies.)
Image credits (from top): PiggyBankParties.blogspot.com, minieco.co.uk, Ali Aitchison, Flickr.com/treasures_and_tiaras, Flickr.com/sweetbuffets, Flickr.com/snarkygurl, Flickr.com/mamadespoina, Flickr.com/srprisng, Flickr.com/treasures_and_tiaras and Flickr.com/hownowdesigns
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