Birthday parties are a big deal and choosing the right activity, concept and theme can be a challenge for parents who want their child’s birthday party to be the bees knees!!! So here are some ideas for themes for brilliant birthday parties for your kids and for different age birthdays…..

Best for 2-4 year olds

1/ Peppa Pig

Always a popular theme with thepetite party crowd! Little pig noses and ears are fun to wear (and easy to make!), pink balloons with piggie faces make perfect party decorations, and chocolate milk looks just like those muddy puddles Peppa loves to jump in!

2/ Trains

What child doesn’t like a choo choo?!! A train themed party is an easy and fun theme for little ones. Decorate with Thomas the Tank Engine galore, have train themed games, give the children the challenge of building one massive track in the garden and have a train themed treasure hunt! And you can give Thomas books as party favours!

3/ Winnie the pooh

Lots of scope for themed decorations for Winne the Pooh and also a great treasure hunt option here with Pooh bear riddles and rhymes! Honey flavoured cake and food, mini honey pots with drink in and an ’explore’ all go down brilliantly for little Winne the Pooh fans!

 

4/ Teddy bears picnic

This is an easy part theme and can even be a good last minute party theme! Just make sure all guests bring their favourite bear! Best done as a picnic outside but if weather isn’t on your side then an inside teddy bears picnic works just as well!

 

5/ Fairies

So much scope here for decorations and games for Fairy fans! You can easily make fairy gardens, using a few cheap items from the garden centre and children will be occupied for much of the party making their fairy garden creation!

 

 

6/ Bunnies

Bunny themes are really popular with 2 and 3 year olds.

Marshmallows can be put in a jar and labelled as ‘bunny tails’ and chocolate covered raisins cause amusement as Bunny poo!

You can create a treasure hunt with chocolate eggs.

You can also make bunny hats from white card  cut into long strips with ears and a face drawn on. The guests can then wear these throughout the party.

You can play “What’s the time Mr Fox?” with guests pretending to be bunnies and of course sing ‘sleeping bunnies’ and ‘pin the bunny tail on the bunny’.

Jelly Eggs are a great craft activity.

For a video demonstration on how to make jelly eggs see here 

Best for 5-7 year olds

7/ Dinosaur party

A dinosaur themed party is one of the most popular themes, often being requested for 4,5 and 6 year olds. From a Dinosaur treasure hunt, to fossil hunting and dinosaur crafts the scope is wide. If you want to provide Ranger Training and have a guest appearance from Greg the Disco Dancing Dinosaur for your party guests see the Dino Disco Adventure Challenge party here…..

To see a list of dinosaur themed party games go here 

8 / Fairytale parties – Princess and knights

I think it’s best to make a Princess party a more generic ‘Fairy-tale theme party, which provides greater flexibility for children to come in their favourite Fairy-tale themed costumes and you can do a wider range of games to suit all guests.

To see our ‘Fairytale themed party games go here’

9/ Superhero Party

Set out different superhero costumes, and let your guests choose their powerful persona upon arrival or have them come dressed as their favourite superhero!

There are a lot of things you can do to decorate the party area. Put up spider webs at the entrance followed by a sign saying “Spiderman Welcomes You”. Use a lot of balloons with superhero colours and hang up posters and of the most popular characters.

You can create some simple super hero capes to give each party guest as they arrive and these also double as their giveaway! Just cut the template shape from material (measure it on your little superhero) and use sticky bond to hem. You can also use iron on bond to stick a superhero flash or symbol on the cape. Make sure there is ribbon stuck onto the top so they can tie them around their neck.

If you have the space then a lot of bouncy castle companies have super hero themed bouncy castles!

10/ LEGO Party

LEGO is such an easy themed party to do as you have ready made games and activities with the vast expanse of lego you probably already own!

Organise building competitions, make Lego masks and do lego figures treasure hunt!

11/ Art Party

Ditch the nice clothes and let your kids get messy! An art party is great fun because you can have free run on activities, decorations and make it colourful and messy!

Use items like squirt guns, mega-canvases, shaving cream and paint-filled eggs, to get kids’ creative juices flowing.

Put a large board or sheet of paper on an old board up in the garden and have the guests make a large form bit of art, or just splatter it with paint!!!

Do rock painting or create these fantastic pictures for guests to take home (cheap to resource with a few bits of Perspex and squirty paint)

See the videos on how to do these activities here and you can make them part of your art party activities.

12/ Rainbow Party

A Rainbow party can have Rainbow themed snacks, decorations and of course a rainbow cake (filled with rainbow treats!)

For an instruction video on how to make an amazing Rainbow cake go here

You can also make Rainbow jelly have rainbow cookies and Rainbow fruit kebabs.

For activities have the guests make unicorn horns by making a cone from a piece of cardstock & decorating it, then hot gluing ribbon to tie under the chin to keep it on.

You could also use upside down ice cream corns as “horns”

Another fun activity is to make “unicorn food” mixture to attract unicorns – use sunflower seeds for sunny smiles, powdered sugar for energy, skittles for bright rainbows, etc.

You could create a magical treasure hunt with hoof prints as the tracks.

13/ Mermaid party

This is great for a summers party that is going to be in the garden.

Get some cheap towels and cut mermaid tail shapes from them and give each guest one as they arrive.

Get the paddling pools out, one with a slide is even better and have a splashing party with all the mermaids!!

14/  Ninja Spy

Create obstacles using chairs, tables, and ladders for the kids to climb, jump and crawl through in order to be Ninja’s! Time each person and award winners for fastest, most agile etc.

Make spy masks and do a spy themed treasure hunt with clues to puzzle out in order to crack the code and find the treasure!

 

15/ Space theme

A space themed party is great fun and there are lots of ideas for decorations and making space theme activities.

If you want Buzz the Astronaut to visit your space themed party and run his intergalactic adventure challenge with moon landing themed puzzles and star trekking music then see here.

Best for 8-10 year olds

16 / Spa Party

Who wouldn’t want to celebrate their birthday with a full spa treatment? Drop cucumber slices in water, offer soft and cozy robes and slippers and twirl their hair up in a towel for a party of pampering that includes manicures, pedicures, and facial masks.

You can have someone come and do nails, hair and make-up or do it yourself if you are on a budget.

If budget isn’t an issue then you can even hire a spa bath for your garden for the day!

17/ Baking Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could make biscuits, cupcakes, decorate cupcakes or cookies or even get them to design their own flavours!

Keep it simple by setting out different coloured icings and sprinkles and watch what crafty creations they cook up!

Or for the older or more ambitious, weigh out ingredients for each child and let them create their cakes or biscuits from scratch.

Another fun activity is to buy a batch of plain (plastic) aprons and let them decorate their own and they can take these home or create cardboard chef hats which they can colour in and put their names on!

18 / Star Wars

Young Jedi love a Star wars themed party and with a wealth of decorations you can dress the area well and get the kids to make their own light sabers out of swimming noodles and give them as part of a ‘Jedi training workshop’

 

19/ Circus theme

The Greatest Showman has been such a phenomenon and so popular with kids and adults alike. As PT Barnham said “the noblest art is that of making others happy”

What better than a circus themed party? This doesn’t have to be clowns and such like.

Festival type decorations, bunting and circus toys are enough for younger children. A few spinning plates, gymnastics ribbons and big hoops are enough o keep most children entertained for a long time!

For older children and if budget isn’t an issue hire a fire eater or circus entertainer!

To learn about our amazing Wonderstars circus performers and have an interactive storytelling and circus skills party see here 

20/ Harry potter or Wizard themed party

One of our most popular party themes is our Wizard theme and with Harry Potter being such a hit with so many kids, this theme is bound to come up at some point!!

There are loads of decorations you can do from jars filled with potion ingredients and bug sweets.

Create brooms from Swimming noodles (those old swimming noddle again sure do come in useful!) and do a broomstick riding workshop.

You can make slime for a craft activity. To see how to make the perfect slime see this video here.

To see what our Magic Merlin does at the Hocus Pocus school of Wizardry party see here

21/ Pyjama party

The last one on our list is really the simplest and often the most enjoyed by kids!! A Pyjama party sleepover!! One word of advice is limit the amount of kids (unless you can handle having no sleep all night!!)

Set up an area for sleeping, with mattresses on the floor, loads of blankets and cosy. Hang fairy lights and make it feel cosy and magical. Set up a TV or projector for a movie and serve hot dogs, popcorn and hot chocolate.

Just be prepared to be tired the next day!! These indoor tents are gorgeous for this type of party

I hope you’ve had some ideas here for party themes for your next great kids birthday party; whether you are running the party yourself as a DIY party on a budget or are bringing in party entertainers or party packages at your home or in a hired venue, then there should be an idea or two here to inspire you!

If you would like help with your birthday party planning or entertainment then please contact us.

To see information on our birthday party entertainment packages go here.