Planning a children’s party is all about great ideas. So take advantage of the list that I have prepared below! Be sure to check out all ages, as many of the tips will work for any children’s party!
1st birthday
1) Popular Themes for Children’s Parties: Elmo, Farm Animals, Abby Caddaby, One Is Fun, Lady Bug
2) Bubble Machine at Live Entertainment Venue – Little kids love bubbles.
3) Keep the party short. 1 1/2 hours is the maximum for a children’s party at this age.
4) If there are only babies at the party, then they can’t play party games, but adults can have a couple of adult party games. You will make everyone laugh.
5) Of course, you will be taking lots of photos of the birthday child and the guests, but don’t forget to take photos of the decorations and the cake. It’s a good idea to take pictures of both of you before the party starts. You want evidence of all that hard work!
2nd birthday
1) Popular Kids Party Themes: Yo Gabba Gabba, Cupcake Party, Little Einstein, Circus, Unicorn
2) Music – At this age, children love music. Play popular toddler-friendly music they’ll recognize (Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog from the Mickey Mouse Club, Little Einstein’s theme song, Sesame Street) and watch the kids dance!
3) Keep the party short. 2 hours is the maximum.
4) Plan the party based on your child’s temperament. If your child is a bit shy, invite some relatives over and keep it simple. If your child is a party animal and loves the attention, invite friends and family over.
5) Play simple games like Simon Says, Ring Around the Rosie, and Duck Duck Goose.
3rd birthday
1) Popular Themes for Children’s Parties – Hot Wheels, CARs – The Movie, Backyardigans, Go Diego, Dora the Explorer
2) Get your child involved. Let her choose the theme or help make the invitations. Children at this age love to help.
3) Get the timing right: An early or mid-afternoon party is fine. In the late afternoon, children are often in a bad mood.
4) Entertainer: At this age you may want to consider live entertainment. Some good options are a puppet show, a magician, a hot air balloon, or a face painter.
5) Another great idea for a birthday party is dressing up! Children love to dress up at this age. Provide an area with old clothes where children can play. They will love this activity.
4th birthday
1) Popular themes for children’s parties: dinosaur friends, firefighter, princess party, Mickey Mouse club, Madagascar
2) Plan Ahead – Kids today have busy schedules. Between the various classes and play dates, some kids are booked months in advance. Therefore, be sure to give the parents of your child’s closest friends the date of the party well in advance.
3) Craft projects: At this age, children can take directions and participate in craft projects. Here’s a fun idea: Host an art exhibit! Provide an area with craft supplies like stickers, glitter, crayons, markers, paint (washable), glue, construction paper, pipe cleaners, and anything else they can use to create a masterpiece. Hang your artwork and have an art trial. Give each child a prize for something unique related to their art, such as best use of color, best drawing of a tree, etc.
4) Children love parades and what could be more fun than taking part in your own parade. Have the children form their own parade by providing musical instruments (drums, maracas, bells, etc.) and streamers. Have the children march around the party area singing popular children’s songs or the birthday song!
5) Children this age (actually, any age) have a lot of energy. Make sure you have enough activities planned to keep them busy.
5th birthday
1) Popular themes for children’s parties: Buzz Lightyear, Wizard of Oz, Crafts Party, Pirate Party, Scooby Doo
2) Since your child is at school, now you can plan a celebration at school and a party at home.
3) For a school party, bring cupcakes (note that some schools only allow store-bought foods). Distribute a small goodie bag to each child containing candy and a small toy.
4) For a house party, have the children make jewelry out of pasta. Have the children paint pasta (any pasta with a hole will work). When it’s dry, they can thread yarn through the paste and use it!
5) Be sure to get your child’s input when it comes to planning the party. At this age, his son will be delighted to see his ideas incorporated into the party.
6th birthday
1) Popular Kids Party Themes: Gymnastics, Karate, Cheer Party, Nascar, Space Mission Party
2) At this age, you may want to consider a kids’ party just for boys or just for girls. After the age of 5, girls often want to do different activities than boys. It’s not necessary to have a gender-specific party, but it can make planning a bit easier.
3) At this age, you may want to consider having a destination children’s party. Kids love parties in fun places like indoor playgrounds, gymnastics studios, karate studios, or Build a Bear.
4) If you are having a children’s party at home and the weather is permitting, consider renting a party, such as a bouncy house or ball pit. Children this age can spend hours jumping or playing in a ball pit.
5) Party games are, of course, a scavenger hunt, hot potatoes, musical chairs, or a relay race. Check out these games too:
7th birthday
1) Popular themes for children’s parties: pajama party, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, tea party
2) A 7th birthday party seems to mark a milestone in the maturity of children; they can no longer be seen as babies. So, if you are going to have a big celebration, this is the birthday to do it. Before 7 they are too young to really appreciate it, but this year they will.
3) Consider having a girls slumber party. Provide activities like makeovers, getting her nails done, or playing with Barbie. Let them eat junk food and watch a tween movie.
4) For the guys, consider having a superhero party. Have guests dress up as their favorite superhero and provide activities based on Spiderman, Batman, Superman, etc.
5) Party rentals are always a hit, like the bounce house, ball pit, pony rental, or a mini putt putt course.
8th birthday
1) Popular Themes for Children’s Parties: Bowling, Barbie, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Skateboard
2) This is the only age when you can plan a party in the shape of eight! Make a figure-eight cake: Take 2 round cakes and cut out the center with a glass (frozen cakes work best). Put the 2 cakes together to form a figure eight. Host the party at a skating rink where kids can practice figure skating.
3) A destination party is also a good idea at this age. Consider American Girl, Dave and Busters, or Bowling.
4) Host a craft party. Provide all kinds of crafts for children to do, it can be as simple as building with clay or Legos or painting pictures to make jewelry and build models. Have several different activities so that children can move. Make sure you have help with supervision, it can get hectic.
5) Remember to be enthusiastic about each activity and put on lots of music. Their enthusiasm will get the kids excited about any activity and music always cheers them up!
ninth birthday
1) Popular Themes for Children’s Parties: Star Wars, Glamor Girls, Hawaiian Luau, Harry Potter, Transformers
2) If you have a budding cowboy or girl, try a horse rally party. Provide the kids with bandanas or cowboy hats when they arrive, serve Western food like BBQ chicken or Western-style burgers. Have a pony ride at home or, if possible, take the kids to a stable.
3) Here are some unique ideas for live entertainment: cartoonist, karaoke, a waterslide, hip hop or country singer, costumed characters, kid’s comedian, impersonator (like a Hannah Montana impersonator), temporary tattoo artist ( ask parents first), ventriloquist, airbrushed t-shirt artist, live animals.
4) Cupcake decorating is a fun activity for children. Provide pre-baked cupcakes along with toppings such as frosting (a couple of different flavors), sprinkles, candy, and writing gel. Let the kids decorate the cupcakes and then they’ll eat their creations!
5) Girls love to play grown up at this age, so throw a tea party for the girls. Find a place that has tea time or have it at your house. Tell the girls on the invitation to dress up and then serve tea and snacks with the cut crust. Talk about the ritual behind drinking tea, like holding up your little finger!
10th birthday
1) Popular themes for children’s parties: Hanah Montana, Twighligt, Wizards of Waverly Place, American Idol, Jonas
2) This is an ideal age to celebrate your child’s birthday at an amusement park. Invite some friends. Children will be old or tall enough to ride many of the rides. And most kids have probably already experienced an amusement park and know what to expect.
3) Plan a chocolate party. What kid doesn’t love chocolate? A chocolate party is easy to plan because everything is chocolate, like chocolate birthday cake, chocolate, favors, chocolate treats, chocolate fondue, or even a chocolate fountain.
4) A great place to get favors for girls this age is Claires or any similar accessory store. You can choose tons of inexpensive accessories such as clips, brooches, and jewelry.
5) Plan a girly party for your daughter. A girly party would involve manicures and pedicures along with snacks and a fun girly movie like Princess Diaries. Have a few games or playtime with Barbie and her daughter will love it!
