Birthday Parties. We parents have a love-hate relationship with birthday parties, don’t we? Keep reading for plenty of birthday party ideas for kids!
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Why party themes?
With five kids of my own, I have a lot of parties to plan and throw each year! Since my kids insist on growing older even though I tell them over and over that they don’t need to grow up anymore (such disobedient children, I tell ya!), I decided to embrace the idea of birthday parties.
As with many large families, we live on a tight budget. We cannot throw elaborate parties at fancy locations. All of our parties take place in our home. Because we can’t do what many of my kids’ friends do for parties (think bounce houses, skating rinks, etc.), I try to make staying at home fun by going all out with a theme.
My kids love thinking about and choosing a theme for their party each year. After they decide (with some guidance from me), we scroll through Pinterest or think of ideas of food, games, activities, and decorations to go along with the theme. They love getting to help plan, and I enjoy getting to be creative.
What do you do at the party?
As a believer in structure as well as fun, I always plan a big activity or two for the kids. Sometimes it’s a game; sometimes it’s a craft; sometimes it’s both. That way the kids aren’t quite running crazy the whole time. Though I will say that there is nothing like a good run to burn off some of that cake and ice cream!
A craft serves as the main thing sent home in goodie bags. I love this because it fills time at the party, gives the kids something a bit more meaningful to take home than typical goodie bag fare, and actually means less I have to buy.
I also love to come up with food ideas to match the theme. Kids love to use their imaginations and eat dragon poop or magic wands or horse feed at birthday parties. We have some of the most fun planning and putting together neat food combinations/names to go with whatever theme my kids have chosen for their party. The options are almost limitless for the things you can come up with!
Birthday Party Ideas for Kids
Some of my kids’ best loved and successful birthday party themes have been:
- dragons*
- circus*
- Hawaiian/tropical*
- fairies
- horses*
- science
- under the sea
- safari
- flower garden
- cookies
- polka dots
- chocolate
- some Disney/licensed themes
- geography/earth
*I have party kits available for this theme in the Chasing Those Moments Shop. Three different options and price points available.
I mostly try to stay away from licensed themes simply because supplies are much more expensive. We often do a similar theme to a movie/character of choice and match color schemes and ideas.
Does all this planning of themes, crafts, and activities sound overwhelming? Well, I have some exciting news!
Birthday Party Theme Kits!
Ok, now for the big reveal! I’m so excited to announce some all-new Chasing Those Moments products!
Now in the Chasing Those Moments Shop, you will be able to purchase ready made Birthday party kits! I will do all the work for you. All you have to do is pick a theme and a package plan, freeing you up for focusing on that special birthday boy or girl as much as possible.
Each package will include plates, cups, and napkins in the color scheme of the particular theme. Also included will be theme-specific goodie bags and stuffers and decorations. There will even be packs with ready made crafts, including directions and supplies! While I cannot send the prepped food in a box (I know, I know….it would be great if I could!), I will provide some food and activity/game ideas for your convenience.
Right now I have just a few theme kits available for purchase. More are being added all the time so keep checking back!
For a list of the different birthday party packages available, click each link below:
And, of course, each package can be purchased here in the Chasing Those Moments Shop.
There are so many more activity ideas on the Activities page. And I have lots of cool downloadable products for your family too! See the posts The Jesse Tree and Holy Week Activities for some great holiday-themed ideas.
I’m always looking for new themes to offer my kids for their parties. What have some of your most successful party themes been? Do you have any tried-and-true ways to help make party-throwing as stress-free as possible?
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