Children’s birthday parties are “big business” these days. Most of the popular local birthday party spots do not come cheap.
We have held children’s birthday parties at the local pizza and games restaurant, an indoor jumping facility, a gymnastics center, and other venues. These parties have ranged in price up to $250 dollars. The most expensive children’s party we held cost more than expected due to add on costs that were not explained up front. As it turned out, was not our son’s favorite party.
If you ask our son what his favorite birthday party was, he will tell you it was his “Superheroes Party.” We have actually had two of these children’s birthday parties using variations of the theme.
One Superheroes Party that we held was run by a local vendor who provides characters for themed children’s birthday parties as well as someone to help the hostess. They facilitated two games and did “Superheroes-training” with the children. In the training, they taught the children how to be safe and responsible. This company did a wonderful job and the children had a lot of fun. One of the guests told me it was the best party he had ever been to. Including the cake which was store-bought, we spent a little over a hundred dollars.
We also had a Superheroes Party at our home. We had set a budget and decided not to spend as much as in past years. It turned out to be a lot of fun and made a great choice for a children’s birthday party.
Invitations Consider making inexpensive invitations on your home computer using decorative stationary or card stock. Can your little one draw his favorite superhero? Perfect! Scan the picture and include it as a part of the invitation.
Be sure to use verbiage that includes the girls as well as boys, if you are having a coed party. Our invitations started out saying, “Calling all Superheroes one and all; come over to Cam’s house to have a ball. Superman, Spiderman, and Wonder-Woman too, Kim Possible and the Hulk we hope to see you.” On the invitation, I explained that the child was to come as a superhero either in costume or wearing pajamas. Trust me; the girls had as much fun as the boys with this children’s birthday party theme!
Once your birthday invitations are done, consider handing them out to save on postage (if your school allows) but be sure to do so in a discreet fashion to make sure no feelings are hurt.
Decorations Our son loves Spiderman and Power Rangers. During the weeks leading up to the party, he helped me make decorations. He had fun coloring pictures from his coloring books and helping paint a “Happy Birthday” banner. We also displayed pictures of him in various superhero costumes around the party room.
His favorite decoration was a building we made for his toy Spiderman to climb. For this, you will need a tall, rectangular box and sharp scissors or an exacto-knife. Carefully carve out windows around the box as well as two doorways. Your child can color or paint the building black or grey, and even make spider-webs out of pipe cleaners or mesh to attach to it. Be sure to include a plastic toy Spiderman and attach him to resemble Spidey himself climbing up the wall.
You can also use tons of plain balloons along with one large Mylar balloon in a bouquet as well as streamers in primary colors. As far as plates, napkins and utensils check your local party store for clearance items. For a Superheroes Party, you can mix up the superheroes used for decorations. Many party stores clear out an old design and bring in new ones on a regular basis. Be sure to include some napkins or plates in a “female superhero” theme if girls are invited.
Games Simple games can be so much fun for young children at birthday parties. Although many children’s parties include lots of lights, noise and plenty of “pomp and circumstance,” the age-old tradition of simple party games is still a hit. The key is to have several activities planned and have one on-going activity so that those who do not participate in the current game can be entertained. We had a long table with crayons, stickers, coloring pages and construction paper to keep little artists busy. We also had a “dough-station” where the kiddos could play with the colored dough.
Game ideas include tug-of-war, musical chairs using superhero themed music, and pin the web on Spidey. For the last, use a large print-out of Spiderman’s head and a spider-web picture with double-sided tape. Be sure to have a few of those on hand should the tape stop working. If you are able to have the birthday party outside, consider also having kick-balls and other balls out for the children to play with.
Cake I am personally a fan of cupcakes which are much more user-friendly than cutting cake. You can make cupcakes at home either home-made or using boxed ingredients. Decorate them with white frosting and primary colored-icing. Check with your local party store for superhero-themed small plastic rings to put on top.
If you prefer to do a birthday cake, consider making it yourself instead of buying at the store. Our children love to help add ingredients and mix cake at home, and decorate it once ready. Once the frosting is spread, let the children add sprinklers in the birthday child’s favorite color or primary colors. Again, your local party store may have superhero-themed plastic cake toppers to choose from. Or, consider purchasing a small toy depicting your child’s favorite hero and put it right on top of the birthday cake before the party starts. Your child will be thrilled!
Party Favors Of course, you can fill the traditional bags with goodies and candy. Remember, this can become costly and often these toys get tossed. Consider giving out one inexpensive gift such as a small box of sidewalk chalk or plastic drink bottle with the child’s name on it. Another great idea that worked well for us, take a picture of each child while at the party. Delegate someone to print the pictures out and use acid-free adhesive to mount them to a heavy piece of card stock, trimmed to barely frame the picture. Attach a ribbon or wire in an inverted v-shape on the back and have a ready-made framed picture of the “hero” for them to take home with them, along with a lollipop or small candy.
Thank You Notes Shortly after the party, enlist the help of your child to write thank you notes. If the child is old enough, allow him to write them himself. Or, pre-print the main message and have him add “Thank you for my __________. Cameron.” We often add how glad we were that the child was able to celebrate the birthday with us.
For our Superheroes Party, I printed a picture of our son in his Superhero costume onto 8 ½ X 11 sheets of card stock at the top. Under the picture, I had typed a general thank you message. My son completed the note by thanking the gift-giver for the specific gift and signing his name. This was excellent handwriting practice for my son and other Moms complimented his thank you notes.
Things to Consider If you are having a Superheroes Party at home, plan to have enough space for the children to play. Garages work well but remember to remove items that may be unsafe. If weather permits, consider holding some of the games or other events in the yard and be sure to have plenty of adults to supervise and count heads.
If the children are over five, consider asking parents to drop the child off. Remember, if you have fifteen children you may wind up with fifteen (or more) parents as well. Take that into consideration if you plan to hold the party at home. You will also need to provide light snacks and drinks for the adults as well. Reassure parents that you will have adequate supervision and consider hiring a babysitter to help or enlist close friends or family members. As the parent drops off the child, have them sign a chart or list with cell phone numbers and emergency contact numbers, as well as list any allergies the child may have.
By all means, hide toys that you do not want touched as well as fragile home decorative items. Make your home as child-friendly as possible. Establish clear rules ahead of time if any rooms are “off limits” and make sure pets are contained to make sure they do not escape in all of the commotion.
The biggest thing to consider in this or any children’s birthday party you throw for your child is “your child.” Remember, this is his or her big day. This is not time to “keep up with the Joneses” and try to throw the most impressive shin-dig. This party is to honor your child and the glorious years he or she has spent on this earth. Involve your child in the planning and make sure he or she is having fun during the birthday party. The day of the birthday party will be hectic with last minute cleaning, preparations etc but be sure to start it off by taking your child aside and telling him or her how much you love them and how special you want the party to be.
All in all, our Superheroes Party cost well under $75 to throw and turned out to be a big hit for the birthday boy as well as his friends. We made it a “drop-off” party and the parents were delighted to have a break.
