Classic Kids’ Birthday Party Themes

Birthday parties are about creating great memories for both children and parents. However, as a parent, you may find it stressful figuring out what to do to make your child’s day extra special. Thankfully, there are lots of classic kids’ party themes that are tried and tested successes. Check out our list of classic party themes to make celebrating your child’s birthday easy and extra special.

Circus

A circus-themed party offers lots of opportunities for kids to play games and enjoy a carnival atmosphere. Our tips for this theme include:

• Choosing an invitation that looks like a ticket, guaranteeing entry to a great circus show.
  
  
• Creating a circus atmosphere by draping red and white streamers from the ceiling. Add some final touches with stuffed animals popular at the circus, like lions, bears and monkeys.
  
  
• Having plenty of balloon decorations that double as party favours for guests.
  
  
• Serving freshly popped popcorn, hot dogs and hamburgersfor traditional circus fare. Have decorated cupcakes, ice cream in cones, fairy floss or candy apples for dessert, along with the birthday cake too.
  
  
• Organising a magician or clown to entertain children. Or for a more budget-friendly option, provide costumes and props for kids to put on their own show and entertain their friends.

Wizard and witches

All kids love magic and a party that lets them experience a little magic is guaranteed to become one of their all-time favourite memories. There are lots of ways you can this party theme, but our top suggestions are to:

• Repurpose Halloween decorations for your theme. Black cats, witches’ hats, spooky castles and bubbling cauldrons all perfectly fit the theme. And if your child is a fan of a specific wizarding world, like Harry Potter or the Wizard of Oz, add a few decorations that reflect this. For instance, you could include cut-outs of your child’s favourite characters.
  
  
• Welcome children to the party by gifting them with a wizard or witch hat and their very own magic wand. You can easily purchase these or make them yourself with some cardboard and ingenuity.
  
  
• Serve food that’s a little spooky, like chocolate crackle spiders and red frogs in jelly ponds. For drinks, make them look like colour changing potions by using ice cubes made from different colour juices.
  
  
• Hire a party magician to perform and wow kids with real magic.

Outer space

If your kid can’t get enough of the world beyond the stars, then organise an outer space party for them. Our top tips are to:

• Organise a trip to the local planetarium to see a show that’s out of this world. Or, you can have your party in the late afternoon and early evening so kids can stargaze.
  
  
• Decorate with glow-in-the-dark stars and planets. Make some papier-mâché planets to dangle from the ceiling and add spaceships and aliens too.
  
  
• Encourage kids to create their own constellations and stories for them or teach them about any constellations you know.
  
  
• Serve food to fit the theme, like cheese straight from the moon (Swiss cheese is perfect with all its holes) and cupcakes made to look like planets. Cut fruit into star shapes for a healthy stellar snack.

Under the sea party

For kids that love the beach and dream of swimming with dolphin, throw them an under the sea party. You can easily do this by:

• Decorating with an ocean theme. You’ll need some blue backdrops, green seaweed and some fish friends to swim about. You can use paper decorations or stuff animals. It can help to hang up a net to suspend these creatures from.
  
  
• Having sea-themed games to play. For instance, kids can test their fishing skills using magnets or you can hold a pretend pirate ship battle with water balloons.
  
  
• Serving fish and chips, along with clam shell cookies, to keep all underwater explorers full.
  
  
• Arranging a visit from a mermaid or pirate to entertain all the kids.

Wild west party

If your kid loves adventure and action, then a wild west party can be a great idea. Set your party up by:

• Decorating with haybales and wanted posters of all the guests.
  
  
• Providing all guests with a cowboy hat and bandana to look the part.
  
  
• Organising fun, themed games to play like horseshoe throwing or tossing table tennis balls at cans to knock them over.
  
  
• Hiring a pony to give every child the experience of being a cowboy or cowgirl.
  
  
• Serving food that will keep them full on the trail, like hamburgers, pulled pork and bean salad. Provide traditional wild west drinks like sarsaparilla and ginger ale too.

Princess party

For any kids that love the magic of royalty, a princess party is the perfect theme. To pull this theme off, try:

• Encouraging kids to come in their best clothes. Provide them with a royal crown or tiara when they arrive. Don’t forget to announce their arrival to other guests so everyone can clap and cheer as they enter.
  
  
• Decorating your home to look like a royal palace. Use lots of white, gold and pink decorations. If your child has a favourite princess story or character, add elements from this story to the decorations too, like a magical conch for Ariel or lots of books for Belle.
  
  
• Serving a high tea menu. This can include finger sandwiches, small cakes and lots of lemonade.
  
  
• Hiring a princess entertainer to talk about their royal life and to be a special guest.

Conclusion

Having a theme can make planning your child’s birthday party easier. Choose something that your child has a strong interest in and watch as their face lights up on the day. Don’t forget to ask friends and family for help organising it all.