Ideas For Birthday Party

It’s time once again to come up with a birthday party theme for your child. But what this time? Knives and swords? No. How about a lint and diaper theme? No, maybe next year. I got it! A TV birthday party theme, where everyone can dress up as their favorite television character!

Yep, let’s do it. I’ll pretend that we’re both parents, and I’ll speak to you as if I were in charge. (because, actually, if you knew me, you’d know what a control freak I am, and once you got past the initial hatred you’d feel toward me, we’d settle into a very dominating friendship on my part. So from my perspective, I don’t have to stretch too much to play this character.)

Speaking of characters, I think this will be a fairly easy theme to produce. Just make sure you send out the invitations at least a month before the actual date. That’ll give parents the time to not only buy or make the costume, but time to resent you for making them have to do this. If you sent the invitations out FIVE weeks early, then they can use that last week to reconcile their resentment toward you, at least enough to pretend to like you when they show up.

There are easy characters to pick, of course. If you like Conan O’Brien, just throw on a suit and borrow James’s’s’s’s’s Giant Peach to use for your head. Or if you plan to be someone from a show your child likes, like Carly from iCarly, just have her layer her clothes, throw on a wig, and get that remote control they use on the show. They sell it in the toy aisles at your local Community-Killing Mart.

Cut out some cardboard televisions and put them all over the house. Put a sign that says “TV-G” over the door to let the parents know that you’re really funny and witty.

For music, it’s easy enough to find soundtracks to television shows. You can sing the Cheers theme as parents walk in, then switch to the Growing Pains anthem as they slowly back away from you, frightened. So let’s do it! Let’s get together and have a TV birthday party theme! I get to be the Smoke Monster.

This year, do something cool for your little guy for his birthday party, and get the neighbors involved a little. I seriously believe that having a music birthday party theme for junior is a great idea that will be a blast.

Here’s how I would do it: when you send out the invitations, make sure to ask the kids to bring their favorite CD to the party. What you can do is have them take turns playing the CD in the background while you play games, and they can tell everyone who the artist is and why they enjoy that music above all others. I think it’s a good way to expose the youngsters to other music that they might not have heard in their homes.

Get some cardboard and cut out musical notes and hang them from the ceiling. If you can get your hands on a phonograph, a tape player, or things like that from the days or yore, you can give the kids a little lesson on the evolution of musical players.

If you have a video game system, maybe you could try to find that dancing game where the kids dance on a mat. Or better yet, get Guitar Hero or Rock Band and get everyone to play it.

If it’s a nighttime party and it’s warm out, invite the parents over, too. Have a bonfire in the backyard, and ask the adults and kids to bring musical instruments. Some can play guitars while others sing, and it could be a really good way to get to know the parents of the kids in the class. Everybody likes a bonfire!

I suppose it would be a good idea to have little party favors, too. How about just burning a copy of everyone’s favorite music for everyone else? Sure, it may take a while, but you don’t necessarily have to do it all by yourself; you can ask another parent for help. Just make sure you label each one, so the other parents know what their kids are listening to!

Have a blast!

You’ve heard of television birthday party themes, and you’ve heard of cartoon themes. But I’m going out on a wild and crazy limb here by suggesting something bold and brave for your child this year: a movie birthday party theme. That’s right, there’s a reason they call me The Inventor. And not just the doctors watching me right now. There are more.

Let’s get to it. Send out the invitations to the parents, and watch them lose their minds with excitement, knowing they get to dress up and come over to your house. It’s especially…um…special because you’re new in the neighborhood, and having a movie birthday party theme is such a normal thing to do. You’ll fit right in.

One way to make the party really cool would be to cut out a bunch of cardboard…um…cutouts (why does that keep happening?) of things you find in movies or that make you think of movies. You could make a big thumb (Roger Ebert). You could make that thing that directors snap when they say, “Action!”. I don’t know what it’s called, and I’m far too lazy to have to remove my hands from the keyboard and click something. Have some chairs around the house that look like director’s chairs. Try and get a few movie posters and put them up around the house; you can usually find them really cheap at some of the local movie stores that are clearly ready to shut their doors.

The dressing up will actually be fun, though. You can pretend you’re Robert DeNiro by wearing a suit and putting a mole on your cheek. Your kids can dress up as Thing One and Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat.

Themes at birthday parties might seem like a hassle, and sure, they sort of ARE. But it IS your child, and you might actually be trying to make friends in your community. Going out of your way to do something “creative” for the party might just be a cool thing, and for sure your kids will think it’s fun.

Action!

If you have a son and he’s nine or ten years old, there’s a good chance he likes sports. And hey, basketball is a sport, right? So this year, when he turns eleven, why not give him a basketball birthday party theme? I would, if I were you. And clearly, I know a lot: how could I have opened up Microsoft Word and typed these words if I wasn’t registered with Mensa.

So here’s how we’re going to do it: we’ll send out all the invitations a few weeks in advance, telling the parents that the party will have a basketball “theme”…hm…should we really call it a theme, or should we just say that we’re going to be playing basketball? Let’s say “theme”; that way, the parents will at least know that you know that word.

Plus, we’re going to try and print off pictures of some of the all-time greats: let’s print off some good shots of guys like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Wilt Chamberlain. So we have a few guys who dominated in the 80s, and then Wilt Chamberlain. Was he in the 60s? Whenever it was, it’s a good conversation piece, and you can educate your kids a little on some of the past. (remember to find out when Wilt played before the party!)

Try and set up some lines in front of and around your basketball hoop, just like in “real” basketball. Try and come up with some team names that the kids will think are funny. A really cool thing would be if you could find a referee shirt and wear it as you greet the adults at the door. They’ll really get a feel for what the party is about.

Then when it comes time for playing the actual game, grab that whistle and BE the referee. Maybe your house can be the official place to play on the block!

It’s that time of year again: time for the World Series! And lucky you, being a parent with a child having a birthday around the same time. Well, have I got an idea for you. And it’s FREE. Free like free kittens. How about you have a baseball birthday party theme this year, and give your neighbors and PTA members a reason to stop calling the police on you? Let’s rock.

Baseballs aren’t really that expensive, but I’m not sure you want a bunch of crazed boys in your backyard with bats and balls; let’s go the Wiffle route, shall we? Wiffle bats and balls are REALLY cheap, and just as fun – if not MORE – than playing regular baseball.

If you think I’m just telling you to play Wiffle Ball, then you’re wrong. You’re SO wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I almost feel like not even continuing this article. How DARE you? You’ve insulted me, and I demand an apology. What’s that? That’s what I thought. I forgive you.

Ask all the kids to wear their favorite jerseys to the party, and ask the parents to come, too. If anyone shows up with a Barry Bonds shirt, though, politely ask him and his over-sized heat to “please exit”. We don’t need “those people” here. Asterisk.

Pop in some old World Series games. You know, the ones beFORE we knew how spoiled rotten and juiced up the players were. Those were they days. Put in the ’87 Twins vs. Cardinals series and watch Ozzie Smith do flips on his way out to shortstop. The kids will love to see stuff like that, since players really don’t do that sort of thing anymore.

More on that: do NOT hand out syringes. That’s just weird, and I don’t think other parents would appreciate it. Unless Mark McGwire lives on your block. But let’s not talk about the past; that’s not why I’m here.

I’m HERE to motivate you to have a baseball birthday party theme, remember?? Stop getting me off track!

So we have the balls and bats, and we have the World Series playing in the background. Cool. Now we’re only missing a board game in case it rains. There are PLENTY of baseball quizzes and card games, in case you can’t find an actual BOARD game dedicated to it.

If it succeeds, get together again with everyone and play more ball!

Having trouble planning another birthday party for your child? There is one sure idea that comes to mind when planning a successful birthday party. Super hero parties are a great way to keep kids happy when blowing out the candles.

Theme parties always make for a more interesting get together. Especially when they are designed after a popular idea that everyone can love. That is why using super heroes as your next party inspiration is a smart idea. Not only are they easy to shop for, but they are good role models for the kids. They are out there saving the world and fighting crime. What better way to keep the children thinking in healthy way then to teach them lessons with super heroes?

So what do you do for decorations at your next super hero party? The obvious goods to find would be the plates, napkins, and tablecloths for the table. You can even find super hero balloons and streamers. But the fun part is when you get to shop for the goody bags. You can easily find the corresponding gift bags for the kids. Maybe you want to stuff the baggies with super hero tattoos or stickers. Or maybe you will go for a super hero pencil or action figurine. The ideas are endless for the inside of a super hero goody bag. You can find all of these products online and in the comfort of your own home.

The super hero idea can work for anyone’s kids. This is a safe and easy way to liven up a party. Start planning your child’s next super hero party today.