Editor’s note: For a guide to cool birthday party themes, click HERE! And for a comprehensive list of venues, click HERE!
All photos by Stylish & Hip Kids Photography!
Add personal touches to your child’s birthday party with these fun projects that you can do together before the party, or as a fun activity for guests at the party!
Tasty Treat: Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Can’t choose between ice cream cones and cupcakes? This dessert is the perfect pick! Just follow your favorite cupcake recipe and place ice cream cones upside down on top of each cupcake after baking and frosting.
Top the treats with sprinkles of your choice and add a festive wooden spoon for extra fun.
Invitations: Snail Mail Swag
Head to www.newyorkfamily.com/balloon to download our invitation and envelope templates! Customize the party info on the back with a white marker and use white string to tie around the faux knot at the bottom of the balloon.
Use our envelope template to trace on to colored paper of your choice, and repeat the process (just make it slightly smaller) with patterned paper to make the liner; use a glue stick to affix the liner to the inside of the envelope.
DIY Activity: Piñata Panache
Add flare to any fiesta by crafting your own piñata! Cut the shape of the piñata and strips for the desired width out of cardboard (try Fiskars’ Amplify Mixed Media Shears for easy cutting) and use masking tape to connect the front, back, and width strips (fill with treats before sealing).
Then, papier-mâché the body and use Post-it Notes (which are celebrating their 35th anniversary this year!) and crepe paper to create stripes of fringe, and confetti or glitter to add sparkle (we used Mod Poge to affix the confetti to the piñata). Finish the piñata off with some face details cut out of black construction paper and decorative hearts made with Fiskars’ My Funny Valentine Squeeze Punch.
Hats Off: Crafty Party Hats
You can do this project with your child prior to their party, or as an activity for guests at the party! You’ll need construction paper, a stapler or tape, glue, and embellishments.
Cut out a half circle on a sheet of paper and roll into a cone for the hat; staple or tape along the seam. For the decorations, we used Fiskars’ Star Thick Materials Punch and My Funny Valentine Squeeze Punch for the paper shapes, and a variety of ribbons, washi tape and fabric tape, rick-rack, pom-poms, and gems from Michaels. Use a glue gun for 3D decorations and a glue stick for paper decorations.
Birthday Presents: Glam Gifts
Take gift wrapping to the next level by turning it into a DIY project! Use craft paper as your base and try any combination of rubber stamps, heat embossing, ribbons, washi tape, gems, and tags (we used Fiskars’ Standard Tag Maker with BuiltIn Eyelet Setter and My Funny Valentine Squeeze Punch for the tags here) to personalize the look.
For the blue-and-green gift, the craft paper has been heat embossed using a “Happy Birthday” rubber stamp, a heat embossing adhesive ink pad, a heat embosser, and black glitter heat embossing power (all available at the Paper Source). The star gems are affixed with hot glue, and we used baker’s twine and the aforementioned tag punch to tie everything together.
For the pink, green, and floral gift, we used blank craft paper and wrapped floral fabric tape (available at Michaels) around the gift in each direction (to create a cross pattern). Next, we used hot glue to affix the rick-rack through the middle of the floral tape. Use a small hole punch to make holes in a paper heart and thread the rick-rack through the holes to hold the heart in place of your choice.
DIY Decor: Setting the Table
Head to local party supply and craft stores (Paper Presentation, Michaels, and Party City are all good picks) to round up an assortment of tableware and décor. Mix and match colors and decorative accents to suit the theme of your dreams.
For the glass jar take-home favor, paint the top of a small jar and a plastic toy animal the same color and glue the animal to the top of the jar. Add a final coat of paint after gluing for a polished look. To create thank-you tags, cut out a square shape (or use a label- or tag-shaped punch) and tie on to the jar with colored twine.
We adorned our tablescape with diminutive plastic animals from Michaels, a white-and-gold chevron table runner, circus-esque paper plates from Paper Presentation and DIY confetti made from Post-it Notes and a small hole punch.
