Category: Parties

Minecraft parties

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Minecraft has swept into the hearts and devices around the world, and you’re tasked with creating a Minecraft world in your own home for a kids birthday party. But have no fear! Minecraft is a great children’s party theme, with tons of opportunities to make your Minecraft party shine. With such a blocky style, it’s easy to build your party area into a one of a kind world for your birthday gamer.

Personalisation

Personalise your party to show off the special day you are celebrating. Customize messages on invites, labels, activity mats, bag tags and more.

Decorations

Minecraft is a world made of coloured blocks so your decor will mostly contain square-shapes. In the game, there are many different worlds you can create and explore, so getting an idea of which worlds you’d like to include in your party will help you tackle the decor aspect much easier. Whether it’s snow, desert, water, grass, or sand, you’ll find some great tips to throwing a one-of-a-kind Minecraft party in your home or outside.

 

  • You can coordinate solid blue, green, and black tableware and decorations with Minecraft brand elements to pull the whole look together.

  • Make a Minecraft party backdrop by taking square shaped paper plates and sticking them to the wall with sticky tack or non-damaging tape.

  • Use our stone wall backdrop to set the scene.

  • Take or make cubed cardboard boxes and cover with duct tape, construction paper, or tissue paper grass. Poke two small holes in the top and hang them from the ceiling with fishing line.

    Party Favours

Party favours are a part of the party fun, and with a Minecraft themed party, you’ve got lots of options to choose from. You can even make it a personalised gift, with either a themed name tag or another individual character. Carry your theme through your party favours to make it feel complete.

 

  • Use coloured paper bags or boxes and glue or draw Creeper, Golem, or Ghast faces on them.

  • Fill smartie tubes with red, green, and blue bubblegum labelled as “TNT,” “Diamonds,” or “Slimeballs.”

  • Small blind bags of Minecraft collectables also make great favours.

  • Make your own Minecraft boxes to fill with small favour items with this simple template.

  • For older children party poppers labelled TNT make a great party favour as well!

  • Paint or tape Creeper faces on lime green buckets so your attendees can take a character from Minecraft home!

    Party Games and Activities

While your party is in full swing, throw in some fun activities and games to keep the energy going. Keep the hands busy after meal time by having stations or times for different games.

 

  • Make a cookie decorating station for dessert. Use these Minecraft cookie cutters to make a batch of sugar cookies in advance.

  • With adult supervision, have kids make mini swords or Minecraft characters out of Hama beads.

  • Pinatas are a party classic, and making your own Ghast Pinata isn’t too hard!

  • Pin the tail on the pig is another fun game you can make incredibly easily with construction paper, scissors, and tape!

  • If you’re feeling extra handy, make a Minecraft beanbag toss with cutouts like a Creeper face.

  • Set up a photobooth with a few props. Like these Minecraft masks, and swords in front of a stone wall covering.

    DIY Crafts

Minecraft is all about building a world, so why not include some building creativity during the party? Having the kids (and adults) create a make-and-take craft is a great  way to keep them entertained and add one more keepsake to the pile of party favours

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  • Duct tape bracelets are a fun craft that’s quick and easy!

  • Pick up some inexpensive blank T-shirts and have the party attendees make their own Minecraft shirts use heat transfer vinyl or fabric paint.

  • With a little pre-planning, you can make some fantastic Minecraft creatures from simple items such as toilet paper rolls and small boxes.

Plan a party for your little princess

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A Frozen Birthday Party is what most little girls want at the moment and were are here to help with inspiration on how to decorate your home or children’s party venue to make it that extra bit special.

Costumed characters are always a big hit; these characters call also entertain the children whilst you get on organising the food.

Make sure you have table cloths that look ‘Frozen’ for example you could have silver foil laid out with blue plates and don’t forget to have plenty of ice in jugs for decoration to really make it look authentic, or if your budget allows why not hire an Ice Sculpture for your centrepiece.

If you know of any singers in the family or friends, then they could sing a few ‘Frozen songs’ but if you don’t then why not hire a solo singer preferably one that can be Elsa or Ana for a few hours.

It’s all about the ‘wow’ factor when your little girl walks into the venue you’ve booked, she and her friends want to be transported into the world of ‘Frozen’.

Fairy lights can transform any dull church hall into something magical if it’s done in the right way. Battery powered tea lights are also very effective and safer!!

Tissue paper pompoms, honeycomb balls and paper rosettes also offer a great cost-effective solution to decorating any space. They pack the wow factor without much effort or cost.

Why not hire or make a Sledge where a photo opportunity would be great keepsake for all your guests.

For DIY party decor, a few tissue paper pompoms can help bring life to any table or theme.

When it comes to budget-friendly favours, we believe a party activity where guests create something to take home is ideal! It’s not only practical, but it’s also a lot less work for the hostess. And the kids will love something they actually made as opposed to something shop-bought. A jewellery- or snow globe-making station would be a great way to incorporate the theme into your activities.

​Another cool idea is to use white Christmas lights you may already have at home to create the “Frozen” atmosphere. And don’t forget the cute goodie bags or packaging to match your theme!”

Have a safe Face Painter party

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Face painting at kids parties is becoming increasingly popular. Gone are the days of cheek-designs done with dollar store craft paint. The face painters of today are artists using cosmetic-grade paints and creating designs so amazing they go viral! When booking a face painter for your birthday party, corporate event, grand opening, or anything else, make sure you’re getting not only a great artist, but a safe and sanitary experience.

1. What kind of paint do you use?

This is a “trick question.” A professional face painter will be using FDA-approved cosmetics that we call “paint.” It’s hypoallergenic and safe for kids, Make sure they don’t say craft paint, acrylic paint, or anything else not made specifically for skin.

2. What’s your sanitation like?

Face painters must sanitize their brushes between dips and only use one sponge per child. (Face painters often use sponges for bigger areas.)

3. Are you insured?

All professional face painters are insured against accidents. This is especially important for corporate parties or company events.

4. Do you do background checks?

If you’re dealing with an agency who hires multiple artists, ask if they do background checks.

Here’s some other questions to get the most information from your face painter!

1. Are your paints vegan or cruelty-free?

Kids love animals, so why not ask? An increasing number of makeup brands contain no animal products and are not tested on animals.

2. Can you cater to my special needs?
From autism to to non-English speakers, make sure the professional face painter you hire can accommodate to your needs.
3. How do I take face paint off afterwards?

It should be pretty easy, but some brands are easier than others. The face painter you book should be able to walk you through the removal or cleanup process.

Outdoor Birthday Ideas

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For summer birthdays or just a fun get-together, kids love a good party! Why not take advantage of the beautiful summer weather and have the party outside? Get going with these 5 cool outdoor kids party ideas!

1. Kids Olympics Party

Cabin fever may be setting in after all the April showers and being stuck in school, so get the kids outside and burn off some energy! Tap into their competitive side and set up a Kids Olympics party! “Active” is the name of the game with this theme. Discus throws (using Frisbees), obstacle courses, balance beams, or hula hoop contests are great choices for a Kids Olympics Party. You can also encourage teamwork with relay races or a team sport like whiffle ball or kickball. At the end of the party, give away small prizes or even have a medal ceremony to bring the festivities to a close!

2. Sensory Party

Younger children are always curious about the world around them. Why not embrace it and host a Sensory Party? Tell your guests to wear some “play clothes” or provide souvenir T-shirts as party favors. Then, prepare to get messy! Set up stations that help kids explore all five senses. For example, a sand art creation table will let kids make art out of brightly-coloured sand. It also helps them use their visual creativity to make something unique! Auditory stations can include simple instruments like tambourines or recorders. Since it’s outside, the sound won’t drive you crazy! Or, make some Rainbow Foam for a tactile station. It’s easy to make and allows children to get messy while exploring a fun texture.  Just remember, the messier the better for your outdoor kids party ideas!

3. Just Add Water Party

Looking for a way to cool off in the summer heat? Just add water! Have your guests bring their swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen for a day of fun in the sun. Activities like Slip n’ Slides or sprinklers are easy ways to add a little H2O to your outdoor party. Water games are always a great addition to outdoor kids party ideas. If all else fails, pass out squirt guns or water balloons and let the battle begin!

4. Animal Party

While we’re all fans of furry creatures, sometimes the thought of having them inside is a little daunting. That’s why animals are the perfect addition to an outdoor party! Does your kiddo dream of riding a pony or holding a hedgehog? An animal party can deliver! Most petting zoos or pony parties only need a small amount of space outside, like your garden. Reptile shows are great for Jurassic Park or jungle-themed parties. The animals are usually enough to hold the kids’ attention, but animal games can be a just as fun!

5. Outdoor Movie Night Party

Would you like to give your child a drive-in movie party under the stars? Bring it to your Garden! Your kids and their friends of all ages will love being able to pile onto blankets in the grass and watch a family-friendly flick. Rent an outdoor movie screen or make your own by stringing up a white painter’s canvas.  Set up a movie snack bar with popcorn and classic sweet choices. Set up tin buckets filled with ice and bottles of pop to bring out the nostalgic vibe. Outdoor kids party ideas don’t have to be complicated; sometimes it’s just about spending time together!

Children’s parties on a budget

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Gone are the days when a sandwich, bowl of jelly and a game of pass-the-parcel were enough for a jolly children’s party. Social media bragging and peer pressure have upped the ante.

Some parents admit to spending £800 on their little one’s birthday bash, with £300 being the average cost, according to a poll.

Here are simple ways to stop your party parting you from you money.

Invites

Email invitations or download them for free from websites.

A fun idea from is to write the details on an inflated balloon, let the air out and ask the nursery or school to hand them out after class.

Share the party with one of your children’s friends with a birthday around the same time and keep it short, say two hours rather than three. Keep numbers down by making it clear that guests’ brothers

and sisters aren’t invited.

If you can’t face having it at home, or don’t have enough space, summer parties can be held in a local park or free outdoor play area with a picnic and energetic party games.

If you don’t want to take a risk with the weather, get a quote from a soft play centre or local hall. Avoid peak times – weekends, school holidays and half terms – when admission charges are higher. Babies often get in for free. Ask if you can bring your own food.

If there is a play centre or child-friendly cafe near you, try to do a deal. Investigate offers for children’s parties on parenting sites such as Likebees and Littlebird. Or go to a Saturday morning movie where tickets can be just 99p.

Entertainment

Professional children’s party entertainers are expensive. There are horror stories of the family pet savaging the magician’s rabbit and little ones being left in tears by grumpy clowns. Keep the stress and cost down by doing it yourself.

You can always organise traditional games such as blind man’s bluff, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and musical chairs.

Catering

Young ones typically don’t eat much, so don’t go overboard. Sandwiches, crisps and ice cream with a flake should be enough. Or ask family and friends to bring a dish and bake your own cake.

If you’re not a baker, and don’t know an enthusiastic amateur, buy plain fairy cakes and get the kids to decorate them.

Borrow a tablecloth and decorations from a friend. Or get a plain white paper cloth, scatter crayons and stickers on it and get the children to draw on it. Balloons are always popular, especially if you customise with glitter.

Party bags

These are a real bone of contention and thinking up what to put in them can be stressful. Even if you buy loads of plastic toys from a pound shop this can quickly add up.

One idea is to buy a set of books such as the Mr Men series and let the children choose one to take away. A book will last far longer than a tatty toy that will be broken by bedtime. Or do a lucky dip.

If you must have a going-home gift, decorate brown paper bags and buy seeds, multipacks of sweets and stickers to fill them and a slice of cake. Or fill a jar with sweets and tie a ribbon round it.

There are lots of ideas on the internet on how to throw a great party on the cheap. The mums’ websites have chat rooms where you can ask others for tips.

Have a sleepover party

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Invite your friends for an extra cool sleepover birthday party!

Crafts, Makeup, DVDs, Midnight Feasts, Birthday Cake, Sleeping Bag Races – what more can a birthday girl ask for? The girls are coming round for a sleepover! Birthday party girls just love to make things with their friends.  Get creative and make something really special like a funky t-shirt or some cool jewellery:

T-shirt painting is always a popular kids crafts activity and a great idea for a sleepover. Give them a blank white t-shirt and a bunch of fabric pens and paints, some sparkly bits and pieces to stick on and see what new fashion they can design. They can really let their imagination go wild with fabric painting.

Having a ‘girlie night in’ means only one thing- time to get your nails painted, create cool hairstyles, have fun putting on each other’s make-up and get all dressed up ready to show off your artistic expression ‘ designed by yourself’ new T-Shirt.

  • Roll out the cat walk, load the music, flick on the spot lights and have your very own

  • fashion show!! Catch it all on camera for some great memories.

Time for Dinner:

Why not make your own Pizza? The kids will really enjoy making the pizza dough (most supermarkets have an easy packet pizza base mix that takes 5 mins to mix up) and then add lots of great toppings e.g. tomato, ham, pepper, pineapple, pepperoni, olives and lots of cheese.  Children love to eat their own homemade dinner.

Chocolate Fountain Dessert:

How about the kids cutting up lots of different fruits and dipping them in some scrummy melted chocolate!!

Get cosy:

Grab your sleeping bags and pillows, get comfy in your pj’s or onesies and settle down in front of the TV to watch a great movie for a little quiet time and don’t forget your popcorn!

Menu’s for fussy eaters

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Children are the most honest of guests. – If they don’t like something they won’t eat it. Some children won’t like ham, others won’t like tuna – so put on an even spread of sandwiches with a variety of fillings, so you aren’t left with some kids that don’t want to eat anything grand then go home hungry.

Trying to trick your own children into eating fruit and vegetables may be a constant battle at the best of times, but in a party scenario it could prove even harder. And it is a party after all so perhaps now isn’t the best time to worry too much about healthy eating.

That said, learning to hide the greens is still possible – have you thought about cooking a delicious vegetable cake, for example a carrot cake?

Our suggestion though would be to have a good mix of sandwiches, fruit and veg that can be eaten by hand.e.g. cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, cheese cubes, then a nice range of crisps and sweets. A simple range of food like this makes life easier and also reduces allergy issues.

Planning food for children’s parties can often be a challenge, as one has to always think about the dietary requirements of other kids. It’s quite possible that you will have some children with allergies or intolerances. Often the parents will have told you if this is the case but it is worth checking yourself to be sure. (maybe ask parents to mention this on your party invites)

If you do have certain allergies or dietary requirements to cater for then you may want to ensure the food for that child is on a separate plate so it makes life easier for them and also doesn’t run the risk of contamination of their food with things they can’t have e.g. for nut allergies.

There seems to be a law of balances involved at every stage of the menu planning process. On the one hand, too much sugar can turn your party into mayhem, whereas on the other, too little could make your food too boring.

Aiming at the middle is the way forward. Cake, crisps and jelly are the traditional vouch-safes; but you could also consider throwing in some chocolate-dipped fruit or fruit juice for good measure.

If presented with a choice, children will almost always opt for the sugariest option. Preparing drinks on a tray before-hand and distributing them as a matter of course can help deal with this issue. You could even try distributing glasses of milk, should the sugar intake be reaching dizzying levels. But to make life easier we’d suggest juice boxes as they’re nice and easy to put on the table, reduce spillages and are easy to throw away.

Inspirational children’s party venues

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Are you looking for venues for your special children’s party in the coming weeks? Looking for the right location is almost always problematic, unless you know who to ask! Thankfully, we have some of the answers when it comes to organising an amazing kids birthday party and we’re here to help.

Looking for a Top Venue

There are many reasons why you wouldn’t want to host a children’s party in your own house. Either you don’t have enough room in your house for a whole classroom of children, or you don’t want your house to get damaged. Perhaps you don’t have the time to clean up after a party.

Getting your party organised in the right location is of great importance. Organising a party that is too far from anywhere is not a good idea, as other parents have to consider the cost of transport. Other considerations for your setting may include disabled access, the size of the hall itself and the cost.

Where:

Consider church halls, or community centres that have their own kitchens so you can cater too. Decide how much space you will need. Do you want outside space too? Some of these venues mentioned are quite reasonably priced.

How much?

If you would like to find out how much a centre costs, you should ask the centre first if they charge by the hour or by child. Some centres do charge per person and this can become very expensive if you are looking to host a large number of friends.

If you have found the best location for your children’s party, then why not look on our blogs for amazing ideas. We’ve plenty of knowledge and experience in giving inspiration to your little one’s party.

Themes for Your Child’s Party

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The chances are that your child and their invited guests will already be pretty excited about the prospect of a party, but if you really want to get them looking forward to the day itself then adding a theme could do the trick. A themed birthday party gives the kids a chance to dress up whilst also giving you a great topic for which to base your decorations, food and entertainment around.

Pirates and Princesses;

This has to be one of the most popular themes and always goes down well with the little ones. It’s so easy to pull off as well and you can make it as minimal or as full on as you like. Pirates can either turn up fully decked out in attire or with a simple eye patch. The girls will also be really excited about being able to don their favourite dresses, adorn themselves with a tiara and greet their royal subjects!

Space

Space is a great theme for both boys and girls as it really allows the children to let their imagination run away with them. Will they come dressed as a strange alien from the planet Zog, or will they arrive in a spacesuit ready for their latest adventure into the unknown voids of the galaxy. You could even ask half of your guests to dress as aliens and the other half as astronauts and then use these teams within your entertainment.

Food could include various twists on party classics, such as ‘asteroids’ instead of meatballs and ‘moon rocks’ in place of chicken nuggets. The venue could also be decorated to look like a strange planet with stars, moons and spaceships on the ceiling.

Circus

Having a circus themed kids party can be a great way to give the children a chance to learn a few new skills whilst they are having fun. They could have a go at learning to juggle, or fooling around like their favourite clown. The circus is not just about the guy with the red nose and big shoes though, and so the children have plenty of options when it comes to fancy dress. There’s the ring announcer, the gymnasts, the lion tamer and the strong man; to name just a few.

At the circus, tomatoes can easily be renamed as ‘clown’s noses’ (you might even persuade a child to eat one when they would otherwise turn their nose away to a vegetable!) and similarly, cheese puffs can be transformed into ‘juggling balls’. To really add that finishing touch, why not turn your venue into a Big Top with some multi-coloured fabric.

Wizards and Witches

This theme has always been a firm favourite, particularly at Halloween, but has grown in popularity since the rise of a certain boy wizard. Your little guests can dress as their favourite character from the film franchise or as a wizard or witch from their own imagination. The beauty with this theme is that it doesn’t take much to transform an ordinary child into a wizarding genius; just a hat and wand in most case.

Get the entertainment right

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There are loads of different options to choose from to make it a fun occasion but it’s important to choose what is right for your child and what you know they will enjoy.

When planning a children’s party, one thing that will be firmly on your list of things to do is ‘hire the entertainer’. However, with so many different kinds of performers available, how do you go about choosing the perfect person to keep your little guests engaged for the duration of the event and to take the stress off you?

The Magician

A brilliant magician can really add a sense of wonder to your party. Watch as the children are left amazed at the seemingly impossible tricks performed in front of their eyes and then encouraged to get involved in some of the magic themselves. It can be a lot of fun for parents too, particularly seeing how baffled kids are by how the magic is done.

A magician is usually great for children around the age of 4 and above. This way they will be old enough to understand what is going on but still young enough to be mesmerised by the idea of magic.

Science Parties

Science Parties are a relatively new but very exciting kind of children’s entertainment and something extremely varied and engaging for the kids and suitable for ages 4- 12. They are perfect if you are looking to mix fun and excitement with learning all about just how fantastic and fun science can be.

Kids get to watch really colourful and visual science demonstrations as well as fun experiments. Plus, science related games. This is another great option for parents as it’s very different from what you see at most parties. But we’d only recommend this if you know your kids are into science.