How to Plan a Superhero Birthday Party
Kids love superhero birthday parties! Who wouldn’t want to zoom around the room, feeling invincible?! This is a party theme that works just as well for a small cadre as it does for an entire army, too. A superhero birthday party is a favorite on my blog, Spaceships and Laser Beams, where we major on birthday party ideas for boys (and non-frilly girls). Wondering how to proceed with this idea? I have suggestions for games, decorations, favors and dessert tables to help you.
If you use the general idea of “superhero” instead of one specific character as your party focus, you’ll have a lot more freedom in decorating plus you can include any imaginative super ability you think of. That can come in handy if you decide to encourage kids to think of how they can change the world!
To ramp up excitement for your party, send invitations. The invite itself can be shaped like a mask or a star or perhaps it’s an official looking document that asks for all superheroes to converge at your house. Don’t forget to embellish the envelope, too. If you won’t be providing masks and capes at the party, you might want to request that each guest comes dressed in a costume.
Masks and capes are accepted as superhero de rigueur, but they don’t need to be identical. In fact, the variation of color and design creates a visual treat. If you are making the costumes, be innovative and focus on fun variations of super abilities (think of enhancing natural senses like hearing, smelling, etc., with oversized ears or a giant nose!). One of your party activities can even be decorating the masks. Provide stickers, feathers, glitter, glue, etc.
Decorations for this theme can be quite simple. A main party area, such as the table, can include dimensional buildings made from various sizes of cardboard boxes or simply create a backdrop with a city silhouette. Stick masks on balloons and serving bowls. Add a few thought bubbles with superhero exclamations like, “zap”, “pow”, or “bam”. Pennants (or how about using old comics?) strung around the room add color. On my blog theme board, there are lots of actual party pictures if you want more of a visual.
To keep their strength up, feed your superheroes taste treats with “muscle food” or “hero mix” labels; it’s also a good way to sell the idea of vegetables and fruit for finicky eaters!
Some activities that work well for a superhero birthday party include:
- Coloring the costume of a paper cutout superhero which you’ve pre-made.
- Story circle: begin an adventure and let each hero build on the tale as they tell of their mighty exploits.
- Capture the “villain” (Dad? big brother?) using silly string.
- Get through a yarn or string (laser) maze.
- Make an obstacle course with pillow mountains, cardboard buildings or play tunnels.
- Target practice with star shaped bean bags and a cardboard box.
- Present a mission that needs their powers and let them find solutions to the problem.
When they’re in costume, most kids will enjoy hamming it up for the camera. If you decide to include that activity, be sure to keep copies of each guest picture; include it with the thank you note your superhero will later mail. I love this easy knight in shining armor costume tutorial – talk about a classic superhero!
Send the kids home with a fun favor bag, perhaps filled with a star shaped cookie, a super bounce ball, small ray gun (water pistol), glow-in-the-dark stars, themed pen, or stickers.
Imagination and a kaleidoscope of color make this a fun birthday party theme for everyone. You can invite a few friends or a crowd; you can keep it simple or be elaborate in your preparations. Whichever direction you go, kids are sure to have a super time celebrating with a superhero theme!
What will you do at your superhero birthday party?
Stephanie Keeping is mom to a boy named Sam, a blogger, and an Etsy-preneur. She celebrates boyish charm at Spaceships and Laser Beams, where she talks about all things boy and birthday party. You can connect with her on Facebook, Google+,
