Planning a birthday party and need some decoration ideas? You’ve come to the right place because we’ve got some fabulous tips, advice, and inspiration to make your kid’s big day a roaring success! From theme ideas and creative balloon tutorials to clever table decor ideas, here’s everything you need to know about making decorations for a kid’s birthday party!
Tips for Making Birthday Party Decorations:
- Decorate around a theme
- Get creative with balloons
- Make easy bunting
- Set up a homemade photo booth
- Make the food table festive
1. Decorate around a theme
Before you start making any decorations, you’ll want to consider the convenience of choosing a theme. After all, there’s a reason why so many children’s birthday parties are themed. Themes not only make the party more fun for children, but they also make them easier for parents to plan and decorate.
You can ask your child if they have any ideas or preferences for the theme, or you can just choose something you know your child will love. Princesses, superheroes, unicorns, dinosaurs, outer space… The possibilities are truly endless! Of course, if you’d prefer not to choose this sort of theme, you could also just select a favourite colour or pattern and decorate with that in mind to keep the party looking cohesive.
2. Get creative with balloons
Balloons are a staple of children’s birthday parties – they look celebratory, and they’re also just plain fun to play with. Getting creative with your use of balloons will help elevate your party decor to the next level. One simple trick is to buy clear balloons and fill them with theme-appropriate confetti. For instance, if you’re having a unicorn or princess party, you might choose pink and silver or gold glittery confetti. For a superhero party, you might go with the colours of a particular superhero’s costume. You can check out the inspiration for confetti balloons here.
Balloon arches are also an increasingly popular way to make parties look great, and they make fabulous backgrounds for photos. To make a balloon arch, you’ll need plenty of balloons, as well as special balloon tape, a balloon pump, and clear double-sided tape. You can find the full instructions here. Or, if you fancy trying your hand at a slightly more complex balloon arch, you might want to check out this tutorial. If you’re in the market for something a little different, you could even attempt this showstopping balloon chandelier! However, if DIY and crafts aren’t your thing, you can also buy easy-to-assemble balloon arch kits online.
3. Make easy bunting
Bunting is another classic party decoration, and fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to make at home! You can even get the children involved with this one. For the little flags, you’ll need paper or fabric, string or ribbon, scissors, glue or a thread and needle, and a pattern template. The classic bunting shape is triangles, so you could make your own pattern template, or there are loads of cool, free bunting templates available to print here. If you’re using plain fabric or paper, you’ll probably also want to decorate it to match your theme. Time to get out the marker pens and paints!
Once your bunting is finished, string it up wherever you’d like: over the party table, along the walls, in the windows… Now it’s really starting to look like a party!
4. Set up a homemade photo booth
A photo booth looks cool, and it’s a wonderful party activity for your guests! First, you’ll want to create a theme-appropriate backdrop. Get creative here – you could get out a large sheet of paper or card and paint a rocket ship, a castle, a superhero’s lair…
Once you’ve sorted your backdrop, put it on display and set up a bench or chair for guests to sit down so their heights in the photos are relatively the same. This will make the photos turn out better!
Finally, add props and dress-up clothes for guests to wear. Funny glasses or sunglasses, hats, scarves, jewellery, fancy dress items…
At the party, you might designate a photographer, or you could just leave it up to guests to snap their own photos on their phones. Either way, you’ll definitely be making memories!
5. Make the food table festive
Finally, what’s a party without food? At the best parties, it’s not only about how the food tastes but how it’s displayed. Make your food table as festive as possible by returning to your theme. Use tablecloths and runners, fairy lights, and theme-appropriate plates, dishes, serviettes and straws.
To make the whole thing feel extra special, you might add some bright flowers in vases or other theme-specific decorative touches. And finally, don’t forget the birthday party’s centrepiece – the birthday cake! Find tutorials online to make a cake your child will love or buy an all-in-one kit like this awesome unicorn one to make things a little easier on the big day!
What did the grumpy birthday candle say at the party? Birthdays really burn me up!
