Fun-tastic Birthdays!

When it comes to kids and birthdays, it doesn’t take a lot to get them excited. The mere fact that their birthday is approaching somehow etches an anxious smile across every child’s face weeks in advance.

And who can blame them? It’s a day that is quite truly all about them.

As parents, that often translates into a lot of pressure to meet our kiddo’s crazy, creative expectations to make their birthday dreams come true. That overwhelming feeling often leads mom and dad to one of the many birthday party standbys — a swim party at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center, a pizza party at Pappy’s, a bouncy party at Bouncing off the Wall, a skating party at Cascade Indoor Sports. The list of options is impressive, and the parties are undoubtedly always a ton of fun.

But for some of parents, there’s something extremely special about birthdays. Creating a themed backyard birthday party that makes our child feel like the world does indeed revolve around them for an entire day can etch a proud smile across our faces for weeks afterward.

I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of completely overdoing it when it comes to my boys’ birthday parties. But I admit it with giddy pride. There’s something about coming together as a family to create an extra special event that just might be something your kids end up telling stories about to their own kids and even grandkids one day.

Besides, it’s just plain fun.

Preparation

Planning and putting on a themed birthday party for your little one first and foremost should be all about the fun. This is important because if you let it become stressful and succumb to self-induced pressure to get it all perfect, then not only are you not going to have a good time, but your child is likely to sense and mirror your mood.

When it comes to picking a theme the options are endless. Letting your kiddo pick something that they are crazy about adds a personal touch, builds excitement and triggers creativity. Kids delight in thinking up ideas that fit their theme, and brainstorming ideas together is quite truly a big part of the fun.

Invites

Once you have your theme, it’s time to create the invitations. Invites are fun to make and set the stage for the entire party, offering a perfect way to make suggestions to guests such as if you want the kids to come in costume.

My first themed birthday party was when Logan turned 4 and declared he wanted a pirate party. From the moment of that declaration, the ideas just spiraled, starting with the invitations. Of course a 4-year-old’s ideas are fanciful, but it’s easy enough to take little pieces of their fantasy and incorporate them into something doable.

From Logan’s elaborate vision evolved a scroll invitation complete with burnt paper edges, written in pirate lingo and stamped with the traditional skull and crossbones. Once the last invitation was rolled up and tied, we were inspired and moved right to creating decorations.

Decorations

When it comes to decorations the first thing to realize is that nearly all the party stores in Central Oregon have closed their doors, likely unable to compete with the online retail world.

So if you have your heart set on Dora the Explorer plates, cups and napkins or a Spider-Man centerpiece and tablecloth, start looking early to avoid hefty shipping charges. But, if you are like me and you do everything last minute, rest assured there is always a way if you are willing to improvise.

Picking a couple of solid colors as a base and working from there is an easy way to start. Balloons and streamers are cheap and festive and come in every color imaginable. Small helium tanks are also inexpensive and can fill a lot of balloons, which tend to be a highlight for kids of all ages. Stickers are a great way to incorporate a theme, whether it’s as broad as pirates or as specific as Lightning McQueen.

When Logan started talking about skeletons and spiders, breaking out the Halloween decorations meant we could make the entire house fit the pirate theme. Not every theme lends itself to that much ease, however. When Quinn’s third birthday approached, his grand birthday idea was to throw a Scooby Doo Luau (thanks to his obsession with the “Aloha Scooby Doo” movie).

Rather than spending a fortune on the seemingly endless Scooby Doo party supplies online, we hit the local stores for outdoor tiki torches and enough synthetic leis for everyone we were expecting. With balloons and streamers in signature Scooby colors, and a tie-dye tablecloth, it was “totally Scooby Doo,” according to my boys.

See how easy it is to please kids?

Creative Snacks

Snacks offer another great opportunity for creativity. Kids come up with the craziest ideas to match fun finger foods to party themes, and all it takes is a miniature sign telling people what each item represents.

When Logan turned 8 last year, he decided on a “Minecraft” party. Suddenly Red Vines were TNT, colored popcorn balls were chunks of black coal and shiny blue diamonds, and pretzel sticks topped with licorice became torches. As simple as it was, the snack table was a hit throughout the party, a topic of conversation among all the kiddos. And, of course, so was the cake.

The Cake

I do not call myself a baker, but with the help of my kids, I am able to call myself a master cake designer. No, the things I do aren’t fancy, but they are fun, and they’re creative. I’m not shooting for the cover of Martha Stewart Magazine, nor am I aiming to excite people on Pinterest. I just want to see my kids’ smiles when our masterpiece is complete.

I had no idea what I could do until that first themed party came along and Logan wanted a pirate ship cake. At first, I tried to think of ways out of having to create any such thing. But then, we just started talking it out and bouncing ideas between ourselves, adding to our grocery list whenever we hit on something great.

Making your own cake keeps costs down, and it’s often the centerpiece of the party — unique and special. It’s also something your child will be excited to help with and will take pride in creating.

For Logan’s fourth birthday, a pirate ship emerged out of a round cake cut in half, slathered with frosting and detailed with chocolate graham cracker pieces and pirouette cookies. Mini peanut butter cups stuck in the sides with candles sticking out of them became cannons; Whoppers became cannonballs, stacked and ready to fire. The ship was topped with homemade flags and a pirate figurine, and sat on a cookie sheet covered in a blue, shredded coconut ocean with gummy sea creatures “swimming” around.

Homemade cakes can be simple, a ton of fun to create and will make everyone smile at cake time. Whether it’s a brain at a mad-science party, or a castle at a Wally Kazam party, have fun with it, and it’s guaranteed to be a hit with kids and parents alike.

Activities

With all that sugar surging through them, kids need fun activities to keep them busy.

It’s important for your sanity as a parent hosting a kids’ party to realize that a house or yard full of kids can quickly spiral out of control into a massive uncontrolled playdate if you don’t have an agenda. A little free time at the beginning and the end is plenty, with the rest of the time planned out in advance.

Traditional birthday party games can easily be tweaked to fit nearly any theme imaginable. “Pin the tail on the donkey” becomes “Mark the X on the treasure map” for a pirate theme, or “Tack the bow and arrow to the skeleton” for a “Minecraft” theme. “Hot Potato” might be “Pass the snake” at a reptile-themed party. Musical chairs set to the Scooby Doo theme song will get everyone giggling. The key is to keep it fun, keep it fast and keep it exciting.

Game options abound, but one thing that every kid I’ve ever met absolutely loves is a clue hunt. These take a little more work on the parents’ part but are well worth the effort. A successful clue hunt keeps kids running and guessing based on theme-oriented clues. Each clue leads to the next clue and ultimately to the goal. I like arranging for the final clue to lead to the goody bags, which the kids then find right as the party is ending. It’s the grand finale.

And of course those goody bags are another great way to have fun with the theme, filling the little sacks with trinkets and candies that will keep the party alive for the kids as they head home and reflect on all the fun they’ve just had.

Just thinking about all the options for a themed backyard birthday party might feel a little overwhelming, but birthdays only come once a year for each child. In my family, birthdays are a celebration, not just of birth but of life — of experiences shared, of trials overcome, of baby steps and milestones. They are a look back on the past year and a look forward to the next. They are a day that is quite truly all about the birthday kid.