Thinking Outside The Box For Kids Parties

So, you want to throw your child a birthday party? How exciting!

Well, at least for your little one anyway. But as a parent, it can involve a lot of organisation, stress and pressure to get things right on the day.

After all, you need to find a party idea that your child will love. As well as entertainment options that all guests will enjoy. And that’s just for starters.

There is music, food, decor and party games to consider too!

So, yep, there is a lot you need to do in preparation.

The thing with kids’ birthday parties is that they have changed markedly since you were a youngster. Now it’s not enough to play pass the parcel and a couple of rounds of musical chairs and then call it a day.

Instead, children’s parties need to have a theme or a few specific elements that reflects your child’s personality and interests.

And therein lies a problem. How do you do this?

After all, everyone has been to a princess or Harry Potter-style party. So, it is important to come up with something different.

In this article, we want to help you do just that by highlighting 10 outside the box kid’s party ideas you might not have previously considered.

Pick any of these suggestions and your kid – and their friends – will surely have a birthday to remember.

Stress-free party tips

Before we highlight the ideas, here are some stress-free tips for your child’s next birthday party:

Don’t invite the whole class or the neighbourhood. Smaller groups are much easier to manage, so set a maximum number of children to invite.
Keep the food and snacks on offer simple and easy to prepare. That way you are not spending the entire day before, or of the party, stressing in the kitchen.
Round up your older children, aunties, uncles, grandparents and friends to be helpers at the party.
Set a budgetary limit and stick to it, no matter what. Remember, it is their birthday party, not their wedding.
Avoid trying to ‘better’ other children’s parties. The best kid’s parties are about making memories and having fun. They are not about providing gourmet party food, drinks and fancy decorations that are aimed more at parents than children.
Try and minimise the levels of sugar you offer within your party food. This will reduce the chances of the kids going a bit ‘cray-cray’ if they have had too many cakes and lollies.
Set specific times for the start and finish of the party and make sure everyone knows it. Two to three hours is usually more than enough time to fit everything you want to do in, and also to ensure the kids have a wonderful time.

Outside The Box Kids Party Themes and Ideas

Now you are armed with these tips here is a list of 10 creative themes and ideas you can incorporate within your child’s party.

Irrespective of what you choose, they are sure to engage and excite kids of all ages.

Magicians

Kids love magicians (and probably you do too!). So why not book one, or indeed build your child’s party around this theme?

A simple Google search will reveal plenty of magicians for hire in your area. Most of which will come to your child’s party and put on a show.

Whether the show is the main highlight of your party or if the magician stays for the duration of it is up to you.

However, one thing is for sure. The kids will be spellbound by their various props and tricks.

Outdoor Cinema

With all their running around and screaming, kids’ parties can be very noisy. So, if you want to drop the decibels for the sake of your sanity, a good thing to do is set up an outdoor cinema.

This is a very easy thing to achieve. All you need is to hire or use a home projector and point it towards a white sheet or wall. Then, when you start the machine running, the kids can enjoy a good old-fashioned movie experience right in your backyard!

Bunning’s has written a good article on the steps involved in doing this.

An outdoor cinema is a great way to keep kids settled, especially if a few are having a sleepover. You can accentuate the experience by heating up bags of microwave popcorn and laying out big pillows, cushions, bean bags, air mattresses and chairs for them to relax on.

This can often be a lot more affordable and enjoyable than taking a group of kids to the cinema.

Water Balloon Battle

If you are hosting a party in the summer months, a water balloon battle is a great way to keep children cool.

Just fill some buckets with water balloons, get out the super soakers and let the children run amok in the backyard.

You will need to clue the children’s parents up to bring their swimmers and a change of clothes with them.

If you don’t want to clean up loads of mess, later on, you can change the balloons to mini water pistols and get the kids to use them instead.

Balloon artists

Balloon artists are very impressive to young children and adults alike. Possessing expertise which enables them to create almost anything from just a few turns and twists.

Many balloon artists also come with a few other tricks up their sleeves. Or can offer additional services like face or nail painting, which can amuse the kids for hours.

Mobile Baby Animal Farm

We’ve all seen the mini petting zoos at local fairs and in shopping centres at holiday times. However, did you know there are many that are also available to come to your house for a kids’ party package?

The best thing about these services is that they do all the setup for you. Bringing temporary fencing, animal feed and, of course the cute baby farm animals with them.

All you need to accommodate them is to have a little bit of space in your backyard. But assuming you do, this is one activity kids are sure to love as it will involve feeding and petting their favourite farm animals.

Treasure Hunt Party

This classic kid’s party activity can easily be adapted to any age group or theme. It can also be done outdoors or indoors, depending on the location and weather of the party day.

To set it up, simply hide a list of treasures in your house or garden for the kids to find and write out clues as to where they are.

You can even add a treasure map with clues on them, which will add time to the game and also bump up the fun levels.

If that sounds like too much organisation, you could always set up a basic treasure hunt which doesn’t need the prompts. Simply hide the treasures wherever you see fit and let the kids find whatever they can.

Dance Party

A dance party is so much fun to organise, and it doesn’t need to be at night to enjoy this theme.

For the younger kids, you can even break the party into two themes. Start with one other theme on this list, and then after you have fed them and cut the cake, finish off with a dance party.

For the older kids, a night-time dance party with neon lights, glow sticks, and a mock dance floor would go down a treat. All you would need to do is create a Spotify playlist (or go old school with a CD!).

As an extra touch, you could even set up a karaoke machine for them to use as well.

Creative Party

If you are looking for something a little different, why not try ‘Pinot and Picasso kids parties‘?

Ok, so they won’t be drinking wine – that gets swapped out for any non-alcoholic drinks of your choice. But your kids can indulge their creative side through drawing and painting, as well as other artistic materials. All of these are available as part of a children’s party entertainment package.

These packages also include party games and snack breaks and provide guests with something of their own making to take home.

Although now available in every major city in Australia, Pinot and Picasso in Perth were one of the first to launch.

Jumping Castle

Most younger children worship bouncy castles, and even some older kids do too!

The great thing about them is you can hire one out easily for your home as the highlight event of your next birthday party.

The kids can bounce and bounce until their heart is content, in between filling their tummies with delicious party food.

Most places in your area will have a local party hire company that you can rent the jumping castle through. Again, a simple Google search for bouncy castle hire in Perth should uncover some great options.

Superhero Party

This is an awesome theme party for children and can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Best of all, it gives you plenty of low-cost DIY creative ideas to choose from too.

You can go all out with homemade masks, superhero capes, and accessories or hire them out from a store.

At the party, why not set up a superhero training area with fun challenges and games to test their skills?

This could be the likes of a Hulk smash balloon popping, Thor’s hammer toss (not a real one!) and a Captain America shield launch to see how far they can throw (use a frisbee).

You could even give out a range of prizes for the greatest superhero across different challenges to keep a little good-natured competition.