Everyone loves a good cupcake, and everyone loves a good party, so what could be more fun than the two of them combined in a Cupcake Party? Because cupcakes are petite, edible, decorative and customizable, you have both a delicious party refreshment and an engaging party activity in one! Note: because some children may suffer from food allergies such as sensitivity to eggs, nuts or gluten, encourage the guests that are invited to the Cupcake Party to communicate any dietary restrictions ahead of time (so you can be certain you are prepared to accommodate them).

Most of the activity required when hosting a Cupcake Party is accomplished before the cupcake invitations are even mailed: baking the cupcakes before the party begins. Be sure and make a batch of whatever is the birthday boy or girl’s favorite, but also provide a variety of flavors to appeal to a variety of preferences. Pumpkin, red velvet, lemon and peanut butter are all fun flavors to experiment with in addition to basic staples like vanilla and chocolate. Purchase different colored icing to complement the colors of the cupcakes, and if you’re worried about being able to frost the little treats, try using professional-grade frosting tips from a cupcake icing kit. Place the undecorated cupcakes out on a cupcake stand and set out cupcake liners full of sprinkles. Now you’re ready to have a cupcake-decorating table at your Cupcake Party!

Show guests where the party is as soon as they turn onto your street by placing a 4’ tall inflatable cupcake in your front yard and tie some balloons in the colors of your cupcake flavors to your mailbox. In addition to icing and decorating their cupcakes of choice, kids can play a variety of cupcake-themed games, such as Pin-the-Candle on the cupcake, decorate their own aprons using blank aprons and finger paint or participate in a Cupcake Toss game.

Cupcakes in jars are fun and portable party favors in continuation of the cupcake theme. They can be prepped ahead, or each guest can assemble theirs to take home. To make:

1. Prepare one cupcake (prepared from a boxed mix or your favorite cupcake recipe) for each guest and provide one 8 oz. jar each.
2. Cut the cupcake in half horizontally, and place the bottom half in the bottom of the jar.
3. Pipe a layer of your favorite icing on top of the cupcake bottom.
4. Place the top of the cupcake on top of the icing layer in the jar. Gently crush the cupcake out and down so that it is flat.
5. Pipe a final, decorative swirl of icing on top, being careful not to let the height of the icing exceed the lip of the jar or else the lid will smear the swirl when it is screwed on.
6. Secure the lid, tie ribbon around the jar and place in the party favor bags! The possible varieties of this idea are almost endless; for an Martha Stewart version with a buttermilk cupcake and jam rather than icing, click here.

Kids love parties with a Super Mario Bros theme, and even adults can get in on the action from a nostalgia perspective. While party planners used to have to rely on homemade Mario Bros decorations and activities, plenty of celebration supply retailers now offer Mario Bros-themed party fixin’s to get you started!

Celebration Express offers a complete decoration kit, or you can purchase things like Mario Bros invitations separately to clue the guests in on the theme. Decorate with Super Mario Bros plates, 1UP napkins, balloons and a Mario Bros centerpiece.

Mario Bros 1UP Cupcakes are a fun addition that can be made ahead of time and then decorated by the kids during the party. Baking the cupcakes half a day before the party allows them to cool and prevents the frosting from melting. (Recipe via Novapages.)

1. Bake the cupcakes (either from a boxed mix or the recipe of your choice). Cool to room temperature.
2. To make the white mushroom stems, melt 2-3 oz. of Almond Bark or other light-colored candy coating according to package instructions. Holding the cupcake by its top, gently swirl the bottom until its coated up to the bottom of the “mushroom cap”.
3. After the excess candy coating drips off, gently press two chocolate M&Ms into the side of the stem to make little dark eyes.
4. Divide the vanilla icing into as many different bowls as you want different colors. Use food coloring to change the hue, and set the bowls out for the children to decorate the tops of the cupcakes with the color of their choice, using plastic butter knives to spread and smooth the frosting.
5. Set out bowls of rounds candies such as M&Ms and Smarties for the children to press into the frosting on the top of the cupcakes.

In addition to cupcake decorating, consider a Mario Bros piñata! For other ideas that cost very little but equal a lot of fun, consider charades, caterpillar relay, bobbing for apples, chocolate coin hunt, egg and spoon race, face painting and duck-duck-goose.

Make the send-off memorable with party favor boxes or bags that are decorated with Super Mario Bros designs and themed favors to put in them. You can find a deluxe farewell pack with Super Mario Bros sticker sheets, crayons, putty and glow sticks. Have a fantastic Super Mario Bos party!

Dora the Explorer is a fun alternative to generic party themes. Kids love parties with invitations, decorations, food and take-home items featuring beloved characters from popular culture, and Dora the Explorer is a perfect example. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the idea of creating all of the Dora the Explorer items mentioned above, don’t worry! There are plenty of resources available to make hosting a party with a Dora the Explorer theme a reality, with minimal time and effort required!

It’s important to send invitations that reflect the party’s theme. Themed invitations help the guests know a little bit about what the party entails, and build excitement for a unique event! You can make them yourself, or you can find Dora the Explorer invitations online. It’s also a good idea to bake the cake at least half a day ahead of time to give yourself plenty of time for the cake to cool before icing it. Because you will be icing it…if you want a fun and delicious cake that’s decorated as Dora the Explorer, that is! There are a couple of options to consider when creating your edible Dora the Explorer centerpiece. You can bake the cake in the shape of Dora’s best friend using a Boots the Monkey cake pan or you can frost cupcakes to look like Dora the Explorer herself. To begin, simply bake a dozen chocolate or vanilla cupcakes. To decorate, use the printable template available at the link, chocolate melting wafers, and paste food coloring from a baking supply store.

At the party, a fun accessory idea is Dora the Explorer hats and you can decorate with Dora the Explorer napkins, a Dora the Explorer tablecover and balloons in green and blue. Or you can take all the guess-work out of selecting the supplies you’ll need for the worry-free party by choosing from already-assembled Dora the Explorer party kits.

After the party is over, make sure guests have something to remember the good times with. Send them home with goody-bags stuffed with fun Dora the Explorer items in cute favor boxes.

Every child loves animals, so incorporate that into a really fun and interactive birthday party. This theme is great and easy to put together. It works for boys and girls and the parents might even have a little fun!

There are several really cute barn or farm invitations out there. Some have animal faces, some have barn doors that open. You can also take a picture of your child dressed as a farmer and invite his friends to join him in barnyard adventure! The cake can have a farm picture on the front and you can buy the little animals at any craft store to add that final touch.

For this party, you can either find a local farm that already offers a petting zoo and hayride experience. Or you can have it at home and schedule a petting zoo for entertainment. They will bring a pin to put all the animals in and the kids can take turns going in and petting bunnies, baby goats, guinea pigs and whatever else they can bring you that day. So much fun! Be sure to have plenty of hand sanitizer on hand when the kids are finished playing with the animals.

Animal crackers are a perfect item to include in your barn themed goody bag. You can also have an assortment of small farm stuffed animals. Another option is to have inflatable farm animals as decorations all over and then when the kids are about to leave, just tell them to go pick their favorite. I would suggest having a few extras on hand! I have done these inflatables for give aways several times and my kids have played with them for months after the party!

A sleepover party is such a fun birthday idea for our tween girls! They love having their friends over and staying up late to watch movies and act silly! Combine the sleepover with a spa theme and the girls will be so excited to come to this party!

There are some adorable invitations for girls sleepovers! Some with lipstick, powder puff, and compact. I’ve seen some with sleeping bags all lined up. So many choices for this theme, so your daughter can really personalize her invitation. Hit your local grocery stores beauty department to pick up some must have items for any spa sleepover! Everything from makeovers, nail polish, face masks and much more!

Have the guests arrive in their cutest pajamas, slippers, robe and make sure they bring a sleeping bag and pillow! We served finger sandwiches, sparkling water with strawberries and cut up fruit while at the spa. Fondue is a great dessert for this party! Of course you will have to have birthday cake or cupcakes as well for the birthday girl. So at the spa have a couple of your friends work the nail station. The girls will all get mini manicures and pedicures. They will love this special VIP treatment! After everyone has done their nails, the facials can begin. They have great masks that are all different flavors at the grocery store and they are safe to use on young girls to use. So they can pick their favorite flavor and your helpers can apply their masks. Then they need to rest and let that set, you can cut up cucumbers for them to place over their eyes. Once the spa evening portion is over the girls will be rested and ready for some fun. You can play dance freeze, you have a helper in charge of the music and everone dances while the music is playing and then as soon as they turn the music off, everyone has to freeze! This would be a variation of musical chairs. It’s so fun and should get out some of that extra energy so they will be ready for a movie and some popcorn! The next morning, have a big breakfast waiting for your spa guests and by the time all that is finished it will be time for their parents to pick them up!

We ordered silk goody bags with the my daughters name and the birthday year on it. Then filled it with lip gloss, a fingernail file, small mirror, nail polish and a note pad so all the girls could get eachothers phone numbers . Also during the spa experience all the girls picked out their favorite character cloth head band to keep their hair out of their masks. So we put these in their gift bags as well.

Are you looking for an interactive birthday idea that will be fun for everyone? Try an American Idol karaoke birthday party! Its fun for boys and girls, gets everyone involved and is sure to be the talk of all their friends for months to come!

Depending on your budget, you can either make homemade invitations or you can order American Idol invitations from Birthday Express,. For homemade, just cut circles out of black construction paper and make them look like records! You can cut a smaller white circle in the middle and write your invitation there! Or log on to http://www.birthdayexpress.comfor pre- printed invitations.

When the rockstars RSVP, have them submit their favorite song so you can have it queued up and ready for their performance at the party.
If your idol contestant is not quite ready for a solo, suggest a duet or group performance. Hire a couple of neighborhood teenagers to come help get your contestants stage ready. They can help with hair, make up and nails for the girls and a little dippity do or colored hair spray for the boys. Pick up some mardis gras type beads, sunglasses and boas to finish the look for your contestant. Their performance will surely be star quality!! You can make a birthday cake in the shape of a microphone, very fun! Kids will be so excited to dig in!

Party Theme

Who doesn’t love ponies?? Well then kick up your heels and try a pony party! It is such a great theme, lots of options for decorations, entertainment and fun! Get your little cowboy or cowgirl ready for a boot scootin good time!

There are several adorable pony/horse invitations on the market to choose from. Some are in the shape of a pony with string for the tail, this is the one I liked the best, but there are several others. As far as decorations, just get some hay bails, bandanas, maybe a couple of wagons and you are set. Simple straw hats make awesome give aways. They have them with colored hat bands that will make your little cowboy or cowgirl feel right at home on the birthday ranch! Another perfect give away that is very cost effective is the stick horses, all kids love to play with these and will be so excited to take them home!

Have some great music on when guests arrive, country and western of course. Be sure to set up the classic birthday party game, pin the tail on the donkey. Bobbing for apples is always fun, the kids will be fighting to be first in line! Don’t forget about horse shoe throwing! Then the best part, PONY RIDES!!!!! You would really be surprised how affordable they are! The kids can take turns riding the ponies, be sure to have someone in charge of taking pictures of the kids and then when the thank you notes get written, you can include their personal pony picture! Saddle up and get ready for a yee hawing perfect pony party!

The hat and the bandana that the kids receive upon arrival are already great goodies they can take home with them. One thing to add would be a wooden stick pony! Then they can go for pony rides whenever they want!

A puppy themed birthday party is a perfect way to get everyone excited and is great for girls and boys. A very good friend of mine had this party for her daughter two years ago and it was such a huge success! My daughters still love to play with their puppies!

Invitations for this party are so fun! You can find some cute little paws that open up and put all the details on the inside. Hire a friend or a grandpa to dress in scrubs to be the on site veterinarian and he can be available for all your puppy check- ups. Make some little adoption certificates ahead of time for the vet to fill out. If you buy in bulk, you should be able to find a great deal on several little stuffed puppies, all different colors and then if you can, try to also get some little puppy carriers. Maybe baskets, cute plastic tubs, whatever your budget will allow.

Either find some fun paw print stickers (large ones about 6-8 inches in diameter) or beg a creative friend to come over and draw them on your sidewalk so the paws lead the guests to the party. Have several stuffed little furry friends ready for adoption by your party guests. Find some really cute puppy food bowls to put your party snacks in and then place these all around the party for the guests to nibble on! For a great interactive activity, set up a craft table with ribbons, glitter, paint, stickers, etc… . This is where the new puppy parents can create a customized puppy collar!

Have each guest pick their puppy, then they can put their new collar on, take them to the vet for a check up and of course name their puppy. The party veterinarian can then sign their certificate to make the adoption official!