The grandkids have three birthday parties: one with their friends, one with their immediate family, and one at grandpa and grandma’s at our weekly Friday night dinners. I try to theme this party to reflect their current interests.
Miss T puts the crumb coat on a cakefor a family birthday.
Choosing the Decorations
I decorate the dinner table to reflect the theme and hang more decorations over the table. It helps to give the theme more “punch.”
Star Wars ships hang from pendent lights.
If you have a Cricut electronic cutting machine, it’s easy to find images related to almost any theme. If you don’t have a Cricut, search online for images to use.
Search for “printables,” rather than “images.” This will get you to free images that you can print, mount on cardstock, and cut out. For example, for an aquarium theme, if you search for “free fish printables,” you will get this.
Here are some birthday party tips I’ve used through the years:
The Star Wars Party
Star Wars birthday party: homemade piñata, DIY lightsabers, and marshmallow storm troopers.
Last year’s theme for N’s birthday party centered on his interest in Star Wars. We had already made a Death Star piñata as a summer project. I turned gift wrap rolls into lightsabers to decorate the table.
For the cupcakes, I painted storm trooper faces on marshmallows using food coloring marker pens. The armaments were from a set of military helmets and weapons designed to be used with Star Wars LEGO figures; it was to be part of his birthday gift.
Additional Birthday Party Tips:
Marshmallows are easy to work with to create a decorative topper for cupcakes. You can decorate marshmallows to fit other themes. Draw flowers, animal faces, or other designs on them.
The Grown-up Party
Birthday party tip for a preteen: pull out the stops for a fancy dinner.
Since last year, when Miss T turned 11, I’ve started to treat her as an adult guest of honor, setting the table with fine china, silverware, and cloth napkins. My only concession to convenience is dishwasher-safe Ikea stemware. We have flowers and candles.
Miss T requested the dinner menu from our dining etiquette class: cream of carrot soup, chicken scallopini, and garlic pasta. The birthday girl doesn’t like birthday cake so she opted for a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.
Additional Birthday Party Tips:
The idea for this party is a celebration that’s grown up and fancy. Instead of dinner, you could have a tea party as Miss T and I once did. While we made all the food, for convenience, you could buy small, ready-to-heat nibbles and snacks from such outlets as Costco, Walmart, or Target. Just dress them up on fancy plates.
Having found images for hockey pucks and a goalie on Cricut Design Space, I cut pucks to hang from the pendent lights over the dinner table. By taping two goalies to each side of a bud vase, I was able to stand the images up to make the table centerpieces.
Additional Birthday Party Tips:
You can do this type of decoration for any sport your grandchild loves–either as a player or spectator.
The Princess Party
Clockwise from top left: jelly sandwiches, hats for ladies in waiting, sandwiches; crown for the queen.
When Miss T was in her Disney princess phase, she had a princess party for her friends. Here’s how I contributed: I made a crown for her and for the princes, and hennins (conical hats with veils) for the ladies in waiting.
While these were cut using my Cricut, you could make alternative crowns with lace or cardstock. For the conical princess hat without a Cricut, follow these instructions.
For refreshments, serve finger sandwiches and scones on a three-tiered plate stand or on silver trays, if you have them.
Additional Birthday Party Tips:
Splurge on a princess costume for the birthday child, which could double as the year’s Halloween costume. For a family celebration, instead of finger foods, make it a family dinner served on princess paper plates; decorate the table with a princess tablecloth.
The Doll Party
Miss T blows out the candle for her doll Lucy.
When I was a child, my most special treat was when mom allowed us to eat real food on our toy tea set. When Miss T’s dad was still quite small, he had a birthday party for his little travel suitcase and he invited all of his stuffed animals. Miss T’s doll party is a blend of both.
We had a doll party when Miss T was four and her doll Lucy, turned one. We prepared the day before by stringing heart beads to make Lucy a necklace as her birthday present.
On the day of the party, we wore party hats left over from a previous family birthday and I made smaller versions for the doll guests. Miss T and I decorated cupcakes, including tiny, doll-size ones. We used Miss T’s vintage Fisher-Price “Fun with Food” doll dishes that belonged to her dad. You’ll find more details for planning a doll party here.
Additional Birthday Party Tips:
You can have a birthday party for any favorite item the child owns, such as our birthday party for Suitcase (which was the suitcase’s name). You can plan this party to be an after-preschool activity between you and the child, or it can involve the whole family.
Birthdays are important milestones and I take photos at each family birthday party. I used to do videos as well, but they take up a lot of memory on my phone and it became repetitive. How many versions of the happy birthday song can you want?
Create a collage of the birthday photos to make a birthday card for a milestone birthday. Or put together a slideshow or video for the family to enjoy. I tend to turn mine into Instagram posts or reels.
