Cool Party Themes

Time Frame

• Decide on your theme up to four weeks ahead of time. That allows plenty of time to make or purchase invitations and send them well ahead of the day of the party. Three to four weeks ahead is plenty of time to allow guests to schedule the party into their plans.

Considerations

• Consider a princess themed party for a little girl who loves fairy tales, castles and magical places. Princess decorations and party accessories are readily available in party or department stores and are sometimes found in dollar stores and discount merchants.
  Decorate for a princess themed party with an inexpensive fabric called tulle. Available in fabric and department stores, as well as in some party stores, it creates a magical atmosphere when draped from ceilings, over banisters, from mantles and light fixtures and even from chairs. Adorn the tulle with inexpensive jewels that are affixed to the tulle with a hot glue gun. This adds sparkle to the tulle and enchantment to this cool party theme.

Considerations

• Select party fare based on the favorite foods of your own party princess. If peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are on the menu, cut them in magical shapes like stars. Serve punch in plastic goblets decorated with pink ribbon. Be sure to make or order a princess-themed cake, complete with a carriage and horses for carting the princess away to her magical land.
  Play princess games like "Fit the Shoe on the Princess," and in Cinderella fashion have each guest try on a special shoe. Purchase a glitzy shoe at a party store or make your own with glue and glitter. The girl whose foot is closest to the party shoe size wins the game. Make magic wands from craft foam, glitter and glue as a fun party activity. Send guests home with princess goody bags filled with glitter, barrettes decorated with tulle (use a hot glue gun to affix the tulle to the barrette) and princess stickers.

Considerations

• Consider a construction-themed birthday party for a rugged little boy who enjoys the outdoors, playing in the dirt and building things. Party and department stores feature products for a construction-themed party, but many of the items are easy to make or assemble based on things you'll likely find at home.
  Purchase plastic hard hats at your local party store. Inexpensive and fairly durable, they'll not only set the tone for this cool party theme, but will make a great take-home piece, as well. Decorate for the party using toy trucks from your child's own toy box. Line the table with construction books and video cases. If the weather permits, hold the party outdoors and arrange for a generous pile of sand to be dumped in the yard.

Considerations

• Choose lunchbox items as party fare for the construction themed party. A sandwich, apple and boxed drink are perfect for little workers to eat.
  Use a brown food dye to create cake frosting that resembles dirt. Decorate the cake with miniature construction vehicles. Hide prizes in the sand pile and give each child a plastic shovel. Set a kitchen timer and see how many prizes can be excavated during the allotted time.
  Make tool belts with felt, craft foam and glue. Fill the belts with plastic tools found by the bag in department stores, toy stores or party supply stores. This not only serves as a party activity but is a great take-home gift, as well.

Types

• Create an unusual but cool party theme that isn't something readily found in stores. Consider a physical fitness theme. Games include relay races, jumping over balloons and fun obstacle courses made with household items like tires, buckets, wheelbarrows and sawhorses. Prizes are coach whistles.
  Think of cool party themes like beach themes (especially if the party is in the winter!) or a winter theme for a July birthday. Buy an inexpensive snow cone machine. Form snow into balls and store in freezer. Have games outside and incorporate the snowballs into relay races, snowball licking contests and snowball tosses. Color new snowballs (not previously used in games) with flavored syrup and enjoy a tasty treat.

Effects

• Decide on your cool party theme based on interest, budget, preparation time and the wishes of your birthday boy or girl. Let your imagination run wild and your creativity will soar. Be sure to check Internet sites for a plethora of creative and cool party themes and ideas.