27 Best Kids' Birthday Party Ideas for 2024
Thinking of the right kids’ birthday party ideas can be a high-stakes endeavor. Of course they are important to the adults in their lives, but they’re also immensely important to children in ways we may not realize.
According to research shared in Psychology Today, young children commonly fear that if they don’t have some kind of birthday celebration, they simply won’t age! That may not be true, but it goes to show that kids do appreciate the tradition of birthdays, especially if there’s lots of cake, presents and hugs involved.
If you’re faced with hosting or planning an upcoming birthday, you might be asking yourself, “How do I make a kid’s birthday party amazing?” or “How do I plan a kids’ birthday party?” Check out these fun ideas to pull off the best kids’ birthday party, whether you’re staying home with family or celebrating with friends.
Jump to Section
- Indoor Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
- Outdoor Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
- At-Home Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
- Budget Friendly Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
Indoor Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
1. Dance Party
If your kid loves to move and groove, plan an unforgettable kids’ birthday party at a dance studio near you. From ballet to jazz, salsa and hip-hop, it’s easy to find kids’ dance classes in Denver, dance classes in Orange County, dance classes in Orlando and beyond.
For a more low-key event or family party, check out online dance classes and get your groove on together at home.
2. Bowling Birthday Party
When it comes to finding indoor kids' birthday party venues, a bowling alley is a reliable choice, and many will even let you reserve a party room or bring a special cake.
Kids will love picking out their own bowling ball and watching it spin into the pins, not to mention all the classic bowling alley treats. To make the game a bit easier for little ones, request to have bumpers rails to block the gutters.
3. Spa Day
It can be challenging to find good kids’ birthday party ideas indoors, but a spa day is brilliant for kids of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers.
Look up recipes to mix up your own natural face masks and enjoy a foot soak, join a shoulder massage train and sip on refreshing sweet tea or juice. Some kids may also enjoy painting their fingernails or toenails!
4. Costume Photo Booth
A photo booth is an adorable kids' birthday idea, but it can sometimes be hard to convince the kids to smile for a picture.
Gather up any costumes from Halloweens past as well as funky jewelry, colorful garb and oversized accessories, then throw them in a bin beside your booth. Kids will have a blast building silly outfits and dressing up, and you’ll enjoy capturing all the fun memories on film.
You can add a bit of flavor by asking the kids to come with their best Crazy Hair Day ideas to showcase originality. The designs would look great in the photos!
5. Explore the Science Museum
If you know a little astronaut, engineer or scientist, grab their best buddies and head to your local children’s science museum.
Kids’ birthday party ideas held indoors don’t always have to be at home and children’s museums are designed to help kids burn energy for hours. Packed full with educational games, a science museum teaches them cool facts without them even realizing they’re learning!
6. Lucky Dots Dance
To play the lucky dots dance, you’ll need to cut sheets of construction paper into circles, then write a number on each one, with one dot per child. Tape the dots on the floor in a large circle, then have the kids dance around as fun music plays.
When the music stops, one number will be called, and the lucky kid who is standing on that number gets to pick from the prize basket.
7. Bounce Party
If your birthday kid is always bouncing off the walls and you’re wondering, “How can I entertain kids at a birthday party?”
Head to a trampoline park where they can jump, dance, spin, flip and burn off all that energy – before fueling up again on cake, of course. To make it even easier to plan your kids’ birthday party, many trampoline parks also offer kids’ birthday party packages and private rooms.
Outdoor Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
8. Backyard Campout
If your kids’ party is scheduled for a beautiful, breezy weekend, celebrate the gorgeous weather with a camping or glamping themed get-together. Pitch and decorate a big tent for kids to sit together and enjoy on-theme goodies like hot dogs and s’mores.
For older, more independent kids and 18th birthday party ideas, invite guests to bring a tent and sleep over in the backyard.
9. Pool Party
A classic choice for summertime kids’ birthday parties, host a pool party in your own backyard or at the community pool.
Provide a variety of tasty, hydrating foods like watermelon, berries and popsicles as healthy snacks for the kids. Set up a cute shade tent to host parents while the kids swim. For kids not yet old enough to swim, consider having a splash pad party instead.
10. Dinosaur Dig
For kids’ birthday party ideas celebrating a future paleontologist, fill several under-the-bed shallow plastic storage bins with sand, then hide dinosaur toys or bones.
Give kids spoons for mini shovels and paint brushes to gently brush away the sand until each mini toy is revealed. Some kids may also enjoy splitting into teams to see who can dig out the dinos fastest.
11. Horsing Around
Horses are a common interest for many young kids, so to make their kids’ birthday party extra special, look into trail rides, kids’ birthday party packages or events at your local equestrian center.
Your horse-loving child will adore getting to know these gentle giants and learn all about caring for horses. To tie in the theme, consider having cowgirl or cowboy decorations and cake.
12. Superhero Olympics
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a super kids’ birthday party idea! Dress in costume and plan a few party games that exemplify common super traits and honor each kids’ unique superhero talents.
For example, set up a balance beam to test their super agility, carry buckets of candy to assess super strength or play animal charades to see who’s good at shapeshifting.
13. A Day at the Zoo
When it comes to outdoor kids’ birthday party venues, it doesn’t get much more adventurous than a fun day at the zoo. After all, who wouldn’t love to spend a day laughing with the silly monkeys or shivering at the scary crocodiles?
To extend your visit, check out your local zoo or aquarium to see if they offer any kids’ birthday party packages, or pack a light picnic to enjoy after your wild walkabout.
14. Movie Night Under the Stars
Looking for outdoor kids’ birthday party ideas that are effortlessly cozy, timeless and fun? Hang up a sheet and enjoy watching a buzzworthy new kids movie under the stars in your backyard. To make this movie night extra memorable, don’t forget the bean bag chairs, blankets, fresh lemonade and buckets of hot, buttery popcorn.
At-Home Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
15. Tie-Dye Party
For a kid who’s truly one of a kind, stock up on white T-shirts, tote bags and socks and invite guests over for a tie-dye party. Fill a few plastic bins or 5-gallon buckets with water and fabric dye, then show kids how to twist, tie and dip their pieces to create fun patterns.
For themed kids’ birthday party ideas at home, go for a rainbow or groovy ‘70s theme – especially fun for a 7th or 17th birthday.
16. Glow-in-the-Dark Party
It’s time to get your glow on with this kids’ birthday party idea. Tape a few black trash bags over the windows to block out all light, hang up blacklights and blast fun, energetic electronic music. As your guests arrive, hand out glow sticks, necklaces and bracelets to light up the room in a flurry of music and color – glow-in-the-dark party treats can also add to the awesome vibes.
17. Cake Decorating
If your birthday kid wants to have their cake and eat it too, why just stick to one cake? Bake several small round cakes, enough for each party guest, then fill bags with colored frosting and let each kid enjoy decorating their own sweet creation.
Older kids and teens may also enjoy learning and practicing professional cake decorating techniques.
18. Pajama Breakfast Party
Any time of day or night, pancakes make a delightful bite! Ask guests to come over in their coziest pajamas and slippers to enjoy a delicious pancake breakfast with crispy bacon, eggs and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
If your kids’ birthday party needs to have a cake, look for something fun and unique like a maple bacon cake or blueberry muffin cake.
19. Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is an excellent idea for older elementary and middle schoolers or even sweet 16 party ideas. Set the table in your prettiest linens, dress up in fancy attire, enjoy scones and finger sandwiches and practice table etiquette.
If it’s too hot for tea, you can also enjoy lemonade, fruit punch or fun fizzy drinks.
20. Barbie Theme Party
A Barbie theme party is one of the best go-to kids’ birthday party ideas at home, and with an all-pink color scheme, it’s also relatively easy to pull off.
Have guests dress in their finest Barbie-inspired attire, watch the magical animated Barbie movies and enjoy fun treats like bubblegum fudge and strawberry cake pops.
21. Mario Party
Many adults today might remember playing Mario at their own parties, but this Nintendo character is still as charming today as he was in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
To make your Mario party one of the best kids' birthday party ideas ever, invite everyone to dress like their favorite character, play vintage or modern Mario games and enjoy fun on-theme foods like pizza and Goomba or mushroom cupcakes.
Budget Friendly Kids' Birthday Party Ideas
22. Face Painting
Without sacrificing the excitement or theme, you might be asking,”How can I have a cheap birthday party?” Whether you’re staying at home or going out to a party venue, face paint is a cheap and easy way to make your kids’ birthday party even more fun.
Look for face paint ideas that are on theme for your party, such as zoo animals, superhero masks or enchanting fairy makeup.
23. Board Game Party
Pick up a few fun board games from your store or local library and have kids split into groups to play the night away. If you think your kids are too young to grasp some board games, think again.
A study published in the academic journal Early Years showed that playing board games significantly improved 3 to 8-year-old children’s mathematical abilities, so they’re learning while they’re having fun.
24. City Park Potluck
If you’re stuck wondering, “How do I plan a kids’ birthday party near me?” The city park is always an easy, crowd-pleasing and affordable idea.
Ask friends and family members to bring some tasty bite-size dishes and let the kids explore the natural world around them. Sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, hula hoops and bouncy balls can also add to the playground festivities.
25. Scavenger Hunt
There’s no wrong answer to the question, “How much should you spend on a child's birthday party?” But you don’t have to spend a lot to make it fun.
At the park, in your neighborhood or even in a big box store like IKEA, a scavenger hunt is an awesome challenge for an older kids’ birthday party. Split into teams and give each team a list of items to look for on their race to the finish line with only two rules: no running and no cheating.
26. Bubble Party
Need kids’ birthday party ideas that will make your photographs pop? Adorable and affordable, hosting a bubble party is an easy kids’ birthday party idea that will make everyone smile. Set up a bubble machine, pass out bubble wands and enjoy bubblegum flavored goodies.
27. Whack a Piñata
A piñata is a perfect grand finale to a fun kids’ birthday party and they don’t have to be expensive to be exciting.
Fill a cute piñata with candy, accessories or even back to school supplies like crayons and erasers, then have kids line up to take a swing at the prize-filled piñata. Be sure to keep some candy on the side for any shy kids who missed out on the candy rush.
Childhood flies by all too quickly, but kids’ birthday parties are a wonderful opportunity to make memories that last a lifetime. Whether they’re celebrating their very first birthday, double digits or a sweet sixteen, we hope these kids’ birthday party ideas have helped you brainstorm a big surprise for the special kid in your life.
For even more fun party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
