It’s that wonderful time of year where most of us want to do nothing but stay indoors. It’s cold. It’s often snowy. And most everything is a little bit more challenging to get to. And while this indoor mentality is generally OK for a good portion of the winter, once a year it can present a unique challenge for a certain group of parents.
I am of course talking about those with a child that has a winter birthday…
Winter birthdays can be a challenge. Every child wants their birthday to be special and fun, but unfortunately when the weather outside is frightful, accomplishing this task is usually limited to indoor activities. And guess what...indoor parties can be just as fun as outdoor summertime ones. You just have to be a little bit more creative when it comes to the theme and the planned activities!
Looking for some inspiration for your own child’s winter birthday party? Let’s take a look at 5 of our favourite indoor birthday party ideas:
1. Glow in the Dark Party
Who says less daylight has to bring down your child’s birthday party? Why not celebrate the dark with a fun “Glow in the Dark” themed birthday party?
Pick a room in your home that can be made relatively dark with window coverings, and decorate with lots of glow in the dark décor. Set up several black lights and a small disco ball, and let the kiddos party the day away dancing to music with glow sticks, eating cake with fun disposable glow in the day utensils, and making their own cool crafts using black construction paper and glow in the dark markers and paints.
When it’s time to say goodbye, be sure to send any of the little girls attending the party (plus their moms!) home with a brightly coloured hair tie set so that they can always remember their fun, glowing afternoon!
2. Indoor Sports Party
Photo:
https://www.hwtm.com/
Sport aren’t just reserved for the backyard. In fact, a wintertime sports themed party can be just as fun as one in the summer.
Decorate your home in a variety of sports-themed party décor, including tabletop displays of cupcakes adorned with edible sports candy, and a “concession stand” with all the stadium favourites, such as hot dogs and warm pretzels.
For activities, set up a tournament with plenty of indoor-friendly sports, such as paper football, marshmallow soccer, and of course, indoor balloon tennis. The last game is super easy to set up. Just inflate a bunch of green balloon “tennis balls”, and give each child their racket (aka a plastic spoon). When you say “go” each child has to keep their balloon in the air for as long as possible, using only the spoon to hit it back up as it falls. The last balloon in the air wins a prize!
For party favours, try a set of sports-theme custom hair tie bracelets for guests to remember their day of points and goals!
3. Arts & Crafts Party
For those with a more artistic flair, try an arts and crafts themed party. This is the perfect event to hold indoors, as all your need is some space to spread out, and an assortment of planned craft activities.
For an especially sweet activity, try cupcake decorating. Give each guest their own station at the table complete with one plain vanilla frosted cupcake, and an assortment of sprinkles, edible glitter, frosting, and other tasty décor. Let the guests’ imaginations run wild as they design the most beautiful cupcake they can. Have guests show off their designs once finished, and then of course encourage them to dig in and enjoy their masterpiece! These dessert themed hair ties make a lovely addition to your goodie bags.
4. Glamping Party
For those that don’t know, “glamping” is a mix of “glamorous” and “camping,” and it is currently one of the hottest holiday trends.
Bring the glamping indoors for a fun afternoon indoor birthday party (or even an overnight birthday slumber party if age appropriate). Use old bedsheets and cardboard tubes to set up glamping tents, and create a campfire out of various coloured construction paper. Let the kids sit around the fire and make s’mores (with mom or dad supplying “fire roasted” marshmallows that have been heated in the oven), and share funny ghost stories. You can also turn off the lights and let the kids all learn how to make fun shadow puppets by placing their hands over the end of a flashlight pointed at the wall.
If the party is mostly girls, you can even consider a little glamping makeover session with hair glitter, nail polish, and more! Oh, and don’t forget the sparkly hair ties to bring the whole look together.
5. Pirate Party
What little boy or girl doesn’t imagine sailing the seven seas as a pirate? Embrace their imaginations with a fun indoor pirate themed party.
Take some old boxes and tape them together to make a large indoor pirate ship. Give each child an eye patch and show them how to make their own swords using paper towel tubes. Then let them hit the seas in search of the treasure you have hidden, which can only be found by working together to solve the clues you give them.
Once the sunken treasure has been discovered and dispersed (chocolate gold coins make for excellent treasure, BTW), let the kids sit down and watch their favourite pirate-themed movie while munching on Pirate’s Booty snack mix and Pirate Punch.
A winter birthday doesn’t have to stop you from throwing an amazing party for your child. If anything, it allows you to be even more creative, finding fun, unique activities and themes to combine into one amazing bash your child is sure to remember forever. Plum Polka dot can also assist you in creating customized printables (think menus, table cards, welcome signs…) for ANY time of party!
Can you think of any other indoor birthday party theme ideas we missed? Be sure to hit us up on Instagram at @plumpolkadot and share some of your favourites!