Beloved by both adults and children alike, Dr. Seuss’ fanciful rhymes and whimsical stories lend themselves to a superb birthday celebration. In particular, family-favorite The Cat in the Hat is perfect for an over-the-top, spirited celebration.
Decor Color Palette: Red, white, and blue. Remember, for this theme, stripes are your friend!
Food/Drink: Keep things uncomplicated with a charcuterie of red, white, and blue snacks. Fill bowls with different flavors of Goldfish® crackers. Make “hat” treats out of skewers with marshmallows, sliced bananas and strawberries, or layer dessert cups with whipped cream and strawberries. Top “Thing One” and “Thing Two” cupcakes with blue cotton candy hair, or whip up a cake in the shape of the Cat’s iconic top hat.
Entertainment: Pin the hat or bow tie on the Cat, and act like the Cat himself: instruct guests to balance as many beanbags on top of their heads as possible. Set out a box with a pile of toys and time each guest to see who can “Clean Up the Mess” the fastest. To get guests moving, design a Thing One and Thing Two obstacle course. Create a photo booth or oversized wall frame and snap memories with wacky props like the hair from the Things. To amp up the fun, hire a local balloon artist to shape balloon animals or characters for your guests.
Treat Bags: Individual packs of Goldfish® crackers and Swedish Fish® candy, plus other red, white, and blue items or sweets. If you’ve hired a balloon artist, send guests home with a balloon creation.
Alternative Theme: The Lorax
Lately, everywhere you look you’ll find axolotls, salamanders native to Central Mexico that have become popular icons among kids. Centre a playful party around these trendy amphibians for a unique and cute theme.
Decor Color Palette: Pink, purple, green, and/or blue. Focus on under-the-water decor like aquatic plants, bubbles, paper clams, and maybe a seashell or two.
Food/Drink: Serve axolotl head cake pops and sugar cookies, or make your own clamshell cookies: pipe colorful frosting between two Nilla® wafers and dot with a small, round candy such as a Sixlet®. Lay out skewers of gummy fish as well as Underwater Plants (green grapes). Mix up a jug of Lake Water (blue lemonade). Follow an online tutorial to make an axolotl-shaped cake, or order a customized one.
Entertainment: Play “pin the tail on the axolotl,” axolotl bingo, and, instead of musical chairs, opt for musical “pond.” Plan a “find the axolotl” scavenger hunt or escape room, and let guests try to smash a paper mâché axolotl piñata. Set up a craft station to make personalized axolotls and/or paper axolotl masks. Alternatively, hire a face painter to turn your guests into colorful salamanders.
Treat Bags: Bubbles, fidget toys, and axolotl-themed goodies like stickers or tattoos. Or, print a small bundle of axolotl activities (bookmarks, coloring pages, fortune tellers), roll like a diploma, and tie with a ribbon.
Alternative Theme: Capybaras
What child can resist learning how to be a spy? This party will take some planning and prep, but your guests will always remember the day they became secret agents!
Decor Color Palette: Red, white, and black. Think anything top secret, classified, and mysterious.
Food/Drink: Play up the spy theme with chocolate moustache pops and some creatively named treats, for instance TNT (licorice), Dynamite Sticks (pretzels), and Cherry Bombs (Sour Patch Kids Sour Cherry Blasters). Label beverages as Truth Serum. Serve Top Secret cupcakes with a surprise filling in the middle, or a fondant bomb cake.
Entertainment: Upon arrival, “fingerprint” your guests and give them their secret agent name. Next, it’s training time. Test their memory with a “What’s Missing” game and their senses with a taste test or game of “pin the moustache on the birthday star’s photo.” Practice interrogation by playing 20 Questions to discover someone’s secret identity. Create a crepe paper laser course to challenge their flexibility, and instead of Hot Potato, play “Pass the Dynamite.” After graduation, hand over Secret Agent ID cards, and explain the team’s first mission: find and disarm a pull-string bomb piñata. Set up puzzle clues that lead from one area of your home to another. For example, an easy code to decipher, a math question, or a 25-piece jigsaw puzzle the team must put together to reveal the clue. The final clue should lead to the bomb’s location. Remember that a pull-string piñata is not meant to be hit with a baton, so if you make one yourself, cut a “swinging door” flap at the bottom. Tape one string per guest to the flap, fill the piñata with candy and seal the door. When it’s time to disarm the bomb, have each guest hold onto a string so everyone can pull at the same time.
Treat Bags: What would a spy need? Fake moustaches, invisible ink pens, mini notepads, sunglasses, magnifying glasses, a pack of gum, and maybe some candy to keep them going.
Alternative Theme: How to Be a Ninja
Born in the prairies, Stephanie is a mother, cancer-survivor, cat lover, and avid traveler. Stephanie is also the creator of the family travel blog Next Family Getaway, nextfamilygetaway.com, where she shares trip ideas and travel advice for those traveling with kids.
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