The cupcake theme gives you lots of options for setting up a kids’ birthday party. Incorporate the theme throughout the party details for a sweet celebration.
Invitations
Make your own mini cupcakes to use as the party invitations. Start with a mini cupcake liner. Glue a pompom inside. You want a pompom that is big enough to fill the liner and stick over the top a bit like a cupcake. Drizzle a little paint over the pompom to look like frosting. Glue the cupcake onto a piece of card stock that has the party information printed on it.
If you want something flat you can easily mail, cut out a cupcake shape from paper. Decorate the cupcake with glitter or other craft materials. Write the details on the back side.
Decoration Ideas
Make giant cupcakes from paper or felt to adorn the walls and party area. Cut out separate pieces for the cupcake liner, cupcake, frosting and toppings, such as sprinkles or cherries. Glue all of the parts together to make the cupcakes. If you make them double sided, you can hang them from the ceiling.
Unused cupcake liners also work as decorations. Choose a variety of cupcake liners in different colors and patterns. This is a great way to use up those few liners you have left over from past parties or events. You might also ask friends if they have a few extra liners you could use.
One way to use the liners is to make a mobile-like decorations. Poke small holes in the bottom of the liners. Put a length of string through the hole and tie a knot so the liner doesn’t slip off. You can add more along the string at different levels with a knot under each one to keep it in place. Hang several of the strings from the ceiling.
Another idea is to make a garland from the liners. You’ll use the same idea — punching holes in the bottoms and sliding them on strings. But this time you only need a knot at the end. Slide the cupcake liners on opposite ways so they don’t all nest inside each other. String the cupcake liner garlands all around the room.
Activity Options
A popular option for this theme is to decorate cupcakes with the kids. To save time, have all of the cupcakes baked and cooled before the party. You’ll also want bowls of frosting and decorations out. To avoid lots of germ sharing, give each child a separate bowl of frosting. Cheap paint palettes work well for the decorations. Put the cupcake in the middle with a few toppings in each of the paint spots. Muffin tins also work well for separating out the toppings.
Cupcake crafts also work well. Cut out large cupcake shapes for the kids. Mix together white glue and shaving cream plus a little food coloring or paint to make colored frosting that leaves a texture behind. The kids paint the mixture onto the top part of the cupcake. You can also add little beads or sequins as sprinkles.
Get the kids moving with a cupcake relay. Make some fake cupcakes using cupcake liners with pompoms glued inside. Each team needs cupcakes and a tray. The kids place the cupcakes on the tray and walk down the field without dropping them. They return to their teams and pass on the tray to the next player.
