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i’m matt james

professional event planner

  • Over 25 years event-planning experience
  • Winner of 30 industry awards
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  • Stella McCartney,
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KID BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS (AGES 5-7)

NUMBER OF GUESTS

The first few years of school make 5-7 year olds much more sociable, so they’re mostly interested in playing with their friends and having fun.

However, birthday parties start to become more important to them as they start choosing who to invite themselvesโ€”so don’t be surprised if they want to invite everyone from their class at school!

Just be clear in advance how many friends they can invite before they get too carried away.

Also, decide in advance if you’re expecting other kids parents to stay at the party, or if you’re happy for them to just drop them off and leave (I’m betting most parents will be grateful for the break).

Keep in mind that you might not have met all your child’s new school friendsโ€”let alone their parentsโ€”so you might want to call them in advance to introduce yourself.

boys at a kids birthday party
kids dressed as pirates

PARTY THEMES

Around this age children also start getting more into make-believe, which makes themed parties really popular.

In fact, they’ll probably already have their own favourite films, books, and characters like Harry Potter or Star Wars, so let them pick out their own theme from the list below. I’ve included plenty of character-based kid birthday party ideas.

Themed parties really come into their own for this age group and the kids will be more aware of and appreciate attention to detail. So be sure to apply the theme to all the areas of the party such as the invitations, food, and decorations.

Themed parties also lend themselves well to costumes and kids at this age love dressing up so think about asking guests to come in a costume related to the theme.

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

It’s a good idea to make parties for this age group a bit more structured so there is plenty to keep them occupied. 5-7 year olds can understand rules and will have learnt to take turns so you can start to introduce slightly more competitive team games and activities.

Things like scavenger hunts make good kid birthday party ideas (for the younger ones you can use photographs to make picture clues and for the older ones you can write riddles for them to decipher) or memory games such as showing them a tray of objects them removing one or two to see if they can remember what’s missing.

As it’s a party, let them make a bit more noise than usual or get messy. Kids this age love things like water guns (or even water balloons if you’re outside), or you could let them indulge in some balloon popping (place small gifts and toys inside before you blow them up and let them pop the balloon to get to their prize).

kid with water gun
healthy and tasty kids lunchbox

Food

For the food, the same advice for toddler parties regarding sugar levels applies for this age group. Make sure there’s plenty of savory snacks to balance out the sugary treats and cakes.

You don’t want to get them all hyped-up on sugar. So, include plenty of favorites like chicken nuggets, bite-sized pizzas, mac & cheese, and peanut butter sandwiches mixed in with plenty of healthy items such as carrot sticks and dips, cherry tomatoes, corn and grapes.

Just remember that kids don’t eat huge amounts at parties so keep everything bite-sized.

Perhaps bring all the sweets and cakes out after they’ve had something savory to make sure they don’t just make a beeline for the sugary items.

If you’re worried about wasting lots of food, you might want to think about preparing individual lunchboxes for each of the kids instead of doing a big spread.

This is particularly good for the 5-7 age group as they can keep the lunch boxes afterwards and use them to take to school. You could even fill them with goodies and other prizes throughout the party and have them double as the goody bags.

If you’ve chosen a theme for your party, take a little extra time to theme the food too. Kids this age will really appreciate it. For example if its Harry Potter theme make Butterbeer using ginger ale and butterscotch syrup, or pick up a some moulds to make your own chocolate frogs.

the idea

kids’ birthday party INVITATIONS

Check out my separate page of Kids Birthday Party Invitations for tips and suggestions.

willy wonka golden ticket invitation
personalized science party cartoon invitation
personalized turning 5 photo invitation
illustrated magic party invitation
the idea

KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY DRINKS

Check out my other page of Party Drink Ideas which includes simple styling & presentation tips to make your party drinks look more professional.

party drinks served in milk bottles
party drink ideas popsicle spritzers
party drink ideas guava rum cocktail
custom name party straws
the idea

kIDS BIRTHDAY DESSERT TABLE IDEAS

I always think itโ€™s a good idea to concentrate the majority of your party decorations around a dessert / buffet table / food station. This will create a focal point in the room.

Decorations often have to compete with existing room decor so they can get a bit lost if spread too thinly. I think youโ€™re far better off creating one really well themed feature wallโ€”with great food presentation & stylingโ€”that everyoneโ€™s eye will be drawn to. You can then use a few general decorations around the rest of the room to tie everything together.

Check out my other page of Dessert Table Ideas which has lots of different ideas for backdrops, along with tips and suggestions for how best to construct, support, display, or hang them.

balloon dessert buffet table backdrop
baby shower dessert table
balloon dessert buffet table backdrop
the idea

kid birthday PARTY THEMES

Click on any of the kid birthday party themes below for complete party plans including ideas for invitations, food & drink, decorations, and party favors.

The Alice in Wonderland kids birthday party theme
Baseball kids birthday party theme
elmo kids birthday party theme
sesame street kids birthday party theme
princess kids birthday party theme
sesame street kids birthday party theme
super heroes kids birthday party theme
bowling kids birthday party theme
Carnival kids birthday party theme
Dinosaurs kids birthday party theme
Star Wars kids birthday party theme
Pirate kids birthday party theme

Check out more kid birthday party ideas / themes here, such as the ones below.

circus theme
lumberjack party theme
lumberjack party theme
rustic floral party theme
Paris party theme
festa party theme
pink mustache bash party theme
Football party theme
skullitude boy's party theme
emoji poop party theme
Flamingo party theme
magic party theme
basketball party theme
skullicious girl party theme
luau party theme
superhero party theme
soccer party theme
mermaids party theme

Check out more kid birthday party ideas / themes here, such as the ones below.

Icecream kid birthday party theme
Royal kid birthday party theme
Pokemon kid birthday party theme
customized kid birthday party theme
Pop star kid birthday party theme
emoji kid birthday party theme
Nerff theme
Unicorn party theme
Lights camera action kid birthday party theme
vintage aviation kid birthday party theme
tropical kid birthday party theme
Ballerina kid birthday party theme
Tipi kid birthday party theme
Hot Rod kid birthday party theme
popsicle kid birthday party theme

KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY FOOD

Check out my Pinterest boards for birthday party food ideas and recipes, including sweet and savory ideas both hot and cold.

the idea

FOOD PRESENTATION & STYLING

Ever wonder why your own party food never ends up looking anything like the inspiration you found on Pinterest? Check out my Buffet Table Ideas page for a few simple food styling and presentation tips to give party food a professional look.

cheese bites served on forks on a party buffet table / food station
modern party food buffet table / food station
milk and cookies arranged on levels
chalkboard buffet table cover
the idea

kids’ BIRTHDAY CAKE TOPPERS

These silhouette style cake toppers are a easy way to personalize a birthday cake. There are lots of different styles and designs available, including ones that incorporate the birthday boy / girls’ name with their favorite sports or hobbies, or you can go for a more general topper. See the full range here.

Alternatively, I love these large face cake toppers (below far right), that are made from a photo of the birthday boy / girl. Check out other examples here.

custom name cake topper
custom name cake topper
custom name cake topper
1st birthday party custom face cake topper

Alternatively, you can easily create a beautiful photo cake, like the one below left, by using these custom edible picture icing sheets which you can then apply to any cake. Alternatively, apply them to cupcakes, cookies, or cake pops, as in the example below center. Check out the icing sheets here โ€” just upload your photos and they’ll be mailed to you.

Photo birthday cake
Edible photo icing sheets
Custom edible picture icing sheets
the idea

CUPCAKE TOPPERS

Alternatively, you can use these smaller photo face cupcake toppers. Check them out here.

Baby photo cupcake toppers
1st birthday party photo cupcake toppers
Baby photo cupcake toppers
Little man top-hat photo cupcake toppers
the idea

CUSTOM COOKIES & CUTTERS

What better way to add a cute personal touch to a kids birthday party than with these custom face cookie cutters made from a photo of the birthday boy or girl! As well as baking a batch of cookies, you could also try using them on sandwiches, cheese slices, or fruits such as watermelon. Alternatively, pop them into cellophane bags and give them out as party favors. Check them out here.

Custom face cookie cutters
Custom face cookie cutters

Alternatively, if you’re not one for baking you can buy these cartoon-style cookies made from a photo of the birthday boy / girl. Check them out here.

custom portrait cookie of a child
custom portrait cookie of a child
custom portrait cookie of a young man
custom portrait cookie of a woman
related post

kids birthday party invitations

Hit the ‘Read More’ button below to view my page of kids birthday party invitation ideas.

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