My Daughter is turning 3 this December and I really don't want to incorporate any "Christmas" themed parties and she likes a wide variety of characters such as Dora, Diego, Princesses, Curious George, Dumbo, etc. However, her party will consist of girls and boys and I don't know how to pick a theme! I've bought Cupcake invitations and thats as far as I've gone!
If you ask me, themes are over rated! LOL
Now exhale and think of what you'd really LIKE to do and have! Look for cute decorations with a "Birthday Party Theme"! The best parties I've been to have been the ones with classic decorations and activities: Pin the Tail on The Donkey, Limbo, Piñata, etc. Don't stress... you'll make it fabulous, Mom!
We did a Little Artist party for my daughter's 3rd. We asked for art and craft supplies, and when we sent invites, we included a blank card (I cut card stock in 1/2 and folded it) and envelope for others to decorate. That was the best, we had a "gallery" for the cards (we used tacky putty to adhere them to the wall, but you can put them on poster board).
We did a little craft project (Oriental Trading Co) and sent that home as a favor. The cake and invites just had a easle and pallette.
The whole thing was very simple, and super cheap. I printed the invites from the computer, using Microsoft word clip-art. You can buy 100 plain white invitation envelopes for cheaper than a pack of pre-printed invites.
Also, I am not a huge fan of popular character themes - but Birthday Express has a ton of them if you are leaning that way.
Good luck!
A friend of mine did Princes and Princesses at this age for a party for boys and girls. I think it was a castle kind of theme, with paper crowns for everyone to wear.
Another friend with twins (boy and girl) did Max and Ruby for her 3 year olds this year.
Hi J.,
Some of my favorite websites for planning birthday parties are: www.birthdaypartyideas.com, www.familyfun.go.com, and www.coolest-birthday-ideas.com
All three have great themes, tips and advise. The first website is ideas written from moms who actually threw those parties, the other two are great resources. Hope this helps you and if I can give you one more piece of advice, try to have the B-day party the 1st weekend of Dec. I have a Dec. child and the farther you push the party into the month, the poorer guest list outcome you will have because everyone will be attending other Christmas parties.
Good luck and have fun with whatever theme you decide to go with!
A.
J.,
My son (3 years old) just went to a four year old girl's birthday party. The theme was "Disney's Cars." Both the boys and girls enjoyed it and then they played a couple games and the cake had a CARS theme.
In my opinion you do the theme based on what your child likes-not the gender of the guests. I have been to many parties where my boys ate off of princess plates and didn't even notice or care. If you are giving gift bags you should tailor them either gender neutral or make boy/girl bags.
3 year olds care about the cake, candy and activities! They don't care about the theme nearly as much as we do! So, ask her what character she wants, and go from there.
Hi J.,
We had my son's 3rd birthday last month and I was having the same problem. We had our party at JellyBean Jungle. It is an indoor playground. They have a big climber with tunnels (like McDonald's but bigger) 2 ball pits, and several other things for the kids. Allthe kids had a great time. The best part is Jelly Bean Jungle is for kids 5 and under. It also was not expensive. You should check it out
http://www.jellybean-jungle.com/
Good luck
L.
I had the same thought as Donna- Dora and Diego! They often guest star on each other's shows and have adventures together. My son is 3 and he loves Diego and Dora.
Its your daughter's birthday though- do whatever she wants. The other kids will be happy that they get to play and have cake and goodies.
Have fun!
Hmmm...maybe you should just go with the invitation and have a cupcake/candy party...both boys and girls love cupcakes and candy so gender wouldn't be an issue.
For decorations all you'd really need is different colored balloons, tableware (plates, napkins, cups, utensils, ect) and assorted containers filled with different types of candy.
For food you could get the bread that has swirls (kind of like a pinwheel) and make different kinds of sandwiches. I wouldn't think it really matters what food you serve. Instead of a traditional cake, I think a cupcake tower made of simple sprinkle cupcakes would be great!
If you do favors you could simply get bags and have the kids fill them with the candy from the table.
This could be a really fun (and simple to put together) party!
Hey J.,
I just read about a cool party someon was doing with a theme of M&m's. With the colors and games you can do it is endless. Food shapes like M&m's. They can decorate the cupcakes with m&m's. The information was from this site so maybe you can find it in the archives.
Have fun.
If you're looking to do a theme, you could combine both Dora and Diego since they are "cousins" and one is a spin-off of the other.
