Hi Moms,
Well, I am really counting on you. My youngest is turning eight in May. We have always enjoyed planning birthdays. My daughter is a creative girl. She has a really great interest in mythical, fantasy, creatures. Last year we had a fairy birthday which was absolutely awesome. There were so many choices for fairy party ideas and entertainment. This year my daughter wants a dragon themed birthday. She does not want "Dragon Tales", but a more sophisticated dragon themed party. I have had a hard time finding entertainment. I am looking for ideas for games and/or entertainers who might be able to engage the kids with story telling or theater regarding dragons. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
J. L.
Ladies, you really came through for me. I was just having no luck finding party supplies, entertainers, etc. with a dragon theme. Thank you to the two Karen's one of you lead me to the Family Fun Magazine for great party game/decorating ideas and a great dragon cake which we are going to attempt. We will also be having our own version of hunt for the dragon lair using easter eggs (dragon eggs) to hide the clues. The lair will hold all the goodies for the goody bags. Also thank you to Liz who suggested Chinese New Year stuff. We hit the jackpot at oriental trading post and were able to get tableware, decorations, dragon prizes for the "Dragon Lair" even inexpensive dragon tote bags to use as goody bags and a dragon pinata! Also thank you to Karen who suggested Tony Toledo. I really wanted a professional storyteller. My girls can't get enough of stories, but I am sure I will be too busy to keep them entertained alone. I know it's an expense, but he was negotiable. (we really celebrate birthday's, but we don't do alot of other things through the year.) Tony seems very animated and I am looking forward to having him. Birthday is planned for May 16th. And to all the rest who took the time to answer, Bless You.
J. L.
Hi Ladies,
What a wonderful resource this site is! I had my daughter's Dragon Birthday Party Saturday May 16. Thankfully the weather held. It was simply a great time and my daughter was thrilled! The decorations were beautiful. My husband had brought home some large pieces of carboard and paint and the girls got into the act with helping to paint and construct an asian styled castle along the front fence and gate. The Chinese New Year themed dragons were hung across the yard on string and we even purchased some inexpensive feather mardi gras masks to use as dragon masks for our dragon games. each of the guests brought one home. The scavenger hunt was alot of fun if not a little chaotic. And the story teller was great. Not exactly what we were expecting. I was hoping for something more theatrical, but he really engaged the kids. My two daughters and several of the guests are really into stories so they just kept listening as Tony told story after story. We had about 18 kids so it was hard keeping all the kids engaged at all times, but we have a swingset and play house so the others played around the yard. Tony stayed for about two hours and he kind of MC'd things. Keeping everything interesting. He has multiple games in his head and just kept popping out with things if the kids seemed unengaged. Leaving me to serve the guests and pick up a little.
Bottom line is, many of the kids said things like "my party wasn't like this" I even had moms who remarked how they had spent alot of money going to different party places and the kids seemed to be having more fun in our back yard. Most importantly, my daughter thought this was "the best party ever". Childhood is so fleeting. Thanks for helping me make some really great memories.
J. L.
Okay, totally off the top of my head here, but I was thinking a Knights and Dragons party. You could do a Knights at the round table type thing. Knight all the kids as they arrive and do some sort of dragon hunt (scavenger hunt). My kids still love pin the tail on the donkey games, but I always adjust it to the theme. So for this it could be pin the flame on the dragon.
Not sure where you live, but the Higgins Armory in Worcester has a lot of knight stuff - I think they might host birthday parties.
You can google things like dragon crafts or dragon costumes, or go to the local library for craft/activity books - there are often dragon-type masks or hats you can make out of simple things like paper bags. Knights always had "colors" and coats of arms, and there are a lot of books that show how to choose and create an interesting coat of arms that the kids could take home as their project.
There are a lot of dinosaur cake patterns you can make and probably adjust to be a dragon. You start with a rectangular cake and then cut it into shapes, reassemble it, and frost it. You could use red string licorice to be the flames coming out of the mouth. One of the baking companies put out a book of shaped cake ideas some years ago - you might be able to find something in your library.
I really like the older style games like the other mom suggested - pin the tail (or the flame) on the dragon. We did a lot of scavenger hunts over the years and the kids really like them. You might be able to find plastic Easter eggs on sale and call them dragon eggs, fill them with treats or small toys (which then become the goody bags).
I was never big on hired entertainment, but if you go that route, I agree with the other mom about negotiating the price. People are willing to work with you in this economy. A storyteller is a nice idea. I like the idea of getting some drama students from a local school (high school or college or theatre group) who might love the chance to create entertainment. You have 2 much older children so if they are in the area it might be fun to have them participate! My son has 2 much older sisters and he has always enjoyed the attention they give him.
One thing I would say is that it is great that kids have fantasies but I think it can be very detrimental for girls to play up the old "damsel in distress" theme with the dragon at the gate and the man coming to rescue her. Giving the girls power is a lot more fun! I like the Knights of the Round Table idea - your daughter could be the queen and the others could be the trusted and loyal knights. You could give them (or they could choose) names too.
If you could find a dragon pinata, maybe you could make a stick look like a sword and have them whack the pinata with that.
I don't know much about this subject but as luck would have it, my 9-year old nephew is right next to me and informs me that the 4th Harry Potter book features dragons. That could be your starting point. Good luck!
Hi J.,
I saw a fantastic storyteller at a party last year. I'm sure you could request the story be about dragons. He was so captivating, the kids loved it, and I was skeptical that they wouldn't pay attention. his web site is www.tonytoledo.com I know he was pricey, but the mother negotiated with him so she could afford it. good luck
K.
Hi J.,
I would start with the local theater company, if you have one. Many of them already have costumes of kings, knights, "dragons", and such. If you don't have one, check the local high school for a drama club. You would be surprised at the extent of costumes and talent that you can get from there. Most are willing to work with people for special showings like birthdays or they can refer you to people who will put on a performance like you are asking for. My other suggestion for finding costumes or props would be Hearth Song Online, highlights children
magazine online or possibly even discovery kids online. I hope this helps :)
C.
We did a knights & princesses party for my kids' combined 3rd and 1st birthdays last year. We decorated the inside of the house with homemade shields (poster board shapes decorated with various family crests), lots of red, purple and gold balloons, and pennant banners. While the kids started to arrive, they decorated their own crowns and princess hats (inexpensive paper or foam versions can be found at a craft store or even assemble cardboard cones ahead of time and pull ribbons out of the top-- the kids can glue on glitter, stickers, etc.) We rented a castle bounce house and held a "jousting tournament" -- which was a relay race where kids hit weighted helium balloons with pool noodles, crawled through a castle (decorated computer box) and then rescued a 'damsel' (barbie) from the dragon's lair. Or they can go on a hunt for the dragon's treasure (gold chocolate coins) hidden in the back yard.
Check out Family Fun magazine online; they did a GREAT knight's theme party and we adapted many of the ideas for our own use. We even made the dragon cake they featured (link below), which was super easy and a HUGE hit.
Can you do chinese dragons and myths? They are pretty cool and you may be able to even rent one and have some of the adults wear it. You can do chinese decorations and an asian type of theme and food. I think it would pretty cool. You could also maybe see if there is a chinese cultural association that may have more information about talent, games, etc. good luck!
Hi J.~ I did a Dragon & Fairies party for my sons 4th birthday...but definately not dragontales! Most of the party guests were older & we focused on fantasy & magic, not cartoons. Here's some of our activites/ideas:
* Decorations included fairies hanging in the front hall (cut out from stiff felt), lots of glitter & confetti in our blue & purple theme, helium balloons resting on the ceiling with long curling ribbons hanging down, my sons dragon collection displayed on the table. We invited guests to come in costume.
* I did exactly what a pp suggested & baked a sheet cake, cut it into a dragon shape & frosted it together. I even used the red licorice for flames! If you go this route, be prepared to do a 'crumb coat' of frosting, cut cake edges are very crumbly.
* We set up a 'make your own wings' craft - I cut out dragon & fairy wing shapes out of different colored posterboard (including black), we provided wonderful, interesting paper, fabric, glitter, stickers, water-based paint markers, feathers, etc. & guests made their own wings. This was a GREAT activity & would probably have been even more successful for older kids. The adults enjoyed it too!
* We also set up a face makeup & temporary tatoo station("The Painted Dragon Tatoo Parlor"), with Auntie in charge, 'tho most of the kids wanted to do their own makeup.
* A parade of dragons & fairies were led by 'dragon drum' to the space set up for the rest of the party activites.
* We played "pin the tail on the dragon"... I painted a large dragon (which also worked well as decoration), & we cut out 'dragon tails' out of poster board. This was also a surprisingly sucessful activity. All the kids loved it -- tons of giggles. We tailored the difficulty to the child's age (blindfolded, spun or not, etc.)
* A quick blessing for my Son and the other Scorpio guests (4 whose birthdays were within a week)...sprinkling glitter on the blessed person & saying a special wish for them. The kids also loved this - both receiving & giving. Yay, glitter! (Note: We do have a really great vaccuum cleaner.)
* Goody bags had dragon & fairy stickers, dragon stencils, tiny fairies, blue & purple foil wrapped chocolate eggs (dragon eggs), glitter pencils.
All of this plus cake & presents was more than enough! The party went later then I planned even tho' we dropped an activity. I must say that this was one of the most fun parties we've had -- for me as well as for my son. I really enjoyed setting it up & playing in the fantasy world we created. The children's wings were wonderful & seeing everyone dressed up & playing was beautiful. We have fantastic pictures! Hope some of this was helpful. Enjoy your party!
