Mama Gets Creative

article contains affiliate links.

My daughter doesn’t let only “princess” define her just because she’s a girl. I asked her if she wanted a princess party or (noticing her interests) a superhero party. Without hesitation, she picked superheroes. This wasn’t going to be a DC versus Marvel ad campaign. She wanted to make her own mark in the superhero world, where she was the main character. This required some creativity. For someone who loves coming up with ideas (and recreating from some inspiration along the way), this was such a fun party to plan. Here are some of the ideas we used.

I make my own invitations. Call me old fashioned, but I love a paper invitation. Sometimes I hand deliver if I know I’m going to see the people invited in time; otherwise, I mail it. It’s nice getting happy mail, am I right? I have used pre-made cards in the past where you just insert your information. This time I made my own on Microsoft Word. The backgrounds are stock images, speech bubbles are shapes from Word, and the text is added in text boxes. When I’m happy with the look, I use the snipping tool to make an image and upload it to a “create your own design” template and have it printed locally (I use Walmart or Staples). Don’t let this intimidate you! It’s easier than it looks. Etsy and Canva are also reliable places to find pre-made cards that I have used before. You can also download these and send them digitally.

It is our family tradition to wear a custom shirt for the theme of the party. I plan to do this every year for my kids until they grow out of the tradition. Then, I will make a t-shirt quilt for them to save the memories.

The background and her cape with the mask I found on Temu. I found an easy tutorial on how to make a simple balloon arch on TikTok. My husband did all the work on that after I showed him how to do it. I’ll make another post on how we did it.

Other decorations included signage. Here are a couple that we used. I found bulletin board signs at Hobby Lobby and used paint markers to write. The superhero exclamation used throughout the decorating and as prizes are from Temu.

First stop, the food. When I plan a themed party, it’s themed down to the food. We had Captain America’s shield charcuterie, POP! corn, and Purple Power Punch (recipe below). There were build your own sliders and avocado dip. Click here to see video highlights of the food and more!

Purple Power Punch recipe

46 fl. oz. pineapple juice

12 oz frozen grape concentrate

at least 5 cans (12 oz) flavored seltzer water (I used ginger citrus and grape)

star fruit (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a punch bowl. Slice star fruit and allow to float on top.

The cake design is by request of the 4-year-old. For kids’ parties, especially the little ones, I highly recommend cake pops. They are smaller than cupcakes so less waste (and less of a sugar high!). The top cake was served to the adults. This gave her something to put a candle in to blow out. She requested chocolate cake for the cake pops, and she selected the colors. I made a yellow cake with blueberry compote in the middle to add some options. I like to make things from scratch since I enjoy baking. If that’s not your thing, support a local baker! The cake stand is from Hobby Lobby.

We didn’t get a picture of the kids getting their faces painted, but here is a picture of the paints I used. Since doing face painting for Halloween, my daughter and I have played around with it. I got her a face painting set for Christmas, and she asks for a painted face regularly! We decided to incorporate that into the party. You can get a set like ours here.

The city scape I made by painting random empty boxes black and using masking tape to create the windows.

Each guest got to make their own mask. I used foam sheets I found at Walmart to precut masks and provided foam shape stickers we already had and markers for everyone to decorate with. We cut slits in the sides and used balloon string to tie around to their size.

Some comic book superheroes made their way into the party. Grandma bought a pack of superhero capes with masks for all the kids to wear at the party. Get yours here. They had a fun time playing dress up. Then, after choosing which superhero they wanted to be, it was time to put their hero skills to the test!

My husband created an obstacle course using items we already had around the house. We used a play tunnel (which can be bought here), a hopper ball, our slide that we attached to our hill (link here), folding trellises to crawl under, some bucket lids to hop on, and I made a punch wall to get some prizes (peek the tutorial here). The kids loved the obstacle course and could have done it all day. I only wish I added more holes to punch!

Everyone went home with a bag of goodies. I try to get practical things. So many parents (myself included) complain about all the little junk. I also don’t want to pay for junk that ends up immediately in the trash. Yes, party favors are unnecessary, but I think it’s a nice touch. I get things I think the kids will actually use or can use once and throw away and is not candy. The bags I found on Temu. The items were bubbles, a tiny container of slime (I know, messy, but it was on theme!), little stampers with stars, and some of the stickers I mentioned earlier. The same prizes were in the punch wall.

The kids (and adults!) had a great time! Our daughter had been excitedly anticipating this theme for her birthday long before the big day. Her joy was well worth all the work.