Easy Homemade Kid's Birthday Decorations

Great birthday party decorations tend to get everyone in a celebratory mood. In fact, some of the best and easiest decorations are ones that are homemade. All you need is the supplies and a bit of creativity and you'll be on your way. Prior to beginning the decorating process, you may want to decide if you'll be throwing a themed bash or want to stick to a particular color scheme. Then gather a bunch of materials you have lying around the house such as paper, poster board, glue, balloons, magazines, empty coffee containers and other miscellaneous items.

Balloons, ribbons and streamers are generally decoration staples. The balloons can be blown up and hung from windows, light fixtures, chairs and other locations throughout the house. You may also want to string a bunch of balloons around the entrance to the party or from your mailbox, so guests know exactly where the party is at. Streamers can be twisted and wrapped around the rooms along with ribbons, which you can curl with a scissor to add some extra pizzazz.

Creating posters and birthday signs are quick and easy. You can make your own using markers, glitter and glue, or print some from the computer. Most computers have programs with clip art that allow you to make various signs and banners. If you have a picture of the birthday kid, you can have it blown up as a decoration or mount it to a poster board and have every guest sign it when they arrive. Cutting out pictures from magazines is another idea that you can use to create a big birthday collage.

When it comes to children's parties, there's likely to be some type of mess or spills so use a plastic or disposable tablecloth to cover the tables. Along those lines, you can tape down paper or brown bags and place some crayons or markers on the table to keep the children occupied. It's also good to make place cards for all of the guests (which also serve to avoid any seating arrangement problems). The place cards can simply read the child's name or be enhanced with stickers or anything else you see fit. If you are going to use the tablecloth as a canvass of sorts for the children to decorate, you can buy a different color marker for each of them and attach their name to it as well.

Games are another staple of birthday parties and can also double as decorations (for example, Pin the Tail on the Donkey). The games you play will vary according to the age group; however, it's a good idea that every participant receives a prize at the end. The prizes can be anything age appropriate such as notepads, small action figures or toys. Party favors can also serve as decorations and a game/activity. Letting each child design their own birthday hat, pin or poster can be a contest and a competition (you can even time them). Children always look forward to receiving goodie bags, so it's important that you have enough to go around. Goodie bags can include any number of party favors or candy. If you want to do something different, try laying out already-made cookies and set up a station where each child can ice and decorate their cookie to take home.

It's important to make sure that the decorations and favors are suitable (not hazardous) to the children, so keep their age range in mind when creating your decorations. Also, there are a number of websites that provide different templates for birthday decorations, various birthday theme ideas and games. Below are links containing the above and additional easy homemade decoration ideas.