Oh the character parties…when your kid is OBSESSED with a particular movie, television or book character and everything in their life must revolve around them, including their birthday party.

I am totally a fan of the character party because I am a big supporter of honoring your kid and their interests. I like looking back and recognizing the year that Evie was princess obsessed (also the year we took our first Disneyland trip) or the year Hudson loved dogs. Those memories are special and unique to your kids so it’s fun to give into them in your own way.

However, you and I both know, that we don’t want the party to look like a particular party store aisle threw up over it. Most of that decor is a total waste of money. It’s SO expensive and the quality is horrible. It just ends up in the trash, and this repurposing mama can’t stomach that. I’m going to break down how I plan a character party, that is classy and modern but still makes your kid happy!

The party pictures you’ll see below were all hosted from other mamas, just like you, that hosted their character parties from a party plan I created! Keep scrolling down to shop all character party plans also! 

Party Decor

Garlands and Banners

Think about a way to give a nod to your child’s favorite character. This banner I made was SO easy and the perfect spin on my daughter’s princess party. She loves each princess, but I didn’t want actual pictures of the princesses at the party. When you go down that route, it can get a little in your face. When I was making this banner (the templates and instructions can be found in the Princess Party Plan!), Evie was all about it. She loved helping me put the dresses together to make Cinderella, Rapunzel, and we even threw Sofia the First in there because why not? She didn’t miss their faces at all, and I loved the vibe and color they brought to the party without going too far down the Disney black hole.

Garlands and banners are the perfect way to showcase your chosen character. You can often have a cutout of them, a silhouette, or one of their signature phrases, colors, or patterns.  I have links to many themed garlands and banners in party plans or you can easily create your own like I did with this princess dress one! In the following pics, you’ll see many banners that are clearly for a character but aren’t crazy character-y.

The Outfit

Another one of my favorite ways to incorporate the character into the party is through the guest of honor’s outfit! Look how cute this little fairy is as her favorite character, Tinkerbell! Chances are if your kid loves the character enough to have a whole birthday dedicated to them…they’ll love dressing up like them! The dress up item also makes for a great gift on party day! 

We had a bunch of princess dresses for all the guests to dress up as at the princess party, and other clients of mine have had My Little Pony masks and tails, teddy bear ears for Goldie and Bear, over the top fancy dresses for Fancy Nancy, and a LEGO t-shirt for the birthday boy. Every party plan I create has a page dedicated to the outfit. For a character party, I really spend time finding the cutest pieces that honor the characters and make your kiddos happy…while still being something they may be able to wear after party day. I got your back, mama!

Dessert Tables

Okay let’s talk dessert tables. This is one of my favorite areas of decor for any party. It is your chance to really be creative and have fun with your theme!

We’ll talk about food and how you can celebrate your character through that in a minute, but I want to focus first on how the tables look. 

First, think about the color of your character or the show/movie you are bringing to life. Often times, characters have certain colors they are known for. Tinkerball is the light green, LEGO is primary colors, My Little Pony is rainbow. Even without some of the overt character details, you’d have an idea on what the party theme is based on seeing these tables based on color. That’s how ingrained these dang characters are into our brains! #momlife

Rather than having a backdrop of a My Little Pony tablecloth with pictures of them all over, go a little broader and use solid tablecloths to create a rainbow. Instead of a giant Tinkerbell cut out, think about streamers that look like her skirt in her signature colors. These are so much easier on the eye and give the party a much classier feel. 

Now, your kid will want the character somewhere at their party. It’s just a given no matter how hard you try to make it work without them. The Tinkerbell banner with her silhouette and the birthday girl’s name with matching cake toppers is exactly what I’d suggest. Totally recognizable while still cute and classy. Minecraft lover in your family? These blockhead cake toppers are perfect when paired with a plain square backdrop. It’s all about how you pair the actual character elements with the other details.

The good news? Decor is a major part of every party plan. I spend a lot of time curating the cutest, and most affordable decor, while also giving you simple and realistic DIYs if that is your jam. I plan every single party as if I were hosting it myself.

All of these parties pictured? They were all hosted by other mamas, just like you, that hosted their character party from one of the party plans I’ve designed. How great did they do?!

Scroll all the way down to shop character party plans!

Party Printables

Printables are one of my favorite ways to showcase the character at a party. Kids get SUPER excited to hand out an invite with their favorite character on it, but there are still plenty of ways to make them custom and cute! I love working with Etsy sellers, especially Nicole with Palm to Pine Design, because I can customize my colors and the feel for my party. Once the invite is designed, you can also have signs for activities, a welcome sign for guests, or little quotes from the show/movie sprinkled around the party. This Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow and Fancy Nancy invitations are pure perfection for a darling classy character party!

Food

I am a total sucker for a themed menu! A fun way to bring the character to your food table is with fun little names for the dishes you’re serving!

Ariel’s mac and cheese with shell pasta? Come on, now! Cinderella’s pumpkins? What about the exact food that you can find in the world of Minecraft? Block rice crispies anyone? I have a blast coming up with these names. 

If you aren’t feeling in the super creative mindset, don’t worry, you know your party plan has them all outlined for you anyway! You can show off your character’s attributes, characteristics, home, appearance, interests, etc. with how you name your food. Your kid will also LOVE this. A powdered sugar donut is cool, but when you call it Cinderella’s carriage wheel? Well, that’s just mom of the year status right there, sister!

Activities

So this one is a no brainer. What does your character look like? What do they like to do? What are they famous for?

Tinkerbell party…well you have to have wings. Everyone needs to enter the world of Pixie Hollow and experience it’s magic. The fairies also love nature, so of course there needs to be a nature scavenger hunt!

What does Fancy Nancy love more than anything? Dress up and tea parties. Hello. Feather boas for days. Add a photo booth element and you’re golden!

LEGO party? Easy! Let them build! Or have them pin the head on a LEGO guy. 

My Little Pony fans! It’s all about friendship, right? Friendship bracelets galore! Add little unicorn charms to really put it over the top. 

The possibilities for this one are endless, and because our kids are so obsessed with these particular characters, we are very well versed in them! I am 100% confident that I could win a trivia contest about Sofia the First any day of the week. Bring it, princess. Use that mindless knowledge and bring the show/movie/character to life through recreating it through your party activities.

And because I know you’re going to ask this next, yes, all party plans include activities that already thought out (with cute names!), outlined, and I provide links to purchase all supplies needed.

There you have it! My top tips for hosting a character themed party that is classy, cute, and not full of character clutter from the Dollar Store. Do as much or as little as you want. You are the host, so your rules! 

Shop all the Character Party Plans!

If you don’t see your little one’s true love in the list of plans below, I will be more than happy to design the character party of their dreams with a custom plan! I promise to keep it classy for you, mama! Email me here!

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