Adding special touches to a “store-bought” Spiderman birthday party
We actually weren’t going to have a birthday party for Atticus this year (we took him to Disneyland for the first time!) But as we got closer to his second birthday, I just couldn’t help myself but plan a small party. I’m also pregnant with our second baby, so I wanted to keep this party low-key and planned on purchasing most of the decorations instead of making them myself. You don’t have to be a crating expert to create a memorable party! I focused on purchasing items that would give the most impact with the least effort, and added some simple customization where possible.
The Planning Process
Atticus’ birthday usually falls around Labor Day weekend, so we chose to plan a quick BBQ at my in-laws place because they have a swimming pool. We got really into Spidey and His Amazing Friends this year, so there was no question what the theme of his party should be. I knew I wanted to keep it simple by purchasing decorations, but I also didn’t want to throw a “tacky” Spiderman party.
It was very important to me that this was a Spidey and His Amazing Friends party, not a Spiderman party, so I only wanted to purchase decorations that had Spidey and his friends in the animation style of that show. I came up with a color scheme and created the mood board below.
For the invitation, I downloaded a stock image of pool water for the background, and sourced the same font’s used for Spidey and His Amazing Friends. I found a cute, watercolor style illustration of the Spidey team and added that to the left side.
The Design
We were keeping this party very small, so I didn’t need to create a big set-piece, but I still wanted a themed focal point so we decorated the back fence behind the pool with balloons and kid-sized cutouts. The cutouts were a super last minute decision, but I HAD to make them, because I realized none of the decorations I ordered included Iron Man, and that was one of Atticus’ favorites! I decided to make cutouts of his four favorite characters (Spidey, Iron Man, Hulk and Black Panther) and I am so glad I did! They didn’t take too much effort to make, but I they did make a great impact!
I added a balloon garland on either side of the seating area, and then added fake spiderwebs in long strands to look like Spiderman really “webbed” them up (this was inspired by the queue for the ride Web-Slingers at Disney’s California Adventure!)
The Activities
I intentionally planned this party at my in-laws house so the pool could be the activity and I didn’t have to plan anything extra! I purchased a big Spidey pool float, some water squirting toys, and floating Spiderman cup holders to make it extra fun.
The Food
We kept it simple with hamburgers and hot dogs, pasta salad, tater tots, corn on the cob, and fresh fruit. We had plenty of drinks in the cooler outside, as well as a red “Spidey Juice” in a drink dispenser that I decorated to look like Spiderman. I loved these superhero disposable cups and red “web” platesI found from Meri Meri and paired them with blue cake plates. Of course, I needed to include some branded tableware, so I picked up a pack of Spidey and his amazing friends crazy straws.
For dessert, we served store-bought cupcakes with Spidey cake toppers.
You don’t have to go “all-out” and spend thousands of dollars to plan an awesome party for your kids. Even the simplest touches can be magic in your kids eyes!
If you want to learn my techniques for making the simplest parties surprising and memorable, browse my party planning resources here or reach out to me to plan something together!
