Dress Up Themed Birthday Party Ideas for Kids
Throw an epic dress up themed birthday party for kids with these totally doable and on-theme ideas! You’ll find activities, food ideas, decorations, and more – all realistic for busy parents on a budget! This post contains affiliate links.
A is our precious diva, and when she turned four, we threw her an epic dress up themed birthday party. She loves putting on princess clothes, covering herself in jewelry… you get the idea! So this was the perfect theme for her.
This was a smaller birthday party, with mostly family coming, along with some family friends. It wasn’t a class party where I had to entertain full-time. It was more of a buffet party, with open-ended activities and cake at the end.
My goal with birthday parties is always to keep it realistic. There will be some moderate DIY (and yes, I own a Cricut and various other forms of craft tech) – but nothing that’s crazy or irreplaceable. If you don’t have the equipment or the skill to DIY those few things, you can buy them or skip them.
Dress Up Birthday Party Decor
We really went easy on the decorations for this party. A few strategic items were placed to give the party some atmosphere. Since a focal point of the party was the dress up station, that was really the most decorated, but we’ll discuss that later.
The general color scheme and tableware
My goal was to just keep things glam and colorful, and I really mixed things up here. I used lots of gold and then found rainbow metallic plates. From there, I picked things up from those colors. We went with solid color paper goods (blue, yellow, purple, pink) although next time I’d probably stick with just gold, purple, pink with the rainbow metallic, just to keep those bold colors from detracting from the glam nature of the party.
The tablecloth was a happy accident. I had purchased one tablecloth to cover our dining table, not realizing that I needed one for the dress up table too. That one was a metallic foil one (which you’ll see later). I ended up finding in my paper goods stash a lace tablecloth that was just perfect for the dress up vibe!
I normally have my dining table full of food and centerpieces but this time I didn’t – I left space open for crafts and activities. The food was all on the countertop, besides for a few desserts on the table.
The Decorations
For decorations, I really stuck with purchased items. I got a balloon chain kit in gold and silver, where you connect the balloons in a chain. I thought it looked a lot like a beaded necklace. I also got a circle garland for that same bling bling effect.
And to stay true to our tradition, I of course got a 40 inch number balloon. I try to photograph my younger set (I just didn’t think of it with my older two) each birthday with the balloon to show their growth.
I also got a metallic foil Happy Birthday banner that went perfectly with the other things, and a rainbow pom pom garland also looked like a string of beads and fit right in.
Dress Up Birthday Party Food
Some of my birthday party ideas feature more themed food than others (like these farm party food ideas) and for this one I didn’t really go all out. I mostly just served a good lunch buffet for family and friends. My general template is usually a couple of pasta dishes or bagels/spreads, a few salads, some chips and dips… Plus some snacks and drinks.
The Cookie and Dip Board
The one really themed idea that was so cute was to “dress up” cookies – we made a cookie board and served it with dips! The ideal cookies are simpler ones – like graham crackers, plain petit beurre biscuits, Oreos – and we also did chocolate chip cookies. We served it on a large wooden board.
Next to it was a few cookie dips. My favorite (and a bit too dangerous – I wanted to eat all of it) was this hot cocoa dip. We also put out plain old Nutella and this peanut butter dip too. It was one of those things that wasn’t so obviously on theme (you can make a “dress up your cookie” sign) but was just so good.
The Cake and Cake Topper
We have a family tradition as I’ve shared in the past (see this one cake topper) to have a “birthday babka” instead of birthday cake. No, we don’t do it for the kids who really want piles of frosting, but it’s a fun take for birthdays – and lower key (cheaper!) than custom cakes.
I make a topper and we just stick it right in. And it’s yummy. It has a “naked cake” look. For A, I made this Happy Birthday cake topper and added a string of pearl beads to the bottom to blend it right into the theme in a super cool way!
Dress Up Birthday Party Activities
The activities are really my favorite part of every birthday party. Some parties feature more guided crafting (like this sleep mask decorating craft and DIY sleepover bookmarks from A’s un-sleepover 5th birthday. Yes, we’re working in an odd order.)
Family-style parties, however, tend to be ideal settings for open-ended crafts and activities. I set these up, let the parents know that they exist and leave it alone. I leave these out for the entire party so that people can have what to do, but do it at their own pace.
The Crafts
I love it when kids have something they made to come home with. At a party like this, where family means that the kids were all different ages (from toddler through teen) having options that are as open-ended as possible really is the way to go.
Dress Up Doll Stickers
I stocked up on various dress-up-doll sticker books and sheets. I even found manicure sheets! These were laid out on the dining table in small piles – no fancy arrangement, just simple entertainment that fits the theme.
Beading x2
We love jewelry making and I set up a little beading station – just simple pony, letter, and other kids’ beads on plates and in bowls. I provided elastic and scissors – and that’s it. If anyone needed help, I provided it. Read more of my tips for beading with preschoolers if you feel you need extra guidance on this.
I also put out a container of pop beads (a fabulous fine motor tools) for kids. Note that even if you intend for that to stay as it’s a reusable toy, kids may take them home. I allowed for that – and I recommend only putting it out on the craft table if you’re okay with that.
In the past, I’ve set up a separate themed “toy station” (like the themed books we put out at my son’s science party) to allow for themed independent play to fill the time. Having it with toys would signal more that it’s a toy to stay rather than a take-home project. But again, I didn’t care.
The Dress Up Station
The highlight of the day was, of course, the dress up station (and yes, you can even print the signs for yourself.) I put out so many accessories like tutus, glasses, bling, and we even had a kid-friendly manicure setup (parent-led.)
I even allowed kids to take home some of the costume accessories at the end. Since it was family, as guests left and took off their costumes, I pointed out certain accessories they can take home (why don’t you keep that necklace and ring? It’s yours!)
We didn’t do party favors at this party, so this was a fun way to include a take-home – and we didn’t need so many dress-up stuff after! Make sure to read the full dress up station post where I share much more about this.
The trick is to get large packs of cheap items to cover a big crowd. We added ambiance by covering the table in a metallic cloth (it was gold on the main side but we opted for the silver reverse!) We added an LED lamp in the center to add to the vibe.
More Dress Up Themed Birthday Party Ideas
Here are a few more ideas for throwing an epic dress-up party for kids!
Photoshoot and accessories
Did I mention that I get a 40 inch balloon for every party to take photos? We also got A a sash that says “birthday queen” to wear. It was a bit big, so she didn’t wear it throughout the party, but it was so cute for the photoshoot.
She also wore her favorite tutu for the party – with a comfy tee because that’s her vibe. Right off the bat, she chose a crown that she wore throughout, and eventually she swapped her sash for a costume too.
More things you can include
Whenever I throw a themed birthday party, there’s always a huge list of ideas that I didn’t do and I figured I might as well share some!
- With the dress-up factor, this party is perfect for a photobooth! If you have a printer that prints on adhesive material or any instant printer (we love the Liene printer) you can give prints instantly. Attach a magnet to the back for a fun favor.
- These princess party crafts also make fabulous dress-up party activities!
- We made our own bracelets as the dress-up, but you can make any costume accessories – especially fancy costumes. Stick gems onto sunglasses, decorate cosmetic pouches (a cool tween adaptation), do Decoden hair brushes (or glue-on gems)… you can really do anything!
- If you want more formal party favors, get things like cheap rings, dress-up stickers in individual sheets, mini jewelry making kits
- If you have a budget, you can get really cool with a candy bar. Many gumballs look like pearls, and you can get more candies that fit that theme.
- Red carpet – you can lay out a red carpet leading away from the dress-up station for kids to walk down.
Got any dress up themed birthday party ideas to add to the list? Comment below!
