Steps For Throwing a Barbie Party (With links for printables)
Are you looking to throw a Barbie birthday party? This party theme works for all ages, and can be used for adults and even bachelorette parties.
When my daughter turned 5 the first thing that she asked for was a Barbie themed birthday party! I immediately went out looking for ideas of what to do. When I think Barbie, I think PINK, sparkles, and fashion! So naturally, that is what I did.
The one thing I really wished that I had when I threw this party was a step by step guide of the things that I would need, so that I wouldn’t have to spend hours upon hours doing it myself.
Let me share with you all the details that I used (and even some that I didn’t) in creating this fun celebration so that you don’t need to stress in the same way that I did.
Come On Barbie Let's Go Party!
Your creativity in making this party is not only for you, but it is special to each and every person who attends. It leaves a lasting memory that the kids will think about for years to come! It was so much fun seeing all of the kids faces light up just from something “magical” I created.
There are so many different Barbie movies, and themes you can go with, but I tried to make it easy on myself and went with the classic Barbie PINK. A few others you could go with are Beach Barbie, Mermaid Barbie, 80’s Barbie, Malibu Barbie, or any of your favorites! The possibilities are really endless.
1. The first item you will need are the invitations.
Click here to purchase the above template.
When you are planning your invite list keep in mind how many kids/parents your space can accommodate. There will be some people that you invite that cannot make it, but you will definitely want to know how many to expect.
Make sure to note any details on the invite that are necessary. (IE. are siblings invited? Is it a pool party? Should the kids come dressed up?) The more details you provide the more prepared your guests will be.
2. Barbie Party Decor
If you want to impress your guests the first place to start is with the decorations!
-When I went looking for ideas on what to do for my daughter’s birthday party the decor item that I saw the most was a life-sized Barbie box. Once I decided that I wanted this for her party I searched the internet for hours on rentals, and decided that it would be WAY cheaper for me to make one than to buy/rent. It turned out to be way easier than I expected, and my kids (and dogs) loved it. I wanted to make this box big enough for the kids to play in/take photos in, and roomy enough if an adult wanted to try too!
-Next I made sure to have balloons, and LOTS of them. I like to do balloon garlands because I think they really make a room look decorated just by putting one up, but in the beginning I found them to be a little bit intimidating. Honestly, they are much easier than they look! Most of the time I use a kit that I buy and put it together fairly quickly. I actually ended up making two for this party.
And for the link for the balloon arch I used in this photo click here.
-Other simple decorations that you could have would be pink table runners/cloths. This really brings a pop of color to the room and helps tie the whole theme together!
-Happy birthday signs. (I chose one that had varying colors of pink and white.)
-Barbie cutouts/photobooth items that people can pose and take pictures with! This is a very easy way to decorate, and also something that is really fun for the guests and the birthday girl!
The link to the one I used is here.
-Punch board! I wish I had taken a good picture of this for you, but all I have is a zoomed in picture of the aftermath. I will still show it to give you an idea of what I did, so that you can get ideas of your own. They are very easy to make, and you can put any design on them, It also becomes an activity for the party guests later on.
I decorated my punch board with pink, stickers, tissue paper, and the phrase Come On Barbie Let’s Go Party, but you could truly do whatever you want! You attach cups (paper or plastic) to the back of cardstock and fill them with a prize or treat.
-Outfits- I made my girls shirts to match the theme. This was just a cute touch and something my kids love doing.
You can really keep it simple with everything else. There are a lot of different party packs that come with plates, napkins, and utensils that are themed Barbie online. Some of these even come with balloons and other decorations.
3. Activities
I have to admit, this one was the hardest part for me this year. This was due to my daughters age. Previous years I was able to get away with not having as structured activities planned for the kids, but as the kids are getting older I knew I had to have a more structured activity list.
Once I realized I needed to do a little more this year I really got down to thinking about the theme of Barbie and thought about cute things to go along with it as well as just having fun activities around for kids to play.
A few ideas you might want to use for your Barbie Party are;
-Pin the Bow on the Barbie- This is the same idea as pin the tail on the donkey, it just used a Barbie head cutout and bows. It can be simply made from paper, or you can purchase these on ETSY.
-Barbie Bingo- there are MANY of these online and you can print them out and have a lot of entertainment for your kiddos! The nice thing about this is you can play as many times as you would like and you can do prizes (this is good if you are doing the punch board I mentioned earlier)
-Pinata! One thing I have learned is kids LOVE pinatas, and if you are looking for something to do that will definitely take up a good chunk of time, a pinata is it my friend! I always think that the pinata will be done in a minute, but it takes the kids a long time and once the candy falls out the collection process takes them time too! Make sure you have little baggies for the kids to bring their candy home in. (This can also be a decoration until you break it!)
-Crafting Station- This was probably my favorite part of the whole party.
At the crafting station I had items for the kids to decorate that were Barbie themed. There were “enchanted mirrors”, “Barbie purses,” little wooden “Barbie convertibles”, and mini Barbie coloring book sets. I bought all of these items at the dollar store, and got crayons, markers, stickers and glitter glue for the kids to stick on them. I also found a “Barbie Dream Castle” at Michaels for them to decorate together and it was so cute to watch them play/create.
One thing to note; make sure you have a drying station for the kids “masterpieces” to dry.
-Guessing games- for this you can do anything related to your theme. I filled jars with different items and had people guess how many were in each jar.
The items that I put in jars were, Barbie shoes, candy rings and candy necklaces.
For the printables for your guests to write their guesses on click here.
-Bounce House- If space permits this is a great addition to any party, and defiantly burns energy for kids! You can rent one, but during the pandemic we bought one of the tiny ones that still holds a good amount of kids at a time. For the link to the bounce house we used click here.
-Pool Party- if you have a pool, or a community pool, pool parties are great activities! They take up a lot of time, and they keep kids and parents entertained. (Especially on a hot day!)
4. Foods
This is an easy place to get really creative. This year the birthday girl requested a giant pizza from our local pizza place near us so I couldn’t get too creative, but you could do whatever you want with a Barbie theme! Some of my favorite ideas were;
-Nail Polish Marshmallow bites
-DIY Candy necklaces
-Pink lemonade station
-Barbie fruit platter
-Sandwiches using a Barbie sandwich cutter
-Barbie cake!
Honestly, I had no idea if this cake would turn out, so I also had backup cupcakes to serve everyone, but this is one of my favorite birthday cakes the kids have asked for yet! It turned out so much cuter than I even expected it to and the kids LOVED it! It was fun because you can personalize the Barbie as much or as little as you want to.
5. Party Favors
One thing that all kids love is a good party favor and it is a nice way to thank all of your guest for taking the time to come to your party. There are a lot of generic party favors you can buy on Amazon, and you can keep this as simple as you want, or you can get a little crafty like I did. I decided to make a doll box party favor. I used my trusty Cricut and put cute sunglasses and candy necklaces and rings in the box as well. The kids got a kick out of it.
6. Have Fun!
Enjoy the fun time that you created. It goes by fast! Make sure to take pictures! I never remember to and always wish I had more.