Once upon a time, a tired parent searched all the land for the perfect party theme. Luckily, a Fairy Godmother understood her struggle and delivered a collection of fairy-tale and dragon-themed party ideas. Whether your birthday child wants to channel her or his inner fairy princess or prince, wander in the magical woods or slay a menacing dragon, we have a party idea for you!
Cinderella party
Create a party fit for a princess by decorating the snack table with lots of gathered blue and white tulle as a table skirt. Don’t forget a big tulle bow on each chair’s back! Serve up mini doughnuts as “carriage wheels” and cut out jam sandwiches with glass slipper cookie cutters for fun treats. Check the blog Kara’s Party Ideas for more ideas!
Dragon cake
If your birthday child would like a fire-breathing dragon cake to keep watch over the festivities, try this DIY dragon cake from the Shorties Funny Farm blog. It looks complicated, but we’ve made this one and we promise it is fairly easy!
Castle cake
Create a fairy tale castle cake and wow your guests. The House of White blog offers a tutorial on how to make an easy (really!) castle. The blog’s author uses ready-made cakes and frosting from the store to make this stunner in just a few minutes! She calls it a “princess cake” but you could change it up a bit and call it a knight’s cake as well.
Fantasy party
Why not channel all the classic fairy tale characters for a birthday party? Christie, the author of the blog Childhood 101, offers up lots of ideas for a party that won’t break the bank. She served toadstool cupcakes, princess crown sandwiches and Rapunzel pretzels for party food and decked out their backyard playhouse to look like the Gingerbread House. She also gives instructions in making your own Dwarf ring toss game and other fun activities.
Dragon craft
Dragons are the villains in many fairy tales but these creatures look cute enough to cuddle! This craft would make a lovely activity for preschoolers to do during the party. Since these dragons are on a stick, consider letting the guests put on a puppet show. Get the instructions at the blog Learn with Play at Home.
Fairy dust party favors
Parents will appreciate a party favor without the sugar rush. Send home glitter playdough in baggies for your guests to play with later. Make this Fairy Dust Playdough from Sugar Spice and Glitter by working glitter into a batch of homemade or store-bought playdough. For boys or anyone who might not appreciate pink sparkly dough, try yellow play dough and add gold glitter to make gold nugget dough.
Tinkerbell party
Create an enchanted wood with a woodland-themed party like this Tinkerbell celebration on the blog Sprinkle Some Fun. From the log-shaped cake embellished with edible flowers to the super cute cheese and cherry tomato toadstool snacks, this party will delight any fantasy-loving kid.
Dragon photo props
Target sells this fun set of photo props. These are perfect for a fairy tale or dragon-themed party and include everything from fire breath to speech bubbles. Just hang up a sheet or colored plastic tablecloth on the wall and let the kids take selfies. Target also offers some other dragon partyware, so be sure and check it out.
Activity cards
You can thank Jenae from the I Can Teach My Child blog for these free printable fairy tale activity cards. These would be a perfect game to get the wiggles out with a preschool or early elementary crowd. Kids will love running as fast as a gingerbread man, stomping their feet like a giant and gathering sticks for a pretend fire.
You might also like: |
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in October 2019, and updated in February 2022.
