Whether you’re planning a party for a child, adult or grandparent, choosing a colourful birthday party theme is the way to go! In this post you will find everything from how to hang balloons and streamers to wrapping presents disguised as decorations. By the end, you’re sure to be excited and on your way to host an amazingly fun colourful birthday party.
How do you plan decorations for a colourful birthday party? That’s easy. Think back to your childhood parties; imagine how they looked, the games you played, the food, the feelings. Now take all those happy memories, every bright streamer, balloon and piñata and multiply them by 10. You now have an imaginary mood board.
In the past decades, birthday parties have gradually become more and more elaborate. They are often extremely expensive and can be complicated to organise. Is it no longer enough to just have your friends and family come over for an in-home celebration with cake and a few games?
But parties are meant to be a time to have fun celebrating life! By choosing the right decorations, you can create an atmosphere that is sure to make your guests smile. There is nothing nonchalant about this decor, its bright, bold and outrageous! The perfect way to set the tone for your event.
If you can’t already tell I am SO EXCITED to share this event with you! With ideas for games, decorations, cake and more you are sure to leave inspired.
10 Colourful Birthday Party Decorations That Will Wow yYour Guests
The number one task when planning your party decorations will be the location. Will it be in your living room, backyard, school hall, or local park? With this theme, any of those locations could work! Just keep in mind how many people you plan to invite and what your spaces’ capacity is.
The decorations listed below worked great for our in-home party, which also flowed into the backyard. Therefore, many, if not all, of these will look great no matter where they are.
1. Balloons
I love balloons. They are somewhat like the fillers in a flower bouquet. Maybe they’re not the main event, but they certainly fill a room with colour and the party spirit without breaking the bank.
And don’t think you have to be a balloon garland pro to use them! With the classic homemade style of this theme, a garland isn’t at all necessary.
Get your balloons in either pastel or bright colours. You’ll want 100+ for an indoor and outdoor party. Then grab that bike pump, pair of lungs or ballon pump and get blowing!
I used these everywhere in our colorful birthday party set up. Before putting up the balloons, I ran fishing wire from one end of the lounge to the other, several times in different places. I then took the balloons and taped the very top to the line. This made the balloons look like they were floating, without the sky-high cost of helium. Adding some ribbon to these balloons is another fun detail.
If your ceiling isn’t high enough for this, then consider creating a small loop of tape with the sticky side out. Then gently press this between the top of your balloon and the ceiling. This again creates the illusion of them floating.
As you can see from the top picture, we did the same thing outdoors as indoors using lines that were already there.
2. Paper Lanterns
Paper lanterns are a great and affordable addiction to your over-head decorations. They can usually be found in all colours and sizes either online or at craft stores. If you’re not a fan of balloons then these can be a great alternative, plus they can be folded down and reused for future events!
We chose to have a mix of pastel lanterns hanging from the same tight fishing line in our lounge room. I love the vintage feel these added!
3. Strings of Stars
I had never used these in decorating, but after trying them, I’m obsessed! I ordered these from Shein as nowhere near me stocked them.
These can be hung from the ceiling (again, we tied these to the suspended fishing line), along the wall or tie shorter lengths together to create bunting.
Alternatively, these could be easily DIYed using gold or coloured card, string and glue or tape.
4. Bunting
Bunting is a tried-and-true method to brighten any area quickly and classically. Again, it is inexpensive, takes minutes to put up and is very easy to either source or make yourself!
The other benefit is that this is another decoration to keep in your birthday box for future parties. This can be used indoors or outdoors, overhead or along walls or fences.
5. Piñatas
What child (or adult) doesn’t love a Piñata? They make the perfect centerpiece decoration as well as being a smashing fun game for later in the party.
For your colourful birthday party theme, you’ll want to choose, or make, one that’s as bright as possible! I selected this ball piñata as I loved the way it reflected bright colours all over the backyard when the sun hit it.
Where you hang it as decoration may not be where you want to use it. We had ours at the centre of the party for most of the evening, then moved it to a sturdy tree later for the game.
Don’t forget to have an appropriate bat and blindfold on hand for when you’re ready to crack it open.
6. Foil Fringe Garland
Foil fringe garlands are another great decoration to add to your shopping list. They are easy to put up and will bounce the light and colours around the room.
I got ours all in silver, but you could get them in different colours as well!
7. Streamers
Firstly, you’ll want to purchase a few rolls of each colour of streamer. Grab all the colours of the rainbow for these bright birthday decorations!
When it comes to arranging, I like to go for organized chaos. Figure out what points you’ll be attaching to. For the room featured above, I had high ceilings and two hanging feature lightbulbs to work with.
I used a paper plate per light bulb, then cut a huge hole in the middle to create a circle frame. I then took 2 rolls of each color, put them on opposite sides and taped them with about a 20cm tail to the inside of the circle. I then hung this circle from the cord holding the light, so the light was at the center.
Now for the hard part, sticking the other ends to the high ceiling. For this, we found balloon glue dots held the strongest. Using a mop with a sponge end proved very helpful. You can take your streamer, decide at what point and where you want it to go, then add the glue dot to the streamer. Then, with the streamer on the end of the mop with the glue dot facing out, lift the mop to your desired position and press the streamer and glue in place.
Of course, a ladder or chair may work easier for you. But if in your hour of need, all ladders magically disappear (as they did for us), then this tip may help.
8. Oversized Balloons
If you haven’t already figured it out, more is more when it comes to bright birthday decorations! Giant birthday balloons never go amiss in the crazy explosion of decorations. Giant balloon numbers are also a great prop for birthday photos.
If you’re looking for another fun and reusable alternative to foil balloons, however, why not check out my Beginner-Friendly Letter Bunting Tutorial. With my FREE Pattern, you can create your own fabric “Happy Birthday” bunting to be reused year after year.
9. Giant Presents
I asked all the guests to bring their presents wrapped in the biggest packages possible! Even if the gift was as small as a gift voucher! These huge presents made quite the statement and were hilarious to see piled on the birthday girls lap.
They served as great decorations until the fun of opening them up began.
10. The Extra Party Supplies
Below is a list of a few extra party favors to give your guests that’ll really get everyone in the party spirit! These are easy to find at party or dollar stores and I promise the kids will love them.
- Party Hats – Cone party hats are a classic and adorable item to give out for your guests to wear. These can be purchased, or if your having a smaller party and looking for a DIY project, check out my post Adorable DIY Birthday Hat: Free Pattern and Tutorial.
- Noisemakers or Kazoos – The kids will love these… Adults with kids, not so much. But they are seriously so fun, especially if you’re having a surprise party and can use them when everyone jumps out!
- Party Glasses – Having a few of these dotted around for guests is another fun addition for photos. I bought our star glasses through Shein, but I’m sure they can easily be found at your local dollar store.
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