by Christina Katz

Are you looking for an easy, fun birthday party celebration? Browse these ideas and pick and choose what works for your birthday girl or boy. These party suggestions work well indoors, but if the weather allows guests to go outside, that's a bonus.

Garden Party Décor Ideas

Sunburst wall. Start with a central round yellow object like a giant yellow party fan or a yellow paper plate. Mount the disc two-thirds of the way up the wall with masking tape. Then, using scotch tape, send yellow streamers bursting out in every direction. Tape an end close to the central object, then reach each streamer straight out, twisting as you go, and tape it down once you get to the edge of your sunburst area.

Rainbow wall. Purchase balloons in rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Use primary colors or pastels to match your party theme. Blow up 4-6 balloons in each color and scotch tape them to the top of the wall, just beneath the ceiling in rainbow order. Next, tuck matching color streamers underneath balloons and twist each before attaching to the bottom of the wall as in the example above.

Balloon flower wall. Make the center of each balloon flower white or green. Tape each flower center balloon to the wall with scotch tape, then surround each center with five or six colored balloons. Try multiple colors like yellow, pink, and lavender flowers, or have all of the flowers on one wall the same color for a more coordinated look. 

Garden Party Indoor Activity Ideas 

Fairy Gardens

Supplies: Shallow plant liner, plastic planter or dollar store tray, potting soil, planter moss, glass beads, small polished stones, wooden houses, alyssum starts, plastic animals and figures.

Custom Birdhouse

Supplies: Wooden birdhouse with hanging strings already attached, acrylic paints, paintbrushes, glass beads, buttons, and glue. Make sure you start this activity early to allow time to dry.

Potted Flower Planters

Supplies: Colored planting pots with liners, potting soil, plant starts like pansies, alyssum, and fuchsia, glass beads or stones, a wooden stake for each guest's name.

Garden Party Drink Ideas

Cool Drinks For A Warm Day

If time allows the night before, freeze decorative ice with mint leaves or strawberry slices inside.

• Wrap water bottles with decorative washi, masking, or duct tape.
• Serve lemonade with lemon and lime slices.
• Mix one part fruit punch and one part lemon-lime soda with orange and kiwi slices.

Warm Drinks For A Cool Day

Hot Chocolate Bar:

Purchase a large container of hot chocolate mix. Heat a gallon of milk and hot chocolate powder in a crockpot to keep warm. Keep a ladle on a spoon rest nearby. Add a few mini marshmallows to each cup.

Berry Herbal Tea:

Boil water and pour into a crockpot to keep it hot. Add enough berry herbal tea bags to create appropriate tea flavor. Remove tea bags before serving. Add sliced strawberries and blueberries to each mug or cup before ladling in warm tea. 

Garden Party Food Ideas

Let guests graze instead of having a sit-down meal. Veggie and fruit cups look great in short, translucent plastic cups.

Veggie cups: cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, broccoli, snap peas, and cauliflower

Fruit cups: red and green grapes, strawberries, tangerine slices, honeydew melon, watermelon, cantaloupe, and kiwi slices

Simple sandwich rolls:

 On large flour tortillas, spread a thin layer of mayo, then add even layers of:

• Turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce, and garden vegetable cream cheese
• Roast beef, Havarti cheese, spinach, and chive and onion cream cheese 
• Hard salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, and plain cream cheese 

Roll tightly, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour before slicing and arranging on a platter.

Garden Party Cake Ideas

• Carrot Cake Cupcakes 
• Terra Cotta Frosted Mini-cakes 
• Quick Dirt Pudding Cups With Gummy Worms 

Party Games With A Garden Twist

Throw Paper "Flies" Through A Spider Web

Use blue painters tape to make a spider web out of the top two-thirds of a doorway, sticky-side facing guests. Decorate doorframe with plastic spiders. Have kids crumble old newspaper into balls and take turns trying to throw them through holes in the web. Make holes in the web the appropriate challenge for the age of guests and pre-tear newspaper into throwable sizes. Each guest throws so many each until paper ball supply is exhausted. Take down plastic spiders to award as rewards afterward.

Pin The Ladybugs On The Flower

Draw a large flower with markers on poster board and tape it to the wall. Or cut out construction paper pieces and use a glue stick to compose a flower on poster board. Print out clipart ladybugs and glue them to adhesive foam sheets. Cut into squares ahead of time. Use bandanas as blindfolds. Peel backing off when it's each child's turn. Spin child and point in the direction of the flower. The ladybug closest to the center of the flower wins.

Bee Toss

Purchase yellow pom-poms, plastic googly eyes, and a black marker at the craft supply store. Stick two googly eyes onto each pom-pom and draw two black lines across each to resemble Bumble Bees. Line up plastic or terra cotta flowerpots six inches from a wall and fill halfway with plastic toys, fruit leather, or small bags of gummy chews. Let guests take 5-10 turns to toss a bee in a pot and win prizes.

Non-candy Party Favor Ideas

Find favor supplies at the dollar or craft store. Use grosgrain or burlap ribbon to tie items together:

• Seed packets in a colored planting pot or small watering can with a wooden garden marker.
• Gardening gloves with seed packets.
• Disposable berry pint with strawberry starters and wooden garden marker.
• Small garden shovel with seed packets.
• Small garden tools in cloth apron.
• Potted pansy wrapped in colored foil tied with a ribbon.
• Small pull-tie bag with seed bombs (mix seed bomb matrix with local wildflower seeds one week ahead of the party).
• Pull-tie bag with rubber snakes, plastic spiders, and bugs.
• Small fairy doll, all ready to move into her fairy garden.

Originally printed in the pages of Simply Family Magazine’s March 2018 issue.

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