As most of you know, I am a mommy to one sweet little boy. I love everything to do with parties for kids and I am always trying to think of new ideas for boys since there will be a lot of boy party planning in my future! Today our Party Tip Tuesday feature comes from Spaceships and Laser Beams – the go-to site for adventurous, sometimes slightly gruesome but always entertaining parties for boys. If you’re planning a party for a little boy (or a girl who loves bugs, science and robots) – then you’re going to love these ideas! Today Stephanie shares creative party tips with us along with ideas for making the most of your party budget.
1) What is Spaceships and Laser Beams?
Spaceships and Laser Beams is a blog and Etsy shop dedicated to boy party ideas. From dinosaur and superheroes to robots and mad science – and everything in between – we aim to be the ultimate resource for moms of boys who want unique party ideas. I don’t think there’s another party site so dedicated to all things boy birthday party related.
2) When planning a party for a child, it is so easy to go over budget. What tips do you have for staying on budget?
First of all, set a budget. You’d never believe the number of people who forget this step but you need to have a hard number. A lot of people just buy, buy, buy and then feel guilty about the money instead of identifying the amount that is appropriate for them to spend, given their own financial resources.
I keep in budget by picking two to three areas that I think will have impact, rather than trying to decorate entire rooms. If you do the latter, you will end up spending a lot of money or spreading your decorations too thin so that nothing stands out. In my own home, we have an open concept house so I make the buffet in the dining room a focal point by turning it into a dessert table with a striking backdrop. You can see it from the kitchen and living room areas as well so the whole house feels decorated when really it is one small area.
3) What are a couple of party ideas that you’ve seen that have really amazed the little guests?
Every time we have a party, my son and his friends are always amazed by the cupcakes. It never fails. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that kids love cupcakes. We have a number of cupcake wrappers products in our Etsy shop that turn plain cupcakes into vintage planes, clowns, mad scientists and more. So it’s something than any mom can accomplish. At a bayou party recently held at my home I did little bowls of jello with fondant fish on top. They turned out really cute and looked like mini fish bowls. My three-year-old son was so obsessed with them he carried one around like a pet and wouldn’t eat it. I was thrilled that he had such a reaction as he sees so many of my parties being executed.
4) Some party ideas for boys include a little bit of an “Eww” factor that boys love so much. Can you tell us about a few of these fun ideas you’ve seen used in parties?
I have done two parties that are very “boy” in that regard. I did a mad science party that had chocolate brains. The mold I used made them very realistic. I also did a bug themed party that I can only describe as grossly beautiful. I made bugs out of dried dates and caramels and also had bugs made out of dried fruit floating in a pudding. I made pie crust cages that resembled insect nests. I also melted chocolate over bubble wrap so that it looked like broken pieces of insect hives. It is one of my favorite designs ever and it’s rare that I look back on a party and not want to improve it (the curse of seeing so many parties each day because of my blog).
5) What are some of your favorite ideas for creating something fun from an otherwise standard party supply?
I’m always looking and items and trying to figure out how to make them work other than their intended use. My goal with my parties is to make them look custom, not like I went and bought a bunch of items and put them together. For the aforementioned bug party, I used cork tiles from the dollar store as serving trays. For a mad science themed party for adults, I served a cold soup in test tubes. For a mad science dessert table, I made little mad scientists out of slices of honeydew melon and ice cream cones. Recently, for a superhero party, I even made tiny felt capes and put them on mason jars to serve popcorn.
All photos courtesy of Spaceships and Laser Beams.
We’d like to send a big THANK YOU to Stephanie and the Spaceships and Laser Beams team for participating in this Party Tip Tuesday. Be sure to follow along on their social media accounts (you’ll find these linked on the top right corner of the Spaceships and Laser Beams site) for even more fun party ideas for boys.
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