Elmo Birthday Party Ideas

Of all the Sesame Street characters over the years, Elmo is by far the most favorite among young children. Easily recognizable, Elmo's smiling face and catchy giggle bring joy to any child. His use of the third-person ("Elmo loves you" rather than "I love you"), the infectious voice and child-like wonder in everything he does attracts most pre-school children.

Trust me, I did the research as to why both my daughters went nuts over him. My youngest has twelve different Elmo toys, and flocks to any Elmo's World show. Very likely, an Elmo themed birthday party is guaranteed to be a hit with your son or daughter and their friends!

Read on to learn how to throw the best Elmo birthday party for your child!

It's easy to find Elmo Birthday Party invitations at any party store or online. Invitations set the mood. Not only are they necessary, but when a child receives an invitation to a friend's birthday party, the anticipation builds and builds until the day of the party! It is so exciting to a child to see an invitation on their refrigerator every day and know the party is getting closer and closer. It also makes them feel important and included. Evites are handy, but real invitations are just so much more personal.

Below I'll talk about invitation ideas, decorations, food, entertainment and finally, party favors.

This is the party pack I bought online - As you can see, it has everything I needed for my daughter's Elmo party:

Hooray for Elmo party pack:

8 invitations

8 dinner plates

8 cups

Elmo table placemats

forks and spoons

16 napkins

Elmo-themed tablecover,

1 foil balloon

18 blue, yellow and red balloons

1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 red crepe paper rolls

curling ribbon (yellow, blue, red)

cake candles

Buy your invitations four weeks out. Most parents with small children have busy schedules and they need at least 3 weeks of notice for any social event. Get all of your addresses in order, write-out the cards, fill out your envelopes, and stick your stamps on them. Request an RSVP for a week before the party. There will always be "stragglers", but the more notice you have of how many people will be attending, the more prepared you can be (and the more successful!).

A great added touch to the cards is a personal "message" from your child--something simple like a smiley face, heart, or star. You may need to break this "message" up into a few different sittings, as we all know our kids can't sit still for long! Once complete, seal them up and drop them in the mail.

Is this episode of Elmo's World, Elmo learns about birthdays, and how they are celebrated around the world.

The magic of your party revolves around the decorations. Once again, because Elmo is such a popular theme for a birthday party, it's very easy to shop online or in a party store for decorations. In my opinion, just when you think you have enough, buy more! You'll want to have Elmo themed tablecloths, cups, plates, napkins, birthday hats, and even personalized banners.

Be sure to blow-up plenty of balloons, have plenty of Sesame Street toys around for the boys and girls to play with, and a Sesame Street CD playing in the background. Try to do all your shopping in one place, just to make it more simple and stress-free for you - I always order online a couple weeks in advance - I usually find everything at one place, and they often sell "party packs" with everything.

Plan your child's birthday party in the early afternoon so that you can decorate in the morning. If your child is old enough, let them help - even if all they do is tear tape! Knowing that they contributed to the fun will give them a sense of pride and accomplishment. They can share with their friends how they helped!

As for food, have you ever noticed how, no matter what, food always seems to be the central theme for any type of party? No matter what age, it is just in our nature - we like food! An Elmo birthday cake is an absolute must. Order it from your local grocery store at least one week out and pick it up the day before the party. As for the "main dish", simple foods like chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dogs, or macaroni and cheese are the best choices. Most any child will eat one or more of these foods. Offer fresh fruits and vegetables too.

Because most of the parents will also stay for the party, be sure to have "grown-up" food too, such as chips and dip, deviled eggs, macaroni or potato salad, etc. Offer drinks that children and adults will like: juice, kool-aid, diet soda, water, milk. And let's remember, birthdays only come around once a year for our child, so they can break the rules on this one day and drink or eat something you wouldn't normally allow them to.

Because eBay is so dynamic and ever changing, you'll want to snatch stuff up as you find it!

And now for the activities! Easy to understand games, which don't require a lot of attention, are the way to go. Classics like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", (which will be "Pin the Nose on Elmo"), "Musical Chairs", and "Red Light, Green Light" will definitely entertain the children and get some serious laughter going. Some other activities might include face-painting or fake tattoos. If the party is outside, and the children are old enough, an Elmo pinata is always a hit!

One thing I really recommend is a coloring contest. Elmo loves to color with his crayons, and, of course, so do children! Purchase a few different Elmo coloring books (or download images off the web), and hand them out to the children along with crayons. Let them color for a little while and then collect them all. Judge them based on "Most Colorful", "Neatest", "Most Original", "Best at Staying in the Lines", etc.

Have enough prizes for everyone so that each child feels important and included. Prizes can be anything - I always go to the local dollar store to stock up.

At the end of the party, if all goes well, you should have an extremely happy child, tuckered-out little guests, and very happy parents. Your party was a hit, and they will definitely be back for the next one! Before the children leave, have your child give each of them a party favor and thank them for coming.

Some ideas for party favors: A sticker book, a small Elmo stuffed animal, pens, red candies, a homemade cupcake. Goodie bags can be simple, such as blank bags with an Elmo face pasted on it. Use a primary color like red, yellow or blue. Have fun with making them!

Be sure to thank the parents for coming too. Because they made the decision to come, and bring their child, your child's birthday was a success.

The next day, have your child write thank you notes to everybody who came to the party.

Have you had an Elmo party theme? How was it?