Some years your kid picks a party theme you don’t know a lot about. This year for us it was Doctor Who. It’s her latest obsession, and it’s hit hard. We were expecting Minecraft and that would have been nice and easy, you can’t throw a rock on pinterest or on facebook without hitting some great ideas. And you can actually buy items for the party!! But what happens when the theme is something that you can’t buy party supplies for where you live – sure, you could order some from the states and spend a small fortune….time to get creative!!
I’m not a huge fan of the show, I know enough to get by so we decided to theme it Dr. Who, but not the activities, since 7 out of the 8 guests weren’t big fans either. And not sure exactly how to fake time traveling.
We chose a risky location for a kids party we thought – Across the Board Game Cafe. This place is super fun when we’ve gone as a family. Over 700 board games to play, lots of great snacks and a great atmosphere. But 8 kids ranging from 7-9 years old playing board games for 3 hours? Ends up, it’s a breeze! That part was amazing, and they even helped us choose lots of science type games too! The kids all had fun, we didn’t have any fights or disagreements or even hurt feeling when losing a game. Recommend them highly – if you’re in another city look around for something similar! The kids loved that it wasn’t just a run around and act crazy kind of party, they chatted, they got to really interact and spend quality time together. And it’s loud enough in there that the kids could sing and cheer and have fun.
For the invites I printed out some cute pictures I found online, bought Tardis blue cards and some space-like confetti – cute and didn’t take too long. The loot bags were trickier – since pretty much anything Doctor Who is super expensive I ordered from Vistaprint. The nice thing with Vistaprint is that you can do almost anything you want. You could easily do the invites through them. I ordered little thank you cards, some post it notes with the Tardis and some pens too. You can look around on their site and see what works for you, and customize it any way you choose. I also got cute stickers with the same picture to seal the envelops and the loot bags.
Picked up some Tardis blue bags at the dollar store and added in a few more fun treats that weren’t themed. Figured even if the kids aren’t Dr. Who fans, everyone can use a pen and post it notes. Their prices are really reasonable and if you plan in advance you can keep an eye out for sales or free shipping – if not just google to find a promo code for when you’re ordering.
We really wanted to Doctor Who up the party but keep it fun so we decided to get bowties and Fez hats for all of the kids. The bowties I found on amazon for about $3 each – they are adjustable and super cute. Each one was different and something the kids actually really liked. They can wear them after too.
The Fez hats were a nightmare! There are none that I could find locally, and ordering them most were way too expensive. We watched a lot of videos but most were super complicated, or would end up being more expensive in the long run. We figured ours out by accident – I was looking at party hats at Target and told my husband we should cut the tops off….and then it all clicked! I think ours ended up being maybe 50 cents each? And you can make them in minutes!! The video is below – all you do after is tie some yarn and cut a hole at the top for the tassel. All you need is a glue gun, felt which you can get at any craft store for super cheap and you’re ready to go!
I’m not much of a baker, so I ordered cupcakes from Cake-ology.
My daughter couldn’t believe they were able to make her 4 top choices. They made the Tardis, K-9, daleks and Cybermen.
If you’re wanting to homemake the dessert, you can either make toppers or a fun idea is to pick up the small figurines from Dr. Who. They sell them online, but also at Pylon and HMV. They’re like Lego figures but characters from the show and they’d be a great choice too. For party supplies since those aren’t available here, you can just find Tardis blue napkins and plates – if you order from vistaprint you can even get stickers to theme them more.
My daughter loved her Dr. Who party – all the kids had fun even though it’s not their favourite too. The compromise was good and we were able to have fun with it but really keep the cost down. Not everything has to be themed, enough to make it fun. My daughter wore her Dalek shirt and brought her Sonic Screwdriver with her to the party which made it really special for her.
What are your tips for a party theme that isn’t popular where you live? Any fun Doctor Who party tips? Which theme has your child chosen that’s been the most challenging?