What child doesn’t love superheroes? The adventures, special abilities, and chance to save the world are appealing to children (and adults!) of all ages. This is why a superhero party can be the perfect option for your kids. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, the end of a school year, or hosting your children’s sports teams, a superhero theme can make any party extraordinary. Here are steps to make sure you throw a party your children and their friends will love.

In many areas, there is a lot of pressure to host bigger and fancier children’s parties. Rather than renting an expensive venue or hiring entertainment, you can provide an amazing experience simply by bringing a theme to life. One nice thing about superhero themes is they can work well regardless of the genders of the children or their ages. That makes superheroes a great option for an individual child’s party or for a group event where you’ll be inviting children with a wider assortment of ages and interests.

Pick Your Heroes

Make their superhero dreams come true by letting your guests play the part of their favourite characters. Announce the theme ahead of time if you want children to have a chance to dress up for the event. If only a few of your children’s friends would be able to have costumes, consider providing items so that every child can have a magical experience.

Purchase party masks of their favourite superheroes and villains for the kids to wear and make sure you have plenty of extras. The children will want to be able to pick their favourite celebrity masks or switch to different masks during the event, depending on their mood. You can pick characters from your children’s favourite superhero movie, the most recent blockbuster film, or select a whole range of different superheroes.

Have Cape, Will Superhero

Transform their ordinary clothes in a moment by having capes on hand. Purchase pre-made capes from a thrift store or costume shop. Another option is to buy sections of fabric in an assortment of colours and cut it to the right sizes and sew or glue the edges. If the rectangle of fabric is large enough, kids can tie the ends around their necks for a quick and easy cape.

An even less expensive way to make capes is to purchase rolls of the plastic sheeting designed to be used as table covers. These are usually available in party supplies or craft stores. This material can easily be cut into the desired size. The ends don’t fray so there is no need to sew or glue around the edges. Let children pick out a cape in the colour they prefer and then allow them to take their capes home with them at the end of the party.

Décor

Bring the superhero theme alive with lifesized cardboard cutouts from the movies. These can be the perfect backdrops for the party or become focal points as the kids take pictures of themselves with the superheroes. Arrange them around the main rooms where the party will take place. Consider putting a villain cutout by the door so that your guests will be startled and thrilled from the moment they arrive.

Depending on which superheroes you pick, there are plenty of options for adding more décor elements. Fake spiderwebs are usually available for Halloween but you can use thicker sections of them to represent Spider-Man’s webbing. Another option is to use white string to represent Spidey’s webs.

Movie posters will provide a great backdrop for your event. Space a few along the walls of the space. Much of the action in Marvel movies takes place in New York City. You can look for cityscape posters to use as decorations and as backdrops for taking selfies with the superhero cutouts.

In addition to putting theme decorations on the walls, don’t forget the ceiling. That’s the perfect location to hang action figures so that they look like they are flying through space. Cardboard cutout minis figurines are another option to make it seem like the air is filled with superheroes coming to the rescue. Another option is to print out images of the ships from the movies and hang them from the ceiling. An image of the Earth from space is another way to make the children feel like they have been transported to a different place.

Party stores should have a variety of disposable plates, napkins, and other items in different superhero themes. Use them to serve up your festive snacks or put them out so that the children can serve themselves from the treats on display. Check dollar stores for other themed decorations. Remember to look in the cake-making supplies for superhero decorations. Those can be used to add flair to different types of food but you can also use them to add a bit of fun anywhere. Cake toppers can be used in a table centrepiece or to liven up an ordinary serving tray. You could even use them as game pieces in board games.

Food

What do superheroes eat? Whatever they want! Spiderweb patterns in blue and red bring to mind Spider-Man. Make Thor’s hammers for your guests by icing squares of cake in a silvery grey and putting “handles” in them. Use black food colouring to tint your icing or fondant. You can even look for food-safe silver dust that can be added to make the hammer even more realistic. For the handles, stick large pretzel sticks into the top of each mini cake.

Even small treats can help to remind the kids of the theme. Use primary colours to capture that superhero feel. Sort out M&Ms or other colourful candies into separate colours and put each colour into its own bowl.

You can make even ordinary food fun by coming up with creative names. Green punch could become Hulk Juice. Red Witch brew could be a red punch made with a sparkling soft drink for added bubbles.

Entertainment

Pick superhero games to keep the party interesting. Depending on the age of the children, you could have superhero trivia or pick up a themed board game. Another option is to use an existing game your children enjoy and swap out the usual game pieces with small superhero action figures.

For active superhero games, you can get creative. Each child can use silly string to channel their inner Spider-Man. Have them try to use the spray string to knock over items or push them across the finish line. Even a simple lawn bowling game can be more exciting if each bowling pin is wearing its own superhero mask. Don’t forget to have a few small superhero-related items to give as prizes. That could be comics, mini superhero figurines, a movie poster, or other small toys.

You can show a superhero movie as part of the entertainment. Provide plenty of popcorn and be prepared with seating for everyone. A thick rug and pillows on the floor can be a great way to expand seating so that they all have a great view of the television. You could even gather several televisions and connect them up to the same video player or streaming system so the kids can see the movie from any angle. This only takes some cables and a splitter to attach to televisions you’ve gathered from around your house or borrowed from friends.

Music

People don’t always associate superheroes with music but every party deserves some background sounds. Your best option is the soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy I & II. The upbeat music from the 1970s screams fun and it can bring back fun memories from the movies.

Gift Bags

It has become popular to provide each child attending a party with a gift bag to take home. Each child can leave with a cape, superhero mask or two, and other memorabilia from your event. Dollar stores and party shops can provide a range of options. You can purchase bags that are pre-printed with your superhero theme.

If you can’t find themed bags, you can buy plain bags in bright primary colours and then glue on superheroes from party decorations. Another option is to buy a few superhero comic books and cover the bags with separate pages from the comics.

For a Marvel themed party, you could make a stencil of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and spray paint it on each bag to make the contents seem mysterious. You could even add a “Top Secret” and/or “Property of S.H.I.E.L.D.” to make the bags seem special.

Keep in mind that the decorations you buy for a superhero party can come in handy later. Use them for Halloween parties or to decorate your children’s rooms or your basement game room.