For a young child who loves to draw, paint, and create, an art party is just the thing! It could be for a birthday or just anytime with friends.
At our house, party preparation started early, and we usually made our own decorations.
For her art-themed birthday, the birthday girl got busy decorating party hats. She attached foam shapes and sequins to colorful hats with tacky glue. She found it easiest to squeeze a puddle of glue onto a divided plate and apply the glue to the hat with a small paintbrush before attaching the shapes and sequins. Because party preparation was a family activity, the birthday girl’s sisters also helped decorate hats, and we ended with about three times more hats than we needed.
About a week before the party– on a rainy day– we created unique party plates by dropping food coloring onto sturdy paper plates and carrying them out into the rain! It was great fun to see the splashes of color that transformed the white plates into works of art, but as I think about it now, I’m not sure it was a good idea to eat from those plates. (Rain probably carried particles of dust and pollutants onto the plates.) Maybe a better option would have been to paint the plates with food coloring and clean paintbrushes, or to use the rain-painted plates as chargers with a smaller, clean plate on top.
As guests arrived at the party, they entered a room decorated with colorful streamers and balloons. At this party, color was key!
As a gathering activity, children used crayons to draw on white paper that covered the dining table.
Most of the “messy” art party took place in our backyard. We had stapled a long roll of white paper to our cedar fence, and there were lots of opportunities for artistic expression. Besides washable paint and brushes, children could use diluted paint in spray bottles to create a splatter effect. Liquid watercolor paint works great in spray bottles, too.
There was also a child’s picnic table with paper and more painting options like sponges and stampers. To prevent a breeze from carrying away the masterpieces, we taped their papers to the table.
Messy art gives children the freedom to experiment without the fear of making a “mistake.” Open-ended art, instead of a project with a specific outcome, takes a lot of pressure off the children as they create and is especially important for children who try to be “perfect.”
After painting and some free time in the yard, we moved inside to play with homemade clay. With lots of rollers, clay stampers, and cookie cutters, the children cut, shaped, and molded the malleable clay into whatever their imaginations desired. You can find the homemade clay recipe as well as other art recipes in the blog below. Use any type of art medium your child enjoys!
Our daughter’s 4th birthday cake resembled a box of four crayons. It was made with two cake mixes baked in a sheet pan and covered with lots of butter cream icing.
If you prefer, you can serve cupcakes that the guests decorate themselves.
Give children the opportunity to experiment with open-ended art, and watch their creativity and expression develop.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Pablo Picasso
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