Movie Themed Birthday Party

If you’ve seen some of my other birthday party blog posts, then you know my philosophy on birthday parties. I believe kids’ parties should be cute, easy, and inexpensive! My youngest recently turned 8 and requested a movie themed birthday party this year. We chose to show the movie Mr. Peabody & Sherman which dictated the red, white, and black color scheme for the party. Here are some easy ideas I implemented that you might find helpful for your own movie themed party (or Mr. Peabody & Sherman party)!

Movie Party Invitations

I find evites to be the most affordable and convenient option for everyone involved. I paid a nominal fee for this cute design on evite.com which fit my party theme perfectly.

Movie Party Props and Decorations

I spent about $70 total for the entire party which included decorations, props, pop corn bar, drinks, and cupcakes. I had some decorations on hand left over from my husband’s black & white 40th birthday party, but I did buy several movie themed props from Oriental Trading Company–such as the red & white table cover, movie projector cupcake stand, and popcorn bags.

This cute slate clapper board was a huge hit with the kids…

…as were the “nerd” glasses and bow ties!

TIP: Personalize water bottles by creating your own customized labels.

I have been creating customized labels for my party food and water bottles for the last 15 years and don’t see myself stopping anytime soon! Food labels give your party a more organized and polished look and help pull your party theme together. With your home computer and basic software, you can easily create your own labels. To create these water bottle labels, I used this free water bottle label template in Word and simply added a free movie image and the Happy Birthday text.

Movie Party Cupcakes

We have a discount grocery store near us that sells food and baked goods at incredible prices. I had originally planned on making cupcakes for the party, but when I found 12 mini-bundt cakes for $1.99 I couldn’t pass them up. I “drew” a Mr. Peabody dog on each bundt cake with buttercream frosting and added a Wilton sugar bowtie and glasses. A chocolate chip nose and black licorice rope mouth completed the look. Admittedly, they weren’t my best work, but the kids seemed to think they were fantastic!

DIY Movie Party Photo Booth

Zephan really wanted a photo booth for his party, but I wasn’t willing to go to any great expense to create one. I settled on using our iPad attached to a music stand with painter’s tape. The cute movie curtain backdrop was a find on Oriental Trading Company and served as the perfect posing spot.

When the time came for thank you notes, I used photos from the photobooth. They were so darn cute!

Movie Party Games

We kept games to a minimum since the movie was an hour and a half long. We encouraged kids to create their own “flying machines” out of construction paper. (In the movie, Leonardo da Vinci has a flying machine.)

We also found a free “pin the bow-tie on the Mr. Peabody” download off the internet and added our own spin to it. My son is currently in a wheelchair, so we turned his wheelchair into a “Wabac machine” for this game. The Wabac machine is a time machine in the movie. Each child had a chance to try out Zephan’s wheelchair which they thought was great. We blindfolded them, spun them around in the chair 3 times, and had them try to pin the bow-tie on the dog.

Movie Party Location

Our house is not well suited for children’s parties, so I asked permission to use our church’s social hall for the event. It was PERFECT! Our church owns a projector and screen, so when it came time to watch the movie we had no trouble capturing the attention of our young audience. If you are a member of a church, I highly recommend asking for their rates/policies regarding use of the social hall for your event. Some churches do not allow it and some require a janitor’s and/or rental fee.

Movie Party Popcorn Bar

What movie is complete without a bag of popcorn? The popcorn bar was by far the biggest hit of the party! Kids LOVE toppings. Shoot, who doesn’t love toppings?!

I set up two identical popcorn bar stations at each end of the table so that we were able to serve our guests quickly. Before starting the movie, I had the kids form two neat lines and my husband and I filled the kids’ custom popcorn orders one at a time. When dealing with children, it is simpler and more efficient to serve them. This also cuts down on a kiddo’s temptation towards over-doing it! 🙂 

Tip: Have a sharpie available to write the name of the child on their water bottle and popcorn bag. This cuts down on unnecessary waste and confusion later on.

I checked for food allergies before the party and we were blessed to have none. Here is a list of what I served at the popcorn bar.

Popcorn Bar Toppings:

• Mini-marshmallows
• Swedish fish
• Mini-Oreos
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
• M&M’s
• Chocolate-covered pretzels
• Chex snack mix
• Peanut butter filled pretzels
• Mini peanut butter cups

Zephan loved his movie themed party and I was grateful to provide him with a quick and easy party that didn’t break the bank! If you liked this post, you might want to check out some of my other birthday party posts below. Feel free to pin any ideas you like for later reference!

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