Nothing’s sweeter than celebrating your child’s birthday with these adorable DIY ice cream party ideas. From the build your own ice cream bar, to the colorful decorations, and fun party games, this party theme is sure to be a hit.
Don’t forget to check out these beginner tips for making a DIY balloon arch, and the make your own ice cream activity that was a hit with every kid there.
Confession: I fought back against having an ice cream birthday party for my daughter’s 7th birthday last year.
After all, she’d already had an ice cream themed party a few years ago. And while her first ice cream party was pretty simple, it was still a lot of fun. And there are so many party themes to choose from…why stick with the same theme over and over again?
Obviously the argument didn’t work. Oh well. It is her birthday after all.
About the Party:
- What Was the Occasion? 7th birthday party for a girl
- How Many Guests Did You Have? 8-10
- What time of Day? 3pm
- Where Was the Party Held? Our Backyard
Ice Cream Party Decorations
This party is all about DIY party decorations. Though, having a cute set of party printables and a Cricut Maker were immensely helpful in making everything look its best.
Ice Cream Party Backdrop
So, I was hoping that the backdrop would look like ice cream melting down the sides of an ice cream cone.
Not so sure that effect worked out.
Regardless, the balloon garland still looked fantastic. It was seriously a show stopper – even if it took most of my prep time to pull together. And the whole thing was a fun, and unique take on party backdrops.
Party Printables
All our party decorations start with the party printables. With a color scheme of light pink, purple, and teal/blue, this set was perfect for a 7th birthday party.
Plus, don’t those kawaii faces on all the ice cream cones just make your heart melt?
Budget Friendly Tip: If you’re looking for some fun themed party activities, check out these free printable ice cream party games!
Ice Cream Buffet Tablecloth
The layered tablecloth was a last-minute addition to the party decor. All you have to do is carefully cut a scalloped effect out of a plastic tablecloth and then put it on top of a different tablecloth in a contrasting color. Here are a few tips:
- Fold the tablecloth in half and you only have to cut half as much. Just make sure that you’ve got the tablecloth folded along the short side and not the long side.
- If you’re going to put a lighter color on top of a darker color, you may need to double up. Otherwise the darker color will show through
- Make sure your scissors are nice and sharp. Blunt scissors make awful cuts in plastic tablecloths.
The Party Food
Hosting your kids parties at snack time is one of my top 3 secrets for reducing party stress – because, skipping mealtime meant we could focus on preparing the best ice cream bar possible.
Since the birthday was held in June, the ice cream was kept in the freezer until it was actually time to serve, but the ice cream cones, ice cream bowls and spoons, and all the toppings were there for the kids to drool over until the time was right.
Of course, no birthday party is complete without the perfect cake, and while this jelly bean birthday cake with a melted ice cream cake topper isn’t the cake we originally planned to serve, it worked out perfectly.
Party Activities and Games
I’ll share more about the ice cream party games in a few days, but here’s a quick run-down of how the kids burned off all that sugar:
Water play – I {almost} always set up a party with one high-energy activity that kids can enjoy from the very beginning. This time, we had a small inflatable pool and an inflatable slide that the kids loooooved.
Ice Cream bean Bag toss – When they wanted a break from water play, the ice cream themed bean bag toss we bought from Oriental Trading, and the family swing set offered some dry activities.
For weeks before the party, the birthday girl kept saying she wanted to be a ‘flavormaker’ when she grew up. So we added Flavormaker Academy to the party games, where all the kids got to mix their own flavor of ice cream. We even transformed the kids art easel into a DIY chalkboard party sign to announce the event.
Of all the ice cream party ideas, which the one setup that you loved most, and why?
You know, as much as balloon arch was the big showstopper, the condiments trays were my favorite.
What we really wanted was the look and feel of the condiment bar at a frozen yogurt bar or ice cream parlor, but in a much smaller package.
Most everything I found was either too big, too expensive, or both. So when I found clear acrylic jewelry trays at HomeGoods (just like these), I knew they were perfect.
All you have to do is add extra dividers in the middle of each compartment, which is simple with kraft board and hot glue.
The Party Favors
Kids always love fun party favors. And I love party favors that are stupid easy to pull together, and serve a double purpose.
In this case, the ice cream shaped favor bags were big enough to become their own display at the party, and the Flavormaker Academy activity added a very special, very personal touch to the goody bag.
Guests also received ice-cream slime, Hershey’s kisses, and ice cream cone shooters in their bags to round it all out.
Where can I find the same supplies you used?
Most everything you need for an ice cream birthday party you can find at your grocery store, but here are some of the party supplies that we loved from this party:
Now It’s Your Turn
You know, I’m so glad my daughter inspired all these fun ice cream party ideas. She’s such a sweet girl, and I know that she’d be thrilled if this party inspired others to have birthdays just as awesome.
April says
Getting fun ice cream toppings at a local frozen yogurt places is one of our favorite things to do. This is all so cute. Pinned! Love it!
Leslie says
So glad you like it. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for stopping by!
Kay says
What other kinds of food did you service besides the ice cream and cake?
Leslie says
We hosted the party in the mid-afternoon, so we didn’t need to serve a full meal. The kids were plenty full with all the ice cream and mix-ins.