How to throw a space-themed birthday party: 5 tips

Looking to plan an outer space-themed party for a kid who is quite literally out of this world? From kids’ birthday invitations to games to food, we’ve created a guide with plenty of ideas to help make your space theme party come to life. Read on to discover tips and tricks on how to make space birthday parties a blast.

1. Planning a space-themed birthday party

“Space Race” by Paperless Post. “Three, Two, One” by Mr. Boddington’s Studio for Paperless Post.

To begin, you may want to start gathering a sense of how many guests you are expecting. As the host, this will help you plan out the rest of the party details, especially when deciding on how much to order for food and party favors. Be sure to consider any extra guests that may have slipped your mind such as siblings or spouses. It is always better to overestimate and be prepared than to run short on anything from food to supplies.

Once you have an estimate of how many guests you’re expecting, you can get started on the birthday party invitation. A simple way to connect with others about your child’s party is through online invitations. At Paperless Post, we provide a variety of creative and customizable online birthday invitations to choose from including everything from floral to space-themed party designs.

Use your invitation as a way to communicate the space party theme to all the guests. This can be done through kids’ birthday invitation wording or design. Let your guests know that you’re throwing a galaxy party that’s “out of this world” or let the UFO and planet designs speak for themselves. Remember, creating an invitation should be just as fun for you as the party will be for your child. With that said, get creative with these invitations! 

2. Decorating a space birthday party

Cake toppers, Meri Meri. Spaceship, Amazon.

Generally, space-themed birthday parties are filled with blue, green, and black decorations that capture the essence of outer space or refer to the galaxy. Aside from the color scheme, here are some ideas for additional, more specific space party decorations:

• UFOs and rocket ships: You know you’re in outer space when you’re surrounded by UFOs and rocket ships. A fun way to incorporate these flying spacecraft is to hang toy-sized versions from the ceiling. This will accentuate the outer space theme by giving the illusion that the UFOs and rocketships are overhead.
• Planets and galaxies: Not sure how to make the party feel like a whole other universe itself? Keeping an eye out for planet and galaxy decorations will help bring your vision to life! An easy way to do this is either buying or making your own DIY backdrop with planets and galaxies on it. This backdrop can be hung up anywhere in the party, however, it makes a great background if you were planning on having a dessert table!
• Aliens and astronauts: Speaking of additional guests, you will want to be sure to save a few party hats for these party-goers. It’s not an outer space birthday party without some extraterrestrial beings (whether they’re in costume or simply toy-sized) scattered throughout the party room and play space. 

3. What to serve at a space-themed party

Star candles and plate, Meri Meri.

Now that you have some decorative ideas in mind, it’s time to plan some fun refreshments and sweets for the event. A dessert table filled with snacks and sweets is a great option to carry out the outer space theme further. There are a number of simple yet creative recipes you can follow. Here are a few of our favorite recipes and ideas to tie the theme together perfectly:

• Saturn’s rings (peach gummy rings)
• Fruit kabob rockets
• Alien cupcakes
• Milky Way candy bars (fun-sized)
• Space-themed birthday cake

Regardless of what snacks you choose to set out on your dessert table, you will want to be sure to decorate around this area as well. Balloons on either side of the dessert table are an exciting way to bring attention to all the intergalactic goodies. If you want to go the extra lightyear, you can sprinkle a bit of white and silver confetti on the dessert table as well.

4. Intergalactic activities

“Space is the Place” by Petit Collage for Paperless Post. “Solar System” by Paperless Post

While decorations and refreshments are a key aspect of any party, for everyone to truly have a blast, you will want a few space-themed party activities or games planned for the kids.

• Rocketship play space: Either in a specific room or outside in the backyard, set up an area you can claim as a “rocketship play space.” You can do this by creating a DIY cardboard spaceship and setting up other props around the room to add to this stellar setting.
• Solar system bingo: For space bingo, you can either make your own bingo cards or download printable versions of space bingo online. If you choose to make your own version of space bingo, you can use clip art of aliens, planets, comets, stars, and any space-related images. Don’t forget to make each version different from the others to ensure that there is one winner at a time! This is a fun and organized way to keep the kids all in one place and focused on a specific game.
• Spaceship launch pad: An innovative spaceship party idea game you can set up for the kids is a spaceship launching pad. Here, you can set out a table with different colored sheets of paper allowing the kids to build their own spaceship. Provide markers or crayons as well so they can design the space shuttle however they like.  Once the spaceships are ready for take-off, set up a hula hoop attached by a string and hang it from a tree or tape it to the ceiling if indoors. Then, you will want to measure out a variety of distances or “lightyears” from the hula hoop, where each child can launch their rocket ship. Starting from the closest “lightyear” each child will line up and put their rocketship to the test. Ultimately, the goal is for the kids to fly their space shuttle through the hula hoop at the furthest distance. 

5. Out-of-this-world party favors

The best way to thank all of your guests for helping to make your child’s birthday extra special is to send them off with an exciting party favor. To wrap up the party, you will want to be sure to stick with the overall outer space theme. Two exciting options for some out-of-this-world goodie bags are astronaut ice cream or “moon rocks.”

• Astronaut ice cream: is essentially freeze-dried ice cream that real-life astronauts enjoy while up in space. This is a fun, out-of-the-ordinary treat for kids that aligns perfectly with the outer space theme. Not only will the kids be excited to try something new and exciting, but they will also feel like astronauts themselves. 
• Moon rocks: or rock candy crystals, are another fun option as well. You can either make rock candy yourself, or you can purchase it from a local candy store or online in advance. No matter how you decide to go about gathering these “moon rocks,” you can count on them being a hit with the kids.

Watch your space party blast off in 3, 2, 1

With these spaceship party ideas, you will be sure to throw a party that will reach the stars. While you can decide which aspects of the ideas listed above that you want to include, no matter what you choose your child will have a blast and know that you love them to the moon and back. Now that you have your details planned out, you can get started on creating your child’s intergalactic birthday invitation. Browse our creative collection of kids’ birthday invitations and find a space-themed design that’s perfect for your theme.

Browse Space Birthday Invitations