When planning a Taylor Swift birthday party for close to 20 elementary school children, activities are a must. Of course, they can run around your house and play, but some special, themed activities always help the party to go more smoothly. I am especially glad that I planned a few things out because the weather on party day was less than ideal. It was windy, and rainy so the bounce house was a bust (we couldn’t even put it up) and the playset was barely touched. We had to setup tables and chairs in our garage (that we had thankfully cleaned out the weekend before) and a TV for football because when your kids are born during football season, you have to have games on during the parties. Otherwise no one will come hahaha.

Here are a variety of the activities I setup up for the girls and their friends:

Selfie Station

Like with most of my parties, I set up a balloon arch photo backdrop for the kids and other guests to take photos by. I hung some purple and pink DIY fringe backdrops and then added this amazing balloon arch kit from Amazon. Then I added a friendship bracelet -inspired “In My B-day Era” banner created on a Cricut.

I also made a polaroid photo prop out of a giant piece of cardboard. I cut out a square in the center, painted it white and then added “L+R” and “2016” to the bottom corners using black paint. This was inspired by Taylor Swift’s 1989 album.

I setup a phone stand for anyone who wanted to take hands-free photos. It was the perfect setting and the kids looked so cute in the pics I captured.

Make Your Own Friendship Bracelets

Any Swiftie knows the importance of a friendship bracelet. These tokens are a staple for Eras Tour goers and were essential for our party. I setup a table with a beads in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. And don’t forget the letter beads for names and phrases! The kids (and adults) had so much fun creating their own, unique bracelets and then wearing them for the rest of the party. We have a ton of beads leftover so I see these being brought out during future playdates and sleepovers.

Get Concert Ready

This was my absolute favorite activity from any party I have hosted. I set out Taylor Swift tattoos, fingernail stickers, body glitter and body gems for the kids to put on. We had a couple mirrors to they could see themselves as they got glammed up. It was a HIT and so fun to see all of their personalities come out. Some just applied a few jewels to their faces while others went all out and I am sure are still covered in glitter days later (I know my kids are). Also, this was a requirement if they wanted to sing a Taylor song (more about that in the next activity).

Taylor Karaoke

You absolutely cannot have a Taylor Swift party without a concert! We are a family who loves to sing. We have had dozens of weekend night karaoke sessions complete with microphones and disco balls. I had originally wanted to setup a backdrop outside on our deck and use a portion of the deck as the stage, but the weather had other plans. So, we ended up just setting up the stereo and microphone in our family room. I improvised and it ended up working out just fine.

I created a karaoke signup sheet and each of the kids could write down their name and the name of the Taylor song (or by the end of the party it was any song) they wanted to sing. It was so cute to see how a bunch of second graders spelled out song names. They did a good job! The girls (and boys and adults) took turns singing their hearts out for the audience of party-goers. It was so much fun and before I knew it parents were coming to collect their kids. The two hour party was over so quickly, but it was so much fun.

I think everyone had a blast. I know I did!