Birthday Party Essentials List
- Personalized birthday party invitations
- Party supplies, like plates, cups, and napkins
- Birthday party decorations, like table decor signs, party welcome signs, and birthday banners
- Personalized goodie bag gifts
- Thank you cards for everyone who celebrated with you
A birthday is meant to be an exciting celebration. Preparing all the required birthday party essentials, like invites, birthday party decorations, and event prints, simplifies the process and ensures every little detail is accounted for. Read through GotPrint’s birthday party planning guide to coordinate a celebration of any age.
Design Birthday Party Invitations
Before you get to the invites, you’ll need to make a few decisions about the event. The date, venue, and time are most important, since this information will be printed on the invitation. The other important element is your birthday party theme. This will determine the style of your personalized birthday invites. Fairy first birthday invitations, for example, can include adorable fairy artwork, while beach birthday party invitations can have palm trees and ocean waves. Adult party invitations will likely have a different design approach than children’s party invitations.
Themed Birthday Party Ideas
- Throwback Birthday Party: 1920s, 1970s, 1990s, 2000s – Get everyone to dress up in the fashions from your favorite decade, then prep a playlist with all the hits from that era.
- Princess Birthday Party: For young kids, this is a chance for everyone to wear their fanciest, poufiest dress. Buy shiny tiaras for everyone to wear.
- Dinosaur Birthday Party: Get adventurers excited to celebrate with dinos. Put bone-shaped toys in a sandbox, and have everyone search for fossils.
- Sports Birthday Party: Football, soccer, hockey, basketball – gather your friends for a fun game. Print custom team shirts for everyone.
- Ice Cream Birthday Party: Set up an ice cream sundae bar full of flavors and toppings. You can even print cute ice cream menus.
What to Include on Birthday Party Invitations
- Name: This can be something like “Celebrate [name’s] birthday” or “[name’s] birthday bash”
- Date: Include what day your birthday party will take place.
- Time: This is the start time of your event. It might be a loose suggestion for a chill party, or a clear start time for something like a formal dinner.
- Venue: Tell everyone where to meet – your home, a bar, a specific beach, etc. Share any parking tips as well.
- RSVP Instructions: Set your RSVP deadline 1-2 weeks before the big day. Tell invitees to text you, or include a QR code to an RSVP platform.
- Other Details: Tell guests if it’s a gift-free event, dress code suggestions, event info (like ziplining rules, party itinerary, or anything else of note).
4×6 postcards are the most popular size for birthday invites. If you want extra space to share more information, then use 5×7 postcards. For trendy invites, square postcards or circle postcards make an immediate impact. GotPrint’s birthday invitation maker simplifies the design process. Upload your pre-made design file, or use the designer to add text, graphic, photos, and more to your personalized invites.
GotPrint also offers many different types of birthday invitation templates. We have first birthday invitations, children’s birthday invitations, simple birthday invitations, sweet 16 invitations, 50th birthday invitations, and more. Our templates are fully customizable. You can edit the text boxes, move graphics, and upload your own photos to personalize each design.
Popular Free Birthday Invitation Templates:
A cute birthday card design with patterned candles and a fun polka dot background. This minimalist layout is ideal for adult birthday party invitations.
A delicate marble background with golden accents is the best template for formal birthday invites. If you’re planning a black-tie party, a five-course dinner, or a luxury getaway, this free invite template exudes opulence.
Fun kids birthday party invitations get everyone excited for your big bash. This template features cute animals in circus gear.
Send dinosaur birthday party invitations to celebrate your kid’s first birthday. Colorful cartoon dinosaurs and palm trees make this a great invite for a dino themed party.
Send 50th birthday invitations to your life-long friends and family members. This design features golden balloons in the shape of the number 50 surrounded by fun polka dots.
When to Send Birthday Party Invitations
Mail or hand-deliver birthday party invitations 3 to 7 weeks before the event. If it’s a destination event that might require travel, send invites as early as 3 months in advance.
You can create a fully personalized stationery set for your invites with matching envelopes and custom address labels. This simplifies the mailing process and adds some extra flair to the invites.
Custom Prints for Birthday Parties
All the little details matter at an event. Designing your own print products elevates the whole experience for your party guests.
Personalize Prints for Your Party
- Birthday Dinner Menus: If you’re planning a meal at home or at a restaurant, you can print custom menus on GotPrint’s rack cards that list each dish and the ingredients.
- Birthday Drink Menus: Whether you’re planning a tea party, a cocktail night, or a hot chocolate bar, you can print a custom menu sign with your personalized concoctions.
- Drink Tags: Use small hang tags to keep track of everyone’s drinks.
- Games and Questions: Design prints that are totally unique for your event – use a brochure to create a map for a treasure hunt, business cards for dinner party questions, or bookmarks for book lovers.
- Table Place Cards: For fancy sit-down dinners, small details can transform your dining space. Plan a seating arrangement, then place personalized table cards at each setting.
Create Personalized Birthday Party Decor
Balloons, streamers, and table covers are all classic party decor. But you can improve your setup with personalized party decor. Your displays will likely depend on your venue. An outdoor party can use yard signs, while an indoor party can use delicate acrylic signs.
Birthday Party Sign Ideas
- Birthday Party Signs: Greet your guests with a birthday party welcome sign. Use an acrylic sign, foam board, or aluminum sign.
- Birthday Photo Displays: Create a photo-ready moment with your own custom backdrop. Use large retractable banners as the background for your birthday photo shoot. This is a great way to make a DIY photo booth.
- Happy Birthday Banner: Hang happy birthday banners to make the most of the available event space.
- Birthday Yard Signs: For outdoor parties, a personalized yard sign is a simple yet cute way to decorate the venue. Place one in your front yard so everyone knows they’ve arrived at the right spot.
Custom Birthday Gifts
For those attending parties, personalized gifts are a great way to make the birthday party more special. GotPrint offers a variety of custom gifts you can give to friends, family, and loved ones. Print cute pictures on photo gifts – custom puzzles, mugs, and wall art. Use photos from trips with friends, important life events, or cute candid shots for your presents. If your friend loves their pets, print photos of their pets on the gifts. If they’re artistic, make a beautiful design on a custom canvas print they can hang in their home.
Personalized apparel is another great custom gift option. Custom t-shirts with a one-of-a-kind design will give them truly unique apparel. If it’s wintertime, you might embroider their name or initials for a cute monogrammed crewneck sweatshirt.
Party Favors
To thank everyone for attending your event, gather small gifts into a cute gift bag. The goodie bags will depend on the party age range, theme, and location. For example, a beach birthday party goodie bag might include a custom embroidered hat, sunscreen, and chapstick. A winter ice skating party gift bag might include a custom beanie, mittens, and hot chocolate packets.
Personalized apparel is fun for matching outfits for group trips or bar crawls. Create a custom birthday girl shirt or birthday girl hat, then give everyone else shirts that say birthday squad. Birthday party shirts can have the exact birthday, like sweet sixteen shirts, or just a photo of the person the group is celebrating. Since GotPrint offers multiple t shirt colors and sizes, it’s the best place to order group birthday party shirts.
Use paper bags, plastic casings, or small boxes to gift these goodie bags to your friends and family members. For bags, use custom hang tags to keep them closed. For boxes (or to decorate bags), print custom labels to seal them shut. The design can include your birth date, your initials, or a fun design. GotPrint offers free birthday roll label templates you can fully customize.
Post-Party Planning
When everyone has left, it’s time to clean up all your decor, gifts, and debris. There’s one final step: thanking your guests. Design your own birthday thank you cards to send to everyone who attended your event. This message of appreciation is the perfect final touch after your event. GotPrint’s thank you cards for birthday events are easy to customize with your own design, or you can browse our free thank you card templates.
What to Write in Birthday Thank You Cards
- Appreciation: Open with a thank you for the time and/or money your friend put into your big day
- Fun Memories: Reference any big events, inside jokes, or little moments that made their participation in your birthday party special
- Acknowledge Gifts: Give thanks for any birthday gifts you received. If you’ve already used it, share how much you enjoyed the item/product/experience.
Hand deliver or mail your thank you notes in personalized envelopes that perfectly match your custom cards. This is another opportunity to use your personalized return address labels.
We would love to see all your personalized birthday decor. Tag us @GotPrint on Instagram and TikTok so we can celebrate with you!