Top Party Ideas for Kids Under 10

Throw a Cool Children's Party

Girl Parties

Wizard of Oz -- Since this movie came out in 1939, you may be introducing the theme for the first time to some young girls, but with ruby slippers, magic wands and rainbows, its classic themes are sure to please. Have the invitations instruct guests to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" to your house for your child's birthday party and encourage everyone to dress up as a favorite character. You may want to include pictures of the main characters on the invitation. Reconstruct the Land of Oz at your party location with rainbow colored balloons and streamers and place rainbow swirled lollipops at each place setting. Find a pair of high-heeled shoes at a thrift store that you can cover with red glitter to use as a centerpiece. Fun activities include face-painting (who wants to be the Wicked Witch?!?), "Yellow-Brick Road" hopscotch, witches' broom relay races and, of course, watching the original movie.

Princess Party -- This party theme is very adaptable because it can work with Barbie, whatever Disney "princess" is popular at the moment, or any fairy tale character your little girl adores. The main idea is to let the girls play dress up and fantasize that they are that character for a day. Invitations and decorations should all tie in with the colors and icons used by the character, for instance, an Arabian Nights' theme for Jasmine from Disney's "Aladdin." Try to have some dress up items for the girls to play with, such as lots of scarves for Jasmine, feather headdresses for Pocahontas, tiaras and slippers for Cinderella, etc. Once they are dressed up, you can have a Royal Ball with music and dancing and a screening of their character's movie.

Boy Parties

American Chopper --Some boys love macho motorcycles so invite everyone to "ride on over" to the "clubhouse" for a chopper party dedicated to your little biker. Invitations and party decorations can include the Harley Davidson logo and you can pass out bandanas and sunglasses at the party so guests can look their coolest. If you happen to have one or more riding toys for your child (or can borrow some from family and friends) you can set up racing games in the backyard. Since motorcycles are very popular among young boys, it's easy to find miniature cycle-themed toys, stickers, coloring books and other inexpensive items to use as party favors, too.

Firefighter Party -- Did you know that some fire stations will be happy to let your little ones come by for a tour? Some will even send representative firefighters to your child's party to promote fire safety and help make his day really special. So consider having a firefighter themed party inviting partygoers to "Sound the Alarm-Because It's a Party!" Be sure to call your local fire station well in advance to check out their programs and plan. Then decorate with plenty of red and yellow balloons and make a centerpiece out of a toy fire truck or hat. Transform each guest into a "Junior Fire Fighter" when they arrive with plastic fire hats and toy badges. Then play games such as "Water Brigade" where children empty water from one large bucket into another being careful not to spill. The one who keeps the most water in his bucket at the end of several timed rounds wins.

Parties for Both

Pizza Party -- This is much more than just a regular pizza party. It starts with pizza shaped invitations telling partygoers that you've got the perfect recipe for fun. When they arrive at the party, they'll find a real pizzeria, complete with red and white-checked tablecloths and menus made out of poster board hung on the walls. Upon arrival, each guest gets their own chef's apron and hat. To get the party started, you'll teach the kids how to toss their own pizza dough. You can even make this into a game, with anyone dropping the dough being "out." You can also purchase unfolded pizza boxes from a local pizzeria and challenge kids to a timed folding contest. The ultimate party activity, however, is actually baking his or her own pizzas. Let them choose toppings and help them get their pizzas ready for you to put in the oven. Just for fun, you can serve the birthday girl or boy's cake in a pizza box, too.

Jungle Party -- Have a birthday adventure for your child with this wild safari theme. On your invitation, say "We're going WILD for ____'s birthday, so swing on by on DATE/TIME." Then create a jungle at the party location with green streamers draped around the room and hanging from the ceiling. Set stuffed animals about and add some potted palms if you have them. If you don't have live plants, you can make large palm leaves out of construction paper. Use clusters of bananas or coconuts as table centerpieces and check party stores for plastic safari hats and binoculars to make the adventure theme complete. Face painting is a fun activity, with each guest choosing which jungle animal they'll be transformed into. Pin the Tail on the lion is also a good game for this kind of party. And don't forget to give everyone a bag of animal crackers!