Birthday Ideas: Iron Man Party

My son wanted an Iron Man party this year for his birthday. Seriously?! I’ve never seen the movies, and there’s really nothing on the internet geared toward young children. So, I had my work cut out for me. It was a great test of my creativity! And for having NOTHING to go off of, I think I did a pretty good job. I’m hoping that this one may help another mother in the same predicament…

Invitations: We just bought them this year. We did ask all children to wear red, if they were interested.

Starter: As the kids came in, I provided them with an Iron Man mask and chest piece. I bought the masks for CHEAP at the party store, and then made the chest pieces by cutting circles out of cardboard and gluing on a piece of tin foil. The boys then ran around pretending to be Iron Man and getting the bad guys while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Games:

Pin the Chest Piece on Iron Man:  I found a picture of Iron Man on the internet, took it to my local copy store, and asked them to enlarge it. I actually wanted it bigger, but this was the biggest they could do. I also laminated it for durability. I then color copied the chest piece from the enlarged picture, one for each boy. They tried to get their chest piece on the correct spot on Iron Man.

Iron Man Super Power Games: This was the majority of the time. My husband set up an obstacle course-type thing in the backyard. They then used their powers to complete the different obstacles. They began in the power box (cones and string set up in a square). They checked their balance and coordination by walking on a balance beam (a 2×4 set on 2 bricks). They tested their speed by running around a cage (which he had labeled with some cute super power name). They ran around and between cones. They threw power discs (frisbees) as far as they could. They used “weapons” to get the bad guys (he had the bow from a bow and arrow, and a tube wrapped in camo tape that he called a machete). He had them do different activites, such as go as fast as you can. Go backwards. All hold hands and work as a team. etc. Really fun! You could also do relay races, or shot put (with a ball), or long jump, or an obstacle course where they have to crawl, jump, go under, etc. Your imagination is the limit on this one!

balance test

speed test

getting the enemy!

Piñata: Their last game was a strength test, where they got to hit a piñata. In order to avoid the mad dash for candy, I always set a limit. I provided Iron Man party bags, and each child got 10 pieces of candy, 2 stickers, and 2 action figure toys. We then evenly distributed the rest of the candy and prizes.

Cake: We made red velvet cupcakes, frosted them with “red” frosting (it was more hot pink), decorated them with TONS of red sprinkles (to make them red), and then put an Iron Man cake topper in. I can never find those things so I made my own. I copied a picture of Iron Man onto cardstock, and then attached a toothpick.

We finished the party by opening presents and letting the kids play Iron Man outside until their moms came to pick them up. This party lasted an hour and 1/2, and my son loved it!