Wizard of Oz Birthday Party Ideas

Wizard of Oz birthday party theme remains classic for any celebration.

Invite the kids to Emerald City with the following party ideas!

Resources:

Invitations

You can make spectacular Wizard of Oz birthday invitations using cardstock paper. Cut 3x5" postcards out of emerald green paper. Cut a road shape out of yellow paper. Use a black pen to draw bricks on the road. Glue the road on the front of the green postcard. Draw a house so that the road leads to the front of it. Cut out a strip from blue paper, and glue it on top of the cards to represent the sky.

Decorations

Create a spectacular party atmosphere with lots of emerald green balloons and streamers, matching Wizard of Oz party supplies and a beautifully set table. Play Wizard of Oz soundtrack in the background.

Use a roll of yellow butcher or mural paper to make a brick road that leads from the street continuing trough the party room. For a more outrageous idea - get yellow Crayola� sidewalk paint, and paint the entire driveway with it.

At the top of the driveway, create a balloon arch representing a rainbow. (Use a kite string to tie rainbow-colored balloons to, about 12" apart.) Hang a giant banner near the front door that says "Welcome to the Land of Oz." Place a sign by the doorbell that says "Bell out of Order, Please Knock."

Put toy playhouses along the driveway with witch's legs and ruby shoes sticking out from underneath. Create a poppy field: make poppies out of red streamers and trash bag ties, and scatter them across the lawn.

Hang bright streamers from the ceiling or over the doors. Tie bunches of colorful helium balloons around the house (or let them float up to fill the ceiling). Tape Wizard of Oz posters to the walls. Scatter theme-related items on the floor and furniture (e.g., stuffed toy lion or dog, scarecrow, Oz books, etc).

You can lightly spray giant silk paper flowers with silver and gold sparkle spray paint. Spread the leaves around the Wizard of Oz party area. (They can be used to imitate the same shiny leaves as in the original Wizard of Oz movie.)

Cover your Wizard of Oz birthday party table with a yellow cloth. Put rainbow-swirled lollypops at each place setting. Tie balloons to the chairs. Hang a personalized "Happy Birthday" banner near the table.

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

*Wizard of Oz Coloring Pages: Invite young kids in your group to color pages from theme activity books with crayons and markers.

*Candy Necklaces: Fill several bowls with doughnut-shaped candy and cereal. Provide the kids with necklace strings, and let them create their own edible necklaces.

*Rainbow Mural: Tape a wide sheet of butcher paper on the lower portion of the wall so the kids can reach. Provide them with paints or crayons/markers, and get them to paint Wizard of Oz characters as well as rainbows, suns, clouds, and so on.

Favors

For Wizard of Oz party favors, hand out such items as sticker sheets, magic wands, stuffed animals, Wizard of Oz posters, Pop Rocks� candy, etc.

Wizard of Oz Birthday Party Games

*Pin the Heart on the Tin Man: Glue an image of Tin Man on a poster board, or purchase Tin Man poster instead. Cut heart shapes out of red construction paper. Write guests' names and stick double-sided tape on the "hearts."

Mount the poster on the wall. Blindfold the kids one by one, spin them around and get them to pin the hearts on Tin Man where they belong.

*Witch's Broom Relay Race: Before the Wizard of Oz birthday party, cover two shoeboxes or bricks with yellow paper. Mark "X" on the ground for the starting point, and place the "yellow bricks" a reasonable distance from the "X."

At race time, divide the kids into two teams, and line them up. Provide a broom and a ball for each team. The players will use the broom to roll the ball to and around the yellow brick and back to their lines. Then they pass the relay leg to the next players in line, and so on, until all the players have gone. The team to finish first, wins!

*Roar Like a Lion: Give each child a chance to demonstrate his or her best lion roar. When all the children have had a turn, award prizes for the loudest, squeakiest, most real, funniest, etc. You can enlist parents, older siblings, or neighbors to be competition judges. (Have "medals of courage" as prizes: large chocolate coins taped to long purple ribbons that can be hung around kids' necks.)

*What's Behind the Curtain: Before Wizard of Oz birthday party, cut a hole in the side of a box. Spray paint the box green (optional). Use a stapler and green fabric to make a curtain where the hole is. Place several theme related objects in the box: stuffed "Toto" dog, small scarecrow, heart-shaped item, small witch hat, etc.

Gather the kids into a circle. The players take turns reaching their hands into the curtain. They must touch and feel the objects trying to identify what they are without looking.

*Melt the Witch: Mount a printed image (or drawing) of Witch on the fence outside the house. Prepare a box of water balloons. Have the kids throw balloons to "melt" the witch from a distance.

*Wizard of Oz Bowling: For this Wizard of Oz birthday party activity, you'll need several empty 1-gallon milk jugs. Staple or tape images of Wizard of Oz characters onto the jugs. Place them a significant distance away from where the kids will be standing. Put plastic soda bottles in between the jugs. Give the kids small- to medium-sized balls, and get them to knock off as many bottles and jugs as they can, just like in a bowling alley.

*Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Before the party, draw or cut out large rectangular shapes from yellow construction paper (enough for everyone but one guest). Tape the shapes in a circle on the ground in the play area.

Get the kids to walk around the circle while Wizard of Oz theme music is playing. When the music stops, the kids must occupy one of the cutouts as fast as they can. The person who doesn't find one, goes out of the game and receives a prize. Continue playing until there is only one player left.

*Hot Toto: Here is a Wizard of Oz party variation of "Hot Potato" game, where the kids get to pass stuffed Toto dog while the music is playing. When the music stops, the person holding Toto goes out of the game but receives a prize.

*Wizard of Oz Hunt: For this Wizard of Oz birthday party activity, you'll need construction paper or index cards, scissors, and three different kinds of treasures for hiding.

Choose a theme for the hunt. For example, "Birthday Food" where all the treasures lead to a meal. Another popular theme is "Tea Time" where treasures include cups, herbal tea bags and honey or cinnamon sticks.

Acquire treasures suitable for the theme and hide them in three different rooms or parts of your yard. Draw and cut out stars from construction paper and place them near the treasures (or use index cards).

Write clues on stars. Use clues that would be easy for children to solve, such as "I'm cold on the inside, and I run all day and all night." (Answer: refrigerator). Other clues may include the following: "The place where the birthday child watches cartoons?" (Answer: TV room), "The place where boys and girls love to play with bubbles?" (Answer: bathroom), or "The place where sometimes snoring can be heard?" (Answer: bedroom).

At game time, have the kids follow the clues to find hidden treasures.

*Watch the Show: Invite the kids to watch a show to unwind at the end of the party!

Wizard of Oz Birthday Cake:

*Wizard of Oz Cake: Bake a regular sheet cake. Decorate it with Wizard of Oz cake toppers.

Wizard of Oz Birthday Party Food Ideas:

*Magic Wands: Dip halves of the pretzel sticks in melted white chocolate. Then roll the sticks in rainbow-colored sprinkles.

*Rainbow Fruit Platter: You'll need several types of rainbow-colored fruits to create a beautiful design. Arrange strawberries above cut peaches above lemons above blueberries in a shape of a rainbow for a superb look!

*Munchkinland Munchies: Serve mini Oreo� cookies and mini goldfish for munchkin snacks.

*Spaghetti & Meatballs
*Pizza
*Veggies & Dip

*Tuna Salad
*Mashed Potatoes
*Corn on the Cob
*Jell-O� Jigglers
*Ice Cream
*Skittles�

Wizard of Oz Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

*Drinks & Kool-Aid� Cubes: A day before your Wizard of Oz birthday party, pour prepared Kool-Aid drink into ice cube trays and freeze for a few hours.

At party time, add Kool-Aid cubes to a beverage such as Sprite�, and then serve to your partygoers.

*Witch's Punch: Mix ginger ale with white grape juice. Then add green Kool-Aid ice cubes (from the above recipe) for the drink to turn green before the kids' eyes. Put a miniature witch's hat in each glass for added fun.

*Root Beer