Bubble party: easy & fun birthday party on a budget

Bubble Party! I was so excited when my kiddo wanted to have a bubble party for his birthday. I recently learned that there are professional bubble-blowing entertainers that you can hire to make bubbles as big as a car and enclose party guests in soapy orbs, but those guys charge $300 for a 45-minute show. Dazzling as that would be, I figured I could save $275 and have nearly as much fun by hosting Sawyer’s third birthday party at our closest playground. Our bubble party was every bit as fun and way cheaper!

We threw a bubble birthday party, and it was not hard at all. Apparently, I’ve been acquiring bubble tools and solution for years now: when we hauled out all our bubble gear, we didn’t need to buy a thing. If you’re not crazy-insane for bubbles, you may want to purchase a few things or take some time to mix up DIY solution and create your own wicked cool bubble wands (with or without the children depending on your patience).

Activities for a bubbly party:

The main attraction is the BUBBLES so kids can play with bubbles, blow bubbles, make funky bubble wands, spill solution, chase bubbles, pop bubbles, try to catch them without popping them.

And when all that gets boring, play at the playground. I love having parties at the park because I just prevented 15 soapy little three- and four-year olds from trampling all over my home looking for the good toys.

CANDYLICIOUS BUBBLES are ok to eat: fun at a bubble party

Candylicious bubbles are ok to eat, about $10

Decor for a blowing bubbles party:

Bubbles, of course! Set the bubble blower on automatic. Helium balloons also work well for that bubbly feeling – and make great party favors.

I recently discovered Candylicious bubbles that are ok to eat. But my children have always liked catching bubbles in their mouths even when they taste like soap!

Supplies, AKA My favorite bubble thingies and bubble blower accessories:

We love this Gazillion bubble blower and have had it for years. Worth noting: kids and careless adults (ahem, myself included) frequently overfill this little guy so it can be a mess. Put on a picnic table with a paper towel underneath to keep it from vibrating itself to the ground. Use the correct solution or it can get all gunked up. At only $10, I think it might be a fun gift for a bubble-loving child, too.

Wacky wands and tray. For less than $7, this set gets fun-shaped wands in the hands of your guests. You can use the provided bubble solution tray or put out a plastic dishpan for even more suds like we did.

Automatic handheld bubble shooters like this Toysmith mini ray gun let little ones just dip and blow lots of bubbles at a time with a motorized fan. I like the reduced frustration for small people. For less than $7, you can find one that looks like a duck, dinosaur, or helicopter.

Photo: BeeBoo

The thing I wish we had: giant big bubble blower. I swear we had one in the garage but the day I go to build a party around it — poof! — we can’t find it anywhere! For only $13, I woulda got another one if I realized it was missing before the morning of our party.

Worth mentioning is the bubble stuff I wish poured down the drain rather than use: Whatever you do, do NOT purchase or use Crayola colored bubbles. These things are stainy, messy, and don’t really create colored bubbles.

Food for a bubble-blowing party:

At Sawyer’s request, we served bagels (round) and cake for a mid-morning brunch party with a slight Frozen theme. I think you can divert from the theme a bit to serve food the birthday child likes.

Party Favors are, of course, bubble wands:

Why not give out these epic jumbo wands in solution? $15 buys you a dozen. They are cooler than your average bubble kit and look like lightsabers. I nearly provided them to our guests but then I forgot to click “order” on my Amazon cart so, instead, made an accidental anti-materialist statement by not passing out favors. You can also hand out the balloons if you got the right number.