The internet tells me the “tween” years, those years between childhood and teeneagerdom, are ages 8-12. But I disagree. I think there’s a sub category. A category I call middle childhood. In this stage your child is still actively playing with dolls and plastic unicorns, she fully believes fairies are real, and also she wants to look very cool in front of her peers because she (and they) have all just started caring just a bit what they each think of each other. We are firmly situated in middle childhood and nestled among all of the nuances of this precious developmental stage is the birthday party.
It’s a quintessential part of childhood and one that is relatively easy in the toddler years and lower elementary years with birthday party options about. This year, however, as I surveyed the options for a ten year old it wasn’t looking great. Everything I presented to my almost ten year old was met with “too babyish, mom” and if the party idea itself didn’t check her “big kid” boxes the venue options were less exciting for her. It seemed like there was no place at all for a ten year old to party.
I was in the process of doing a really big sell on a “birthday trip” instead of a party when the perfect party idea came to me: karaoke. She loves to sing along to songs on her karaoke microphone in her room. Everyone loves to sing, to sing along, or to watch other people sing. And karaoke is the perfect activity for kids in middle childhood who still actually do enjoy singing the Frozen soundtrack to feel really cool while doing it.
If you’re already wondering how to throw a karaoke party for children without having to navigate hosting it in your favorite neighborhood dive bar, consider this your “how to” guide. Our karaoke jam with a large guest list of children ages 3-16 was a blast! Everyone had fun, and we didn’t have to host it at a sketchy bar!
The easiest part of a party, in my opinion, should be the food. I’ve perfected this over ten years of birthday parties. The easiest way to make food easy is to not host a party during a meal time. In this way you can just offer snacks and finger foods. My go-to’s are: a sandwhich or nugget tray, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, juice boxes, and bottled water. Then there’s the star of the show: the cake! When my daughter was a toddler I spent hundreds of dollars on elaborate birthday cakes. They were beautiful, but there’s a better way! Find a wonderful local bakery that does cakes well and at a great price. If you’re local to me Hurley House has been my go-to for cakes now for 6 years. Hurley House cakes are simple cakes in classic flavors with classic icing styles done so superbly that I always have to pull up their website at least once at every party to share my cake secret. I order cute toppers that match the party theme like these disco balls and fun cake topper from Meri Meri.
In fact, Meri Meri is the first place I look for party decor. I tend to pick a color theme rather than a party themed decor because it’s both easier and more budget-friendly. My daughter’s favorite color is light blue so I looked for things in this color and added in some pops of coral. As usual Meri Meri had everything I needed. I used their summer sky dinner and side plates alongside striped and solid colored napkins. I then topped this peach striped table cloth with a disco ball table runner to add just the right amount of sparkle. I always add a few extras to the spread just in case we have more guests than cake. While some hostesses order an extra sheet cake to slice from, I go straight to my nearest grocery store bakery and order cupcakes. Grocery store bakeries are the absolute cheapest place to order cupcakes. Everyone likes them, and, if you order a solid colored icing with a round tip they look like they came from a specialty bakery, what a win! Add some cute toppers like these disco balls and no one will know your secret unless you tell them. I also always serve sugar cookies. I’ve been perfecting my own sugar cookie recipe since I was about 9 years old and they’re a staple at all of our family gatherings; a little extra special at birthday parties because these sweet cookies are typically the only thing “made by mom.” To fit our karaoke rock star theme I made them in simple star shapes this year.
The next part of planning this party was a little tricky because I didn’t want to DIY karaoke, I wanted a dj; specifically a dj who was great with kids. Luckily for me Killer Karaoke was available! David and his wife Debbie came to our venue and set up everything needed for a real karaoke experience for my daughter and her guests: real microphones, a full karaoke screen, and speakers. This definitely added to the “cool factor” of the party while also making hosting it incredibly easy for me. David and Debbie have worked in children’s theater and television shows and are doting grandparents who helped the children learn how to karaoke and boosted their confidence as well. They even had traditional karaoke sign up slips for all of the kids to fill out. It was a truly authentic age appropriate karaoke experience that was a total blast! You’ll want to follow their facebook page as they offer free karaoke weekly at local restaurants, the perfect way to keep the party going year round!
Karaoke was definitely the main event at our party, even the adults signed up to sing their favorite songs! While many of the guests sang along or enjoyed watching their friends (or parents!) perform I knew we’d need some other activities to keep everyone entertained so I set up little stations around the party venue to ensure there would be no shortage of ways to have fun. We had a rock star hair and makeup station with temporary tattoos, body glitter, and hair tinsel. Our sweet high school babysitter agreed to help with this station and I’m so glad she did, it was a popular pick!
I also found some adorable cardboard guitars and set out art supplies for the children to decorate them. A wide assortment of markers, music themed stickers and gemstone stickers made for some truly rock star worthy guitars. These also doubled as our party favor for guests; seeing how each child decorated their guitar was one of my personal favorite parts of the party.
I also created a photo booth station which really tied the entire party and all of the activities together. Kids posed with their tinseled hair holding their cardboard guitars in front of a huge fringe backdrop made by one of my best friends and used lots of props available to them like feather boas, star shaped sunnies, disco necklaces, and toy microphones. I set out an instax camera and film for them to use to document their photos which made for great memories for our daughter to keep forever.
This was definitely a high-energy party with a pretty large guest list and action packed fun from start to finish. Finding a venue to host it was a challenge and I couldn’t have done it without Fort Worth’s newest flex space party rental spot: The Play Pocket. This place is truly a hidden gem, but it won’t stay hidden long because it is perfect in every way! The Play Pocket has a large space for indoor parties with a kitchen to store and prepare your food. This space was the perfect size for our full karaoke set up, snack spread, and all of our activities. Because it’s a flex space I didn’t have to work with a pre-existing indoor play area better suited for toddlers than my ten year old nor did I have to contend with the types of permanent decor a lot of party rental spaces have. It was truly a blank slate I could design to fit our unique party. I even had one dedicated employee to help me set up and clean up which was a huge help!
The Play Pocket is nestled in a historic home right off the bricks on Camp Bowie and with a stroke of total genius has used the home’s former back yard to extend the party space. This turfed area had outdoor toys that the entire age range of kiddos at our party enjoyed, picnic tables for the children to eat their birthday cake and best of all – the majority of this area is shaded, perfect for those hot Texas summers! As an added bonus The Play Pocket shares a space with The Happy Lark, a well-loved local toy store so guests can easily grab a gift and have it wrapped on their way in. The Play Pocket is also a great place to try out many of the toys The Happy Lark sells as they have a wide variety on hand for party and play date rentals. We didn’t use any of these as our party was for older kids but I recognized some of our absolute favorite toys from when my daughter was much younger. Whether you’re looking for a place to host a quick play date without cleaning your house first or a place to host any event ranging from a baby shower to a birthday party for babies to tweens The Play Pocket has you covered!
The middle childhood and tween years are some of the funnest I’ve had so far as a parent and I’m so glad we were able to have a party that captured and capitalized on that fun. If you host your own kids karaoke birthday party I’d love to hear about it! Please feel free to tag me in your photos on instagram, it’s one of my favorite places to connect!
Forever grateful for:
all photography: Bree Linne Photography
photo booth back drop: FringeyBuiness
and The Play Pocket for the generous gift of their space:
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