by Sarah Dye, Bear Haven Mama Contributor

Invitations: I found some great FREE printable Batman invitations here. There are even templates for matching envelopes!

Decorations: By now you probably can tell that when researching party ideas I don’t like to write about the common commercial products out there, even though they’re perfectly fine for a party, they’re simple enough that you could ask any Party City employee and you would be shown Batman plates and banners. I’m guessing that you’re all busy moms or dads or grandparents and if you’re taking the time to read this, you want something that requires a little more thought. So when I started thinking about Batman decorations, one of the first things that came to mind was…
Bats: hang bats from the ceiling and on the walls attach them to the ends of string and hang them from the doorway of your house or the entryway to the party room.
Make the room look like Gotham City. Cut out silhouettes of skyscrapers from black construction paper and glue yellow construction paper over it to look like windows.
Add black, grey, and blue crepe paper to hang from the ceiling for a dark cloudy effect.
Make sure to add a huge white or yellow balloon in the corner for the moon.
Place a large sign in the front yard that says, ‘Welcome to Gotham’
Cut out bat shapes to use as placemats and use your child’s batman toys as a centerpiece
Enlarge batman comics to use as tablecloths

Activities

Batbear Costume!

• Batman Mask- The first thing to have the children do when they enter Gotham is to make their own batman masks. Print out this printable on black paper and have the children decorate it with Batman stickers and sticker phrases such as ‘pow!’ and ‘kabam!’

• Stuff a Bear- Stuff a bear from Bear Haven Boutique and dress it in one of our Batman costumes

• Batman Obstacle Course- Buy one of our inexpensive Batman Capes from Bear Haven Boutique (coming soon) and have each child put it on so they can be Batman. This cape can also double as a party favor. Then set up an obstacle course for the children making sure to walk them through it before hand, telling them where to jump, run, crawl, etc.

• Pin the bat on Batman- have the children try to put the bat on Batman’s face. The one that gets the closest wins!

• Stomp the Villains- Place a few pieces of candy in balloons and blow them up putting a picture of a Villain on each balloon. Have the children race to stomp on the Villains as quickly as possible. They get to keep the candy afterward.

• Superhero Senses Test- First pre-record different everyday sounds such as a teapot, a car passing by, a doorbell. Then take pictures of everyday objects and have the images enlarged and reduced. Have the children sit in a circle and first let them hear the sounds. They then have to guess what each sound is to test their senses and make sure they’re working properly. Then show them the pictures and have them guess again. Next is the taste test. Blindfold each child and pass around one bowl at a time of different foods such as spaghetti, crackers, or fruit and have them taste each food and see if they guess correctly.

These are some fun ideas to get you started? Have you tried a Batman party? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below!