Art Party Activity Ideas

An art party are a great way to let your birthday child and their guests get in touch with their creative side.  Whether you feature one art party activity or create a round robin set-up where guests can rotate through, art themed celebrations can be so much fun.  One of the best parts for the party host is that the art activities are the entertainment.  There is no reason to hire any one else or come up with additional games.

Here is a set of eight art party activity ideas to use at your next art themed celebration.  You can find the matching signs available in our shop.  Simply frame each sign and display next to the art activity and your guests will know what to do next.  The activities are pretty easy to figure out too, so even your littlest guests should be able to get creative with little instruction.

One other note is to adjust the activities to your guests age development.  For example, in jewelry making little kids should use the larger pony beads and thicker elastic.  The older kids can use string or wire and smaller beads.

Activity #1 – Play Dough Sculptures

For this activity, you will need a variety of colors of playdough – made from scratch (we recommend this homemade playdough recipe) or bought at a store.  It’s also fun to have some rolling pins, cookie cutters and other clay stamps.  You can even give the kids child safe scissors to practice their cutting.  When setting up, we recommend using plastic place mats on the surface for easy sculpting and clean-up.

If you would like guests to create a project that they can take home, then we recommend Crayola Model Magic clay.  This air dry clay comes in multiple colors and is really easy to sculpt with.  It will dry pretty quickly and be hard enough for kids to take home at the end of the party.

Activity #2 – T-Shirt Decorating

Everybody loves to put their personal stamp on the shirts they wear.  Give guests a plain white t-shirt and some fabric markers to have some fun decorating their on t-shirts.  You will also need cardboard pieces, about 8″ x 10″ to slip inside the t-shirt to make sure the markers do not bleed through.  For decorating, provide stencils, stamps and other fun tools to make their shirts truly creative works of art.

 Activity #3 – Jewelry Making

Send guests home with a necklace or two at a jewelry making station.  Set out a variety of beads (pony beads are best for smaller hands), elastic cording and jewelry charms.  You can even use alphabet beads with older kids so they can spell out messages.  This is one station that might need a little more assistance with little kids when measuring and cutting elastic cording.  Guests can wear their creations home or put them in a plastic baggie for easy transport.

Activity #4 – Watercolor Masterpieces

One of the easiest painting mediums for kids is watercolor painting.  Give each child a piece of watercolor paper, a cup of water and a set of washable watercolors.  They can paint any thing they would like or you could provide a theme such as animals or birthdays.  Add a few pencils for older kids to sketch out their thoughts before painting.  Set up a clothesline area to pin up masterpieces to dry before taking home.

Activity #5 – Cupcake Decorating

Not all art has to be made with paper and pencils.  Set up a cupcake decorating station to let guests enjoy the sweet side of art.  Give each guest a white frosted cupcake and assortment of decorations.  Decorations could include sprinkles, crushed cookies, small candies and even pretzels.  You can use disposable muffin tins to organize the decorating goodies.  Have guests decorate their cupcakes.  After they are finished, guests can enjoy them or keep them to enjoy at home.

Activity #6 – Cookie Painting

Cookie painting is a great way to combine the love of cookies with painting.  Although you can make your own cookies, many bakers will sell cookies with white royal icing already ready for your guests’ cookie masterpieces.  If you would like to make them yourself, bake your favorite sugar cookie recipe and cut out large square cookies.  Once baked, add a coating of royal icing on top and let dry.

Your little artists can use food writer color markers to decorate the tops of their cookies.  Once dry, your guests can enjoy them or take them home to eat later.

Activity #7 – Paper Collages

Paper is another fun medium that your guests can enjoy creating with.  Using a variety of pretty paper (scrapbook paper, old magazines, colorful cardstock), young artists can create a picture collage.  You will need some watered down white glue and sponge brushes for easy application of the paper.

Again you can have artists choose any kind of picture they would like to make or give them a theme (such as dinosaurs or the beach) to create a picture around.  You can use heavier paper or even canvas as a base to apply paper on.

Activity #8 – Create Your Own Masterpiece

This is a fun open ended activity and might be the only one you need to keep your guests busy for the party.  Provide each guest with a canvas, small easel (if desired), paints and different sized brushes.  Let them enjoy painting and creating a one of a kind masterpiece to take home.  The best part?  This masterpiece painting can also be the party favor!

Planning an art party?  We recently created an editable art party sign that you can customize to match your art party activities.  Check out the editable art party sign here.

Hopefully, these ideas are able to get you started on creating an amazing art themed celebration for your little one. Whether you choose one or all of the art activities listed above, your guests are sure to have a great time getting in touch with their creative sides.

Happy Celebrating,

Natalie