Use these easy Groovy Tie-Dye Birthday Party Ideas to make your child’s birthday (or any event) extra cool. It’s a fun, colorful, easy-to-plan party theme that is a blast from the past!
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Fun Party Alert: Tie-Dye Birthday Party Ideas
August is Nana’s birthday month! I (Nana) grew up in the groovy days of the (ahem) 60s and 70s. Back in the day of tie-dye, tissue paper flowers, macrame, and bell bottom jeans. That makes me a flower child! HA!
This theme is perfect for celebrating my birthday and for celebrating the birthday of your kids or for celebrating any event in your life. It’s so colorful and fun.
I have fond memories of making some of these crafts in my young years.
So a groovy happy birthday to me. And please tell your child (or others) HaPpY GrOoVy BiRtHdaAy from Nana!!
Groovy Tie-Dye Birthday Party Ideas for Kids (or any event)
Here are some groovy ideas for your tie-dye party. You will find complete supply lists and directions to make these groovy crafts at the links given in the idea descriptions. All are kid friendly to make.
Pick and choose what you would enjoy for your event!:
INVITATION
Watercolor Doodle Card: For an invitation, check out the Watercolor Doodle Cards that we’ve made at this link. The rainbow designed card would be perfect for an invitation to your groovy tie-dye birthday party!
If you don’t want to make several, you could make one and then copy it to give to all of your party guests.
DECORATIONS
Giant tissue paper flowers and tie-dye paper bag starbursts will make some great decorations for your party.Of course you could add several bright colors of balloons as well!
This makes decorating a cinch.
Giant Tissue Paper Flowers: For decorations, let’s pull out those giant tissue paper flowers that we’ve made before. Instead of creating solid colored flowers with one color tissue paper for the whole flower try a variety of colored tissue paper to make the flower. The tissue paper flower will look like it’s tie-dyed!
Colorful Tie-Dye Paper Bag Star Craft: I’m featuring our easy paper bag snowflakes with a whole new twist! We’re going to make them into a tie-dye paper bag starburst!
Before we glue our bags together we’re going to paint or use markers to color them all different colors! When they’re glued together, they are going to look tie-dyed.
Check out the link to make the paper bag stars and make several as decorations for your party.
FOOD
Party cake: For a birthday cake, we’re going to try one of my favorite cakes that we made when our kids were young. We’re going to make a tie-dye angel food cake! Credit for this idea goes to my dear friend. Thanks for such a great idea, Jane!!
The cake batter is divided and colored with several colors, then put in the pan and swirled. You are going to love cutting into this cake! You’ll get to see the tie-dye swirls in every piece. Top it off with whipped cream and sprinkles and you have a great dessert for your birthday party!
Complete directions for the Tie-Dye Angel Food Cake are found below.
Homemade Fruit Popsicles: Another wonderful treat would be to make homemade fruit popsicles! You could make them with some swirls of different colored fruit fruits to make them look tie-dye! Or just make them a bright color or several different colored fruits. They would be so refreshing! And good for you. Find the directions at this link.
Extra fun treats: Of course you can add a bowl of skittles or other colorful, candy, and other things that you would like to have your party (crackers, cheese, pretzels, etc.).
CRAFTS
How about some crafts for your party? Here are several options.
Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft: The coffee filter butterfly craft wings look tie-dyed when finished. You will need to make the first half of it earlier in the party so that it can dry as you make your designs on the coffee filters. Then later in the party, you can come back and make them into butterfly shapes.
Tie Dye a Swirl T-Shirt: Purchase a tie-dye kit or two with the materials you need to create shirts. Another fantastic idea is to have each person bring their own cotton T-shirt. You can make swirling tie-dye T-shirts according with the directions on this post.
Sharpie and Alcohol Painting on Canvas: If you want a craft that is a really popular post, try the cool sharpie alcohol painting on canvas. Kids can watch it swirl into a cool tie-dye effect. Be sure to get the 99% alcohol for this craft or it will not work.
WANT TO BE EXTRA GROOVY??
If you really want to be groovy, you could make some jeans into bellbottoms and a macramé belt with beads! Put on a tie-dye T-shirt, tie a band in your hair, add a peace necklace. You would look extra groovy at your party!
Steps to Make a Tie-Dye Angel Food Cake
I love this dessert! Make your angel food cake according to the instructions on the box.
Divide the cake batter gently and evenly into several bowls (one for each color).
Use food coloring to add to each bowl. Make each bowl a different color. I recommend leaving one bowl white.
Be very gentle as you mix your cake mix because you do not want to let the air out of the angel food batter. Gently lift the batter over and over- this is called “folding in”. Don’t stir it hard.
Get out your angel food cake pan; this is one pan you do not grease! This will work in a bread loaf pan as an option. The cake mix box should describe this option.
Take your batters and gently put in one large spoonful of each color into the angel food cake pan. Just keep layering up spoonfuls of different colors of batter.
When you have used up all of the cake batter, take a knife and stick it straight down into the batter. Run the knife around the pan two or three times. This will cause the colors to swirl a bit. You do not want to mix these colors. You just want to cut through it with the knife a couple times.
Go ahead and bake the cake according to instructions. Let it cool as described in the directions.
Turn it out onto a plate and frost with some white frosting (I only frosted the top).
Serve onto a plate and top with a spoonful of Cool Whip. Let the kids add some sprinkles on top (optional) and you have a great dessert for your birthday party!
Party Craft Tips
- Wear old clothes: With the activities in this theme, it would be wise to encourage parents to send kids to this tie dye party in clothing they didn’t mind getting stained. Tie-dye and permanent markers don’t come out of clothing easily and can get on clothes even if aprons are used.
- Aprons: Put aprons or t-shirts over kid’s clothing for protection when making the crafts to avoid as many stains as possible!
- Own shirt: Have each child/person bring their own shirt to tie-dye (a white cotton T-shirt). It doesn’t have to be a new shirt. Then you don’t have to figure out what size everyone wears.
- Buy shirts: If you provide the shirts to tie-dye there are packages of white t-shirts in the boys’ departments of clothing stores. Or craft stores sell them at very reasonable prices. The shirt would be their party favors!
- Tie-dye kit: Purchase an extra tie-dye kit to have extra dye in case you run out. Don't open it and return it if not needed.
- Timing of craft: When making the coffee filter butterfly craft, do the first part of coloring the coffee filters early in the party so they dry. Then the craft can be finished later in the party.
- Invitation: Make one Watercolor Doodle Card as an invitation and then copy it to give out.
- Craft station: Create a craft station with all supplies needed for the craft you choose to make. For example in a tie-dye station remember to put down a plastic tablecloth, have your tie dye kit, rubber gloves, old t-shirts or aprons to cover clothes, the T-shirts, paper towels, container to get tie-dyed items to the washing machine, etc. This will be less stressful and create much more tie-dye fun for everyone!
Party Idea and Craft Variations
Want to switch things up? Here are a few variations you’re welcome to try with these party ideas.
Other events: This would also work out great for a baby shower, a bridal shower, a birthday party for an adult, a family reunions, or any other party where you’re wanting a theme.
Cake colors: The angel food cake could be made with only 2 or 3 colors. Adjust these colors to your occasion. Red, green, & white for Christmas. Yellow, blue, green, pink, white for a baby shower. This is a versatile cake for parties!
Popsicle colors: The fruit popsicles recipe could be made with the layered yogurt and fruit puree of different colors, so they are tie-dye looking. Of course these need to be made ahead.
Paper bag size: Use a variety of colors and sizes of paper bags to make the paper bag star craft. Solid colored bags could be used to make the craft faster to make.
FAQ
Yes!! These ideas would also work out great for a holiday theme, a baby shower, a bridal shower, a birthday party for an adult, family reunions, prom, or any other party where you’re wanting a theme.
You came to the right place. Read through the post for invitation, decoration, craft, and food ideas for your tie-dye party. Choose the ideas that work for you and have your kids help. All of the ideas are kid friendly.
Watercolor Doodle Cards
Tissue Paper Flowers
Paper Bag Star Craft
Homemade Fruit Popsicles
Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft
Make a Tie-Dye Swirl T-Shirt
Sharpie and Alcohol Painting on Canvas
More Themes for Kids' Birthday Parties!
Looking for more party theme ideas for your birthday girl or birthday boy? Well, here they are!!
EQUIPMENT
Angel food cake pan: An angel food cake pan is specially made in a two piece form with a center tube. This special form helps the batter to lift and rise higher.
Enjoy!
If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.
Come join the fun!
Groovy Tie-Dye Birthday Party Ideas (for any event)
Equipment
- Angel food cake pan
Items Required
- Craft materials listed on individual posts.
Angel food cake ingredients
- Angel food cake mix
- Food coloring
- White frosting (optional)
- Whipped topping
- Sprinkles
- Angel food cake pan
Instructions
- Watercolor Doodle Card: For an invitation, check out the Watercolor Doodle Cards
- Giant Tissue Paper Flowers: For decorations, let’s pull out those giant tissue paper flowers try a variety of colored tissue paper Check out the link to make the paper bag stars and make several as decorations for your party
- Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft: The coffee filter butterfly craft wings look tie-dyed when finished.You can make swirling tie-dye T-shirts according to the directions on this post.If you want a craft that is a really popular post, try the cool sharpie alcohol painting on canvas. Kids can watch it swirl into a cool tie-dye effect
- For a birthday cake, we’re going to try one of my favorite cakes that we made when our kids were young. We’re going to make a tie-dye angel food cake! The recipe is below.Another wonderful treat would be to make homemade fruit popsicles!
Steps to make a Tie-Dye Angel Food Cake
- Make your angel food cake according to the instructions on the box.Divide the cake batter gently and evenly into several bowls (one for each color).Use food coloring to add to each bowl. Make each bowl a different color. I recommend leaving one bowl white.Be very gentle as you mix your cake mix because you do not want to let the air out of the angel food batter. Gently lift the batter over and over- this is called “folding in”. Don’t stir it hard.
- Get out your angel food cake pan; this is one pan you do not grease! This will work in a bread loaf pan as an option. The cake mix box should describe this option.Take your batters and gently put in one large spoonful of each color into the angel food cake pan. Just keep layering up spoonfuls of different colors of batter.
- When you have used up all of the cake batter, take a knife and stick it straight down into the batter. Run the knife around the pan two or three times. This will cause the colors to swirl a bit. You do not want to mix these colors. You just want to cut through it with the knife a couple times.
- Go ahead and bake the cake according to instructions. Let it cool as described in the directions.
- Turn it out onto a plate and frost with some white frosting (I only frosted the top). Serve onto a plate and top with a spoonful of Cool Whip. Let the kids add some sprinkles on top (optional) and you have a great dessert for your birthday party!
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