8th Birthday Party Ideas

Is your favorite kid turning another year older? Make sure the way you ring in 8 is just as great as they are! Check out our 8th birthday party ideas that are sure to be as fun to plan as they are to attend!

Superhero Party
What 8-year-old doesn’t love a superhero? Whether it’s Batman or Wonder Woman, unleash the powers of an “8 the Great” superhero party. Have everyone dress up as their favorite superhero, or even their favorite super villain! Set the mood with a super cityscape cutout like Gotham or Metropolis. Get everyone off their feet with a game of pin the mask on the hero, or have a superhero competition outside if the weather is nice. See who can jump, run, or throw things the farthest! Remember that superheroes need fuel—offer up kryptonite cupcakes or green goblin goodies. Everyone is sure to say Bam! Zap! and KaWOW!

Creepy Crawlies Party
What’s the best part about being a kid and rolling in the dirt outside? Finding all kinds of awesome bugs! If your little one is a sucker for spiders, celebrate 8 years with 8 legs! Decorate your space with spiderwebs and dangling arachnids, or use streamers to create a cobweb maze. This party is perfect for birthdays that fall around Halloween time. And don’t forget the dirt dessert! Take this party to the next level by hiring a bug expert to bring some live crawlies and to teach the kids more about our 8-legged friends. Wrap up the day with a fun craft—get pipe cleaners and googly eyes and have the guests create their own spiders, or webs!

Jammin’ Dance Party
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! You can’t count the beat without 8! So celebrate it by getting down with disco or dubstep. For a party at home, just set up a dance floor with a fog machine and boombox. Have the birthday boy or girl come up with a playlist of their favorite songs before the party. Pump up the energy with a blacklight and glow sticks for everyone to wear! Or, bring the celebration to a dance studio—take a dance class where everyone can learn some killer moves. Reenergize with disco ball cupcakes or Pop Rocks!

Pirate Party
Ahoy mate, you’re 8! This pirate and treasure birthday party is pure gold. Decorate your space with anchors, ships, and treasure chests. And don’t forget the parrot pinata! Set up a chest full of chocolate coins and have each child guess how many are inside—the closest guess wins all the booty! Play a round of pin the patch on the pirate, or set up an eye patch station with construction paper, large elastic bands, and decorative goodies so everyone can make their own eye patch to wear home! Feed the hungry pirates a ship-shaped cake or pirate cake pops! Did sailing the seven seas tire everyone out? Finish off the day with a pirate movie like Treasure Island!

Spa Party
Is your little girl not so little anymore? Throw her an ahhhh-some spa party! Set up a spa at home with nail polish, face mask, and hair styling stations. Let everyone pick their favorite colors and styles. Set up a photo booth at the end so everyone can get a photo of their new look! Or, let the pros handle it and book a group appointment at a nail salon (usually kids under 12 can get a manicure at a reduced price). Need some goodies in-spa-ration? Create a dessert table with calm-colored treats like a pastel birthday cake and pink smoothies! Sip on cucumber water and let the day melt away. Send your perfectly pampered guests off with a bottle of nail polish, a sleep mask, or some body lotion.

Skating Party
8 year olds are full of energy—so let’s get them up and moving! Bring the party to a roller rink where everyone can get their skate on. It’s possible that not everyone knows how to skate yet, so consider hiring someone from the rink to conduct a mini-lesson. Bust out the disco ball and bring a playlist of the birthday boy or girl’s favorite hits! Sweeten it up with some funky rainbow cupcakes or fruit roll ups. Prefer a chillier scene? Swap the roller rink for an ice rink! Bring icy blue cupcakes and peppermint patties for snacks. The kids will be doing figure 8s, but this party is a perfect 10!

Detective Party
Does the birthday kiddo love detective books? Bring the mystery to life with a detective party! From Carmen Sandiego to Nancy Drew, everyone can be a sleuth! When each guest arrives make sure they get a pair of detective glasses and a drink with a mustache straw. Set up a mystery scene with footprints and caution tape, then lay out 8 clues to help them solve the crime! Let each pint-sized private eye create their own badge with stickers, colorful pens, and ink pads for thumbprints. Have a cake with a mystery filling so the guest of honor doesn’t know what’s in it until it’s cut. You could even bake up some magnifying glass-shaped cookies or, thumbprint cookies! Send the investigators off with a detective notebook and pen to help them out on their next mystery.

Sports Party
Kick it up a notch with a sporty bash! If your child has a favorite sport, make that the goal. But if they love them all, go for the gold! Have everyone wear their favorite sports jersey. Decorate with colors of the VIP’s favorite sports team or set up a goal post on the wall. Bake a basketball, baseball, or football cake, and set up a treat table with concession stand favorites like hot dogs, soft pretzels, and nachos! Take the party outside and set up a football throwing contest or a batting booth where they can hit water balloon pitches with a wiffle ball bat (don’t forget the towels)! Create a goodies tray with treats to go like Cracker Jacks, chewing gum, and sunflower seeds. We’re sure this party will be a winner!

Bowling party
Head to the bowling alley and let the kids have a ball! Remember to have the bumpers rolled out. While the kids play, set up a fun treat table with a bowling alley sheet cake or bowling ball cake pops. Arrange drinks or snacks in the shape of 10 bowling pins, and bring some fun striped straws just like the pins and bowling shoes! When the game is over, see if the venue will let you have a bowling pin for all the kids to sign as a great keepsake. Your king-pin kid is sure to have a great time!

Zoo party
A group of 8 year olds? What a zoo! Rise to the occasion and take the party to the zoo! Make sure your brood is a manageable size, but typically zoos will give a discount for a group. Before you go, ask the birthday boy or girl which animals they want to see the most. Set up a map to make sure you hit the most important spots! If the zoo has party space, bring an animal cake or cupcakes decorated like lions, tigers, and bears! Oh my! Create a treat table with a fun “don’t feed the animals” sign and label the snacks as “lion treats” or “snake food.” Bring some face paint along and help everyone transform into their favorite animal! Go wild!

Hollywood movie party
Lights, camera, action! Roll out the red carpet for your 8-year-old star. When your guests arrive, have everyone create their own Hollywood star with star cutouts and finger paint. As they dry, take turns in the photo booth, where you’ll have a box of pearls, boas, hats, and all kinds of red carpet attire. Create a dessert table with a film roll cake, movie ticket cookies, and movie theater candy. Have the guest of honor pick his or her favorite movie to watch, and set everyone up with a bag of popcorn to accompany their sweet treats. This party would for sure be an academy nominee!

Chef party
Is the birthday kiddo a master helper in the kitchen? Cook up some fun with a chef party! It’s easy to decorate—use your kitchen utensils as table accents and lay out a red checkered table cloth. Set up a place for each guest with their own paper chef hat! Have pizza crusts and toppings in the middle of the table and let everyone come up with their own creation. While the pizzas bake, have everyone decorate their own apron (you can usually find child-sized at craft stores) to take home. Felt markers and felt glue-on shapes will really snazz up these take-home treasures. Go for a cake shaped like the birthday boy or girl’s favorite food—hamburger? French fries? A pile of nachos? The menu is endless! For a fun treat serve edible (egg-free) cookie dough and cake pops with chocolate drizzle to look like whisks. Bon apetit!

Crazy 8
You’re 8—go crazy! Tell everyone to wear their craziest outfit. Striped socks, tutus, and funky glasses are perfect attire. Have everyone play a few games of Crazy 8s, then have a crazy string war (outside of course)! Set up a kooky dessert table with an “8” cake, rainbow cake pops, and cotton candy! Make sure everyone’s drink has a crazy straw in it that they can take home at the end of the day. And don’t forget a candy jar bar, but with a twist! Before the party, hide 8 number “8”s throughout your space—under the table, on the chandelier, behind the couch! However many the group finds together, is the number of pieces of candy each kid gets to take from the jars! Talk about a crazy sugar rush.