Kids Birthday Party with a Military-Themed for Under $100

 This party was planned with 9 to 12 year-olds in mind. We anticipated about ten guests and planned lots of physical activities to keep the party moving. It also meant we didn’t need a lot of props which made it even more affordable.

DECORATIONS

Some recruiting offices will give you free recruiting posters to use for decorations. Check the ones in your area. Plastic table cloths in military colors and matching streamers are about all that is needed for the Mess Hall area. A specific branch of the service can be chosen such as Air Force or Army or you can leave it generic.

LOCATION

A military party works best outdoors. Your backyard or local park can serve as the setting, costing you nothing. You can move it indoors if weather is a factor but your activities are more limited unless you have a large, empty room. Cost: $0

PROPS

Create dog tags for the military party attendees. Use thick cardboard or chipboard that you may happen to have. If you don’t have anything suitable, try cardboard needlepoint floss holders. A small package can be purchased at a craft store for less than $2.00 work great. Trim the edges and corners to shape like a tag and paint both sides with silver metallic acrylic paint which can be purchased at Wal-Mart or a craft store for around .99 cents. Allow drying time before painting second side.  Use any type of yarn, cord or string you have and cut it into necklace-length pieces. Print desired information such as rank, child’s name and date of party on one side of tag. The other side can be used for a code name or to designate a team such as Alpha or Bravo. Cost: $0 - $3.00.

Have each child bring any military themed props they have, such as guns, plastic hand grenade replicas, helmets, walkie-talkies, etc. Also ask that they wear anything military such as camouflage clothing and boots or clothing in a specific color such as military green. If your budget allows, military-themed play sets can be purchased at the local dollar store. Dollar General carries a set that contains a machine gun, hand gun, whistle and plastic walkie-talkie (non-functioning) for $5 per set. Cost: $0 - $40.

CAKE

Homemade cakes are the most affordable. Choose your flavor of cake and frost it with a brown colored frosting. Using a package of army men that you have washed and dried, create a battlefield on top of the cake.  Purchasing cake mix$1-2, frosting $1-2 and the army men $2-5 should keep your costs down. Using your own plates and forks will save o the cost of buying disposables. Cost: $4 - $9.

ACTIVITIES

CHECK IN

As the kids arrive, have two adults or older children acting as Sergeant Payne & Sergeant Know-It-All, also dressed in military clothing, check them in. Issue the dogs tags and check that each soldier has equipment. The sergeants will then divide the soldiers into their respective platoons.

BOOT CAMP

Carrying clipboards and whistles, the sergeants will put the soldiers through their paces in military fashion. Calisthenics and jogging laps will warm them up and set the tone. What military-themed party would be complete without an obstacle course? Use equipment at the park or things you have around your home and time each child. Tires, logs, rope swings and backyard playsets are all excellent pieces to use. If you are awarding prizes, either the best overall time or the best team combined time should win. Cost: $0

DRILL AND MARCH

Have the soldiers fall into some kind of formation, holding their weapons. Teach several commands such as “Attention”, “At Ease”, “Present Arms” and “Shoulder Arms”. Once they have these down, a form of Simon Says called Sergeant Says can be played. Prior to the party, write a cadence verse for each child attending. Keep to the rhythm of traditional cadences. Have one or both of the sergeants call cadence while marching the troops around repeating each line. Keep the verses simple. An example might be:

Sam is here to have some fun

He hopes he is number one

Win or lose, he will be glad

Party time is never bad.

COMBAT PRACTICE

NERF Dart Tag Strike Fire is available at Wal-Mart for about $22 each set. Each set includes two guns, two sets of protective eyewear, two scoring vests, twelve tagger micro darts and instructions for 8 different games. Two sets would allow more soldiers to “train” at one time but one set is sufficient. Soldiers take turns, one from each platoon and try to score on their enemy. As one is hit, reaching the determined amount of points, he leaves the game and another soldier from his team takes his place. Cost: $22.

DIFFUSE THE BOMB

Using a Jenga-type game, stack the blocks so that the three colors are evenly distributed throughout the tower. Explain that just as in diffusing a real bomb, it is important to “cut the wires” in the proper order. All the blue blocks must be removed first, then red, then yellow. If a soldier removes a color out of order, knocks any blocks down or uses another part of his body to prevent blocks from falling, he has detonated the bomb and his turn ends. For prizes, keep track of which team or individual removed the most “wires” before detonating the bomb. Cost: $5-$10

GOODIE BAGS

Purchase brown paper lunch bags at the dollar store for $1-$2. Use camouflage colors such as dark green, brown and black and sponge blotches of each to create a camouflage effect. When the first side dries, you can do the reverse side. Fill with pencils, trinkets and candy from the dollar store. $5 - $10. Cost: $6 - $12.

Your military themed party doesn’t have to cost a lot to be one of the most memorable parties your little soldier has attended. Using these suggestions, you can deliver a military-themed party for between $37 and $96, depending on your budget and level of enthusiasm.