Art Birthday Party Activities * Moms and Crafters

If you’re looking for practical, doable art birthday party activities, you’re in the right place! When you’re done, check out the Dog Man birthday party we threw a few years ago too. This post contains affiliate links.

Y is an artsy type, so we did something out of the box this year: we threw him an art party! I feel like art parties are the type that people usually throw for girls, but Y loves art and so why not throw one for him?

So here I’m going to be brutally honest. I’ve done art groups with four year old girls, and I’ve done all sorts of activities with boys of many ages, but art with 8 year old boys is NOT for the faint of heart.

While all of these activities worked out wonderfully, it was very tiring for me and my biggest regret was not hiring someone – or two someones – to help us run it. My husband and I were both hands on at all times and we really could have used an extra two pairs.

That being said, all of the activities themselves worked out wonderfully (and as I shared by our video game party – that isn’t always the case). Just have all-hands-on-deck.

Painting

The main activity was painting art canvases. I wanted it to be low-input from me, so instead of going for a specific structured painting, we decided to do tape resist paintings.

painting activity set up for art themed birthday mini canvases painting activity

The kids caught on from the sample projects – I didn’t even need to explain it. I set out mini easels with small canvases and filled it for the kids with a small selection of colors. The kids painted their initial or abstract designs using the tape as a resist.

painting activity set up for art themed pa

You need

Washi and/or masking tape – different widths lends itself to more creativity
A mini easel for each child
A canvas that fits on the easel for each child – get a couple extra to make sample projects
Paint – I stuck with washable paint because I didn’t trust them not to throw paint (they didn’t). Acrylics would lend a richer color and prettier painting.
Paint brushes – a small selection
Palette for each child
Recommended: a smock or apron for each child

How to & tips

Instruct kids to tape out a design – whether it’s their initial or geometric. Paint over it, and then remove the tape. Let it dry and your artwork is complete!

I gave kids disposable aprons to wear to offer some protection from the paint, but I’d recommend telling parents to send kids in junk clothes. It is an art party after all.

mini eagle and canvas for a painting activity

One thing I did NOT do was include a box to bring home wet project in. We did it towards the beginning to allow time for drying, but honestly, some of the kids just laid on the paint too wet. Having a box that it can sit comfortably in the bottom of with little wiggle room, but plenty of space on top is ideal.

Chalk Paint

While I set up the painting activity, I sent the kids to the backyard with my husband to do some chalk paint. I didn’t take a lot of photos of their artwork, but they did really enjoy this.

And this paint they DID throw at each other. But it washes off really easily and didn’t matter much.

The paint is made using equal parts cornstarch and water, and food coloring. Start with 3 cups of each. I placed them into deli containers for easier transporting to the outdoors, and sent them out with large, flat paintbrushes.

The floor is lava

One of the most game-changing activities in the whole party was a game of “the floor is lava”. But how is that appropriate for an art party, you ask?

It’s simple. The “safe zones” were huge poster board paint splatters!

I knew I’d need an energetic game to break things up a bit and frankly we could have just played this the whole time.

We put out a huge party speaker with lights and good sound and I think we even shut the lights. We turned on the music LOUD and played the floor is lava a zillion times until the kids were spent.

You’re welcome, moms!

Prepping this was as simple as cutting large random splotches of poster boards in rainbow colors. I was concerned that the kids might slip on it, but it was fine. You can tack it down with removable foam mounting tape if you’d like, or cut them from removable vinyl instead.

Pin the paint on the palette

This spinoff of the classic party game was extra cool. It wasn’t enough to get the paint splatter on the palette – you had to get it onto the right color too!

We had it hanging the whole time to serve as a decoration as well.

Supplies Needed

Colored paper
White poster board
Black foam board or other rigid surface
Colorful Sharpies
Scissors
Hot glue gun – see my best hot glue guns for crafts here.

Assembly and tips

1. Cut random paint splotches from the colored paper. I cut 2 from each sheet. I recommend stacking them and making each splotch of the same color the same shape. You can use a few of each color – make sure you have at least one for each kid.

2. Draw a palette shape on the white poster board and cut it out. It does not need to be perfect.

3. Arrange the paint splotches you cut out on the palette and then trace each one in the same color. Take the splotch off and go over your tracing to make the outline thicker.