How to Plan an Iron Man-Themed Birthday Party

Iron Man, one of Marvel Comics most exciting, powerful and popular super heroes, has recently made his big-screen debut. Tony Stark's debonair style, amazing power suit and dedication to justice make him an excellent super hero for young children to pretend to be. If your child has a birthday party, and they love super heroes, than an Iron Man Birthday Party will be the perfect birthday party theme for you.

An Iron Man birthday party theme will encourage your child to be active, use his / her imagination, and will promote team work and cooperation with your child's friends. Also, super hero birthday party themes are easy to set-up and inexpensive to design. While you can purchase a birthday party theme for Iron Man, or any other super hero from an party supply store, you don't need to spend money. The Best Iron Man birthday party theme can be enjoyed with a little imagination and well planned activities.

Invitations

An invitation will set the tone and start the make-believe play. To help set the tone for your Iron Man themed birthday party, you should search and find Iron Man helmet clip-art. You should bookmark this search because you will need it later. Copy and paste the mask into your word processing software, and use it for the front of your invitation. Inside the invitation, make sure to include all of the important party information including date, time, and if lunch is being prepared.

Decorate your Party - Create a Workshop

Tony Stark is an inventing genius. You should decorate the party like Iron Man's workshop. An easy way to achieve this illusion is to use tin foil or metallic wrapping paper as table cloths and counter cover. You should also get some card board boxes and wrap them in metallic paper to add an "industrial look" to the room.

Create computer panels and futuristic technology using a metallic wrapped piece of cardboard and Christmas Lights. You can poke the christmas lights through the metallic panel and hang it on the wall. Set the lights to flash, and hang them on the walls. A number of these placed around the room will give the futuristic look of computer controls and data panels.

One of the activities for later in the party involves the guests "inventing" using various pieces of hardware and tools. These should be set out in the workshop to help with anticipation, and to help the atmosphere of a workshop be believable.

Food

Pizza and root beer are a must for this party. Pizza is featured prominently in the Iron Man movie, and is also a great party food. Also, Tony Stark, despite being rich, is a normal guy. His party foods should reflect that. Various traditional party foods such as hot wings, pizza, and nachos should be served. The kids will be working in their workshop, and the food should allow a person to work with one hand and eat with the other.

Activities

Create the costumes. Tony Stark is an inventor, and the whole Iron Man universe is set up around his various inventions and genius ability to fix things. A large portion of the Iron Man birthday party theme should be dedicated to building and inventing.

The children should design their own power source and mask. The power source and electro magnet on his chest is what allows Tony Stark to keep his heart safe from the shrapnel near his heart. The children can make a power source using glow necklaces. These can be purchased from party supply stores. To create a power supply, loop the necklace in a small circle. Use electrical or duct tape to secure the 3 -4 inch glow circle. With yarn or black cord, secure the glow circle on a necklace.

To create an Iron Man mask, you will need elastic string, scissors, paper plates, and markers. Before the party, cut out basic mask shapes from the paper plates; use a length of elastic string to secure the mask to the child's face. The children can then decorate the mask with their markers. The children will need their mask later in the party when they play as Iron Man in the obstacle course.

Invent and Explore. You should visit a local dollar store and buy each child a cheap set of screw drivers. If your party guests are a bit older, you can also purchase small hammers for the guests. At a local lumber store, you should purchase some nails, screws and wood glue. Also, pick up some scrap lumber in different shapes and lengths. Very often, a large home improvement store will sell scraps of lumber very cheaply or they might even give it away.

Back at the "party workshop," your guests can use the pieces of wood and their new tools to build and invent. This will keep the guests busy for quite a long time and allow them to explore and invent. Once their inventions are complete, have them name them and decorate them. If you like, have the guests introduce their inventions in a technology demo like Tony Stark does throughout the movie.

It's super hero time. Now that your child has invented, they can become Iron Man. You should set up a super hero obstacle course. The course should be set up to challenge Iron Man's new suit. You can include a race, long jump, target practice (throwing balls at stacked cups), and strength challenge (knocking down cardboard box walls). You should award the winner with Iron Man suit upgrades such as arm plates, glasses, or larger power supplies.

Pin the Spark on Stark. Print out or draw a large Iron Man Chest. Also print out the multiple power supplies that represent Tony Stark's Chest Piece. Follow the rules for "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", but pin the spark on Stark to win.

Iron Man is a blockbuster hit, and an all time favorite from Marvel Comics. If your birthday boy or girl loves Iron Man, then give the Iron Man birthday party theme a try. The party will be economical, fun, and help promote imagination and exploring. What more can you ask for in a birthday party.