Airplane Birthday Party Ideas
Get Ready For Take-Off!

Photo courtesy of: Chefranden

To help you get into the airplane theme party frame of mind, we've put together links to the best party supplies:

Jets Party Supplies
Airplane Kit-N-Kaboodle
Airplane Pinatas
Airplane Favors


AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR INVITATIONS

AIRLINE BIRTHDAY PARTY TICKET INVITATIONS - Make your invitations look like airplane tickets. Use your last or first name for the name of the airline. For example, Monroe Airlines or Jeffrey Airlines.

On the front, add First Class ticket, the passenger's name (Guest Name), departure time (When Party Starts), flight and seat numbers. You can also add a computer code that looks like an airline ticket code.

On the back write, "Ticket Is Non-Transferable. Passenger is allowed 1 carry-on parent. Confirm with Monroe Airlines ticket agent (Name) by calling (Phone number). Flight departs from Terminal 12, Gate 5 located at (Party Address). Tell your guests to bring their tickets for admittance into the party.

FLYING AIRPLANE INVITES - Use a piece of airplane-themed imprinted scrapbook paper. Print off your invitations using a computer or handwrite the details in calligraphy. Fold the paper into an airplane shape. Here's a great website to give you several options for Airplane Folding. Place the folded plane into an envelope for mailing. Be sure to include a note to unfold the plane for the party details.

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY GLIDER INVITES - Buy prepackaged wood gliders and write all your party details on the blank sides of the glider, being careful to insure the details will show when the plane is assembled.

AIRPLANE-SHAPED INVITES - Use colored paper or construction paper and cut out your invitation in the shape of an airplane. Write your party details on one side. Create a window on the reverse side and glue a picture of the birthday child in the window. Using their first or last name, write "Hamilton Airlines" or "Roberto Airlines", the Official Birthday Party Airline on the front.

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY CLOUD INVITES - Cut out large cloud-shapes from white construction paper or card stock and glue to a light blue background. Put the party details on the reverser side and then add some airplane stickers on the cloud side.

PILOT PHOTO INVITES - Cut 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card stock in one of your party colors into 2 pieces and fold in half. Using decorative scissors, trim edges of a photo of your child in an airline pilot costume, so it is slightly smaller than the card stock. Glue photo to the front of the invitation. Put "Fly On Over For Some Good Old Fashioned "Plane" Fun" above the photo. On textured white paper (finished size will be 4 1/2" x 7 1/2") either type or handwrite in calligraphy the party details on the left side:

EMBELLISH READY-MADE INVIVATIONS - Buy some ready-made airplane themed invitations and then embellish the picture. For example, add some glitter to accentuate the various details on the invitations.

Invitation Wording Ideas

• First or last name with Airlines following - Hamilton Airlines or Roberto Airlines, Official Birthday Party Airline
• Passenger or Flyer: (Name of child being invited) - 200 Frequent Friend Miles
• Flight Time: (Party time)
• Flight Date: (Party date)
• Departure Location: (Address of child being invited)
• Arrival Location: Terminal 12, Gate 5 located at (Party address)
• Airline Code: "112507; THR EEYE ARSO LD 2110" (This represents the month, date, and year born; and spells out the age as of the current year.)
• Ticket is non-transferrable
• Passenger limited to 1-2 carry-on parents
• Light meal will be served.
• If unable to make flight, please call Hamilton airlines ticket agent at (phone number)

Have the parents and your helpers all dress like they are part of an airline crew. Have them all wear dark pants and give them each a t-shirt in one of your party colors. Imprint an airplane on the back or the name of your airline, e.g., HAMILTON AIRLINES or ROBERTO AIRLINES.

For some more costume ideas, check out our AIRPLANE COSTUME photos and how-to tips. They are nothing less than fun and fabulous!


AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR DECORATIONS

With an airplane birthday party or a fighter jet party, your color options are almost endless. To determine your color scheme, you might think about your favorite airline and duplicate their colors. For example, United could be red, white, and blue. Or, perhaps you want to go with a Boeing 747 and use white, turquoise, and royal blue. If you child also likes army-related things, you might consider an army plane party, in which case you would use camouflage colors of army green, khaki, brown, black, mustard yellow.

• Create a large yard sign to identify your "airport" for your passengers. Use the first or last name of the birthday child and their age. For example, "Jamison Airport - Terminal #8."

• Put a sign at the walkway area near the front door that says, "Boarding Area."

• Hang a sign on your front door that says "Jamison Airport - Terminal 3, Gate 9" or "Welcome Aboard Jamison Airlines."

• At the coat closet, put a sign that says "Check Your Bags Here."

• Arrange chairs in row formation in a room where there is a TV and place a number on each chair. As guests arrive check their ticket (invites) to determine their seat location. Have a stewardess escort them to their seats. Have them check their luggage (presents) at the baggage area. After everyone arrives you can serve them some food and show a short movie.

• Hang a sign that says "Baggage Claim" on a wall and place an open suitcase on a small table. Fill the suitcase with your passengers' favor bags.

• Make some extra-large paper airplanes out of legal size colored paper. Hang them from the ceiling using fishing line.

• Decorate "airport" ceilings with twisted streamers and clusters of balloons with curling ribbons in party colors.

• Place clusters of balloons and curling ribbons in your party colors throughout the "airport" and especially in the corners.

• Hang posters of airplanes on the walls.

• Hang some fun airplane wall graphics which will instantly liven up your party room walls. When the party is over, transfer them to your child's bedroom walls.

• Make signs to hang on your walls that are airplane-related. For example, Terminal #7, Gate #5, Airplane Hangar, The Sky's The Limit, etc.

• Hang airplanes from the party room's ceiling using fishing line. They can be paper airplanes, inflatable airplanes, gliders, or toy planes.

• Post "Keep Out - Airline Crew Only" signs any place you don't want people to go into.

• If you have access to old suitcases or old trunks (especially if they have a lot of travel stickers on them) you can stack them up or place them around your party room for ambiance.

• Hang light blue netting across the entire ceiling of the party room and fill it with white and blue balloons to create the sky.

• Create some "clouds" in your party room with 4-6 white balloons tied together with fishing line or wire and hang them from the ceiling with an airplane hanging down slightly from the center of each cloud formation.

• Cut out large white clouds from poster board and cover it with cotton balls using hot glue, Elmer's glue, or craft glue. Hang your clouds from your ceilings. Puncture a hole or two in each cloud, thread fishing line through the holes, and hang planes from the ceiling. This way you will have planes flying amongst your clouds.

• If you have a ceiling fan, attach a few paper airplanes to the fan from fishing line and turn the fan on low so your planes can "fly."

• Cover your party table with old maps and then add your airplane-themed partyware.

• Make your party table look like a landing strip on covering it with gray butcher paper. Lay two strands of white Christmas lights down the center leaving space between the strands to allow for placement of airplanes.

PRINTABLE GAMES - Here's a great site for some fun Print & Play Birthday Party Games that would be a perfect party game add-on:

Printable Birthday Games Ages 3-5
Printable Birthday Games Ages 6-7
Printable Birthday Games Ages 8-9
Printable Birthday Games Ages 10+

Here's an entire page with nothing but Airplane Birthday Party Game Ideas and Activities, such as:

• Runway Obstacle Course
• Paper Airplane Contest
• Hot Plane
• Balancing cups #1
• Balancing Cups #2
• Pack Your Bags
• Fly Around the World
• Pass The Black Box

PILOT SANDWICHES - Create sandwiches of peanut butter and jelly or sandwich meat and cheese and wrap the sandwiches in Saran Wrap. Seal them with an airplane sticker. Or you could seal them with a label that says, "Hamilton Airlines, Flight 747, Passenger" or "Crew Member". Or just create a label that says "Boeing 747, Flight 1692."

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY FLIGHT PACKS - Make each of your little pilots their own "flight pack." After you make the sandwiches, add a piece of fruit, a bag of candy, bag of nuts, fruit snacks, chips, etc. and place the food into brown lunch bag that is decorated with airplane stickers, or use a colored lunch bag that matches your party colors and add the airplane stickers. In the alternative, you could place the food into small boxes that are decorated with airplane-related stickers or serve everything on small trays.

MINI AIRPLANE PIZZAS - Make or buy pizza dough. Roll it out and cut your dough into airplane shapes using an airplane cookie cutter. You can either go ahead and add your pizza sauce, cheese, and any toppings you might like or create a "Make Your Own Pizza" buffet and let the kids add their own toppings and then bake them.

KID-FRIENDLY FOODS - The following aren't airplane theme party foods, but they are usually a hit with just about all kids:

• Carrots & Ranch dressing
• Chicken nuggets
• Hamburgers & hotdogs
• Crackers & cheese
• French fries
• Fruit - bananas, strawberries, grapes, apples
• Macaroni & cheese
• String cheese

JET FUEL - Gatorade or punch. Be sure to put a sign on the container so everyone knows they are drinking special "Jet Fuel."

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY SNACKS - Fill snack-size Ziploc bags with Cheese-Its, Goldfish crackers, peanuts or other nuts, chips, Teddy Grahams, pretzel sticks, etc. or you can handout prepackaged fruit snacks.


AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR CAKES

Photo courtesy of: Parenting.com

MINI AIRPLANE CAKES - Make a sheet cake. Once it has cooled, remove the cake from the pan and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Cut out individual airplane cakes using an airplane cookie cutter. Coat your cakes with a thin layer of icing (crumb coat) and refrigerate for an hour. The crumb coat will give your edges a clean, smooth finish. Then frost your airplanes and decorate them to coordinate with your party colors. To move the planes from one location to another without breaking them, use an extra-wide spatula.

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY AIRPLANE CAKE#1 - Make or buy a sheet cake and frost it light blue or frost it white and airbrush it blue. Place a clean, new toy airplane in the middle. Add a few white sprinkles on top of the cake.

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY AIRPLANE CAKE #2 - Make a sheet cake and cut it into the shape of an airplane. Use a Rice Krispie square for the tail. Frost your plane in colors to coordinate with your airplane theme. For example, red, white, and blue or camouflage colors, etc. Create a runway for the plane to set upon by gluing scrapbook paper that has a runway design to cardboard. Cover the paper with Saran Wrap. Place the airplane on the runway. If you want to create the look of the plane flying over land and sea, you could mix up your scrapbook papers by using ones that look like water, clouds, land, etc.

AIRPLANE CUPCAKES - Make your favorite cupcake recipe and pipe out chocolate frosting on top of the cupcakes. Place an airplane candle holder on each cupcake and place them all on a plate. Then insert a candle into each holder.

AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY RUNWAY CAKE - Bake two 9"x13" cakes and cool. Cut them in half lengthwise. You may create this cake directly on your serving table by covering it with Saran Wrap and decorating the cake directly on your table. In the alternative, use sturdy cardboard, a cake board, or foam poster board that is at least 55" x 12". Cover your surface with paper to match your selected runway color (gray or chocolate color). Then cover the paper in Saran Wrap. If you want to save a little paper, all you need to cover are the edges that will show, since the cake will cover the bulk of the surface.

To create the runway, place the cakes, end-to-end, running lengthwise. Frost the cakes with gray or chocolate icing. Pipe on your runway markings with white icing. Place plastic toy planes on the runway, along with airport workers. If you would like to add a grass and/or dirt area, be sure to add an additional cardboard surface to support these ingredients. Your grass may be made from coconut dyed green. You can layer it in an area, or make a small cake, frost it green, and then add the green coconut on top. For a dirt area, use crushed Oreo cookies, crushed Graham crackers, or brown sugar. Once again, you may place this directly onto the cardboard surface or add another cake, frosted the appropriate color underneath. If you opt to just use the cardboard, then frost it so your topping will adhere and not slide off.

Check out our visitor-submitted AIRPLANE CAKE photos and how-to tips.


AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR FAVORS

Create a baggage label using your child's first or last name that says, "THANK YOU FOR FLYING JEFFERSON AIRLINES" and affix it to a brown paper bag or a colorful paper bag. Favor ideas: Airplane coloring book or activity book with crayons or markers; airplane puzzle, toy airplane, snap together airplane, glider, airplane-type snacks like prepackaged candy, fruit snacks, nuts; airplane stickers, binoculars, parachuting men, etc. Here's a fun Candy Airplane Craft that you could incorporate into a party activity or make them ahead of time and give them out as favors.

MORE AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS

Just in case you're still on the hunt for some more ideas for your Airplane Party, here's several to check out. There are lots of options and ideas for creating invitations, decorations, party food, favors, and games.


AIRPLANE BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR PARTY SUPPLIES

Here's some wonderful Jets Party Supplies to liven up your table, along with some theme balloons, centerpieces, and favor ideas.

Here's a teriffic all-in-one Airplane Kit-N-Kaboodle that contains just about everything you need.

Here's some great Airplane Pinatas that would be perfect as a table or ceiling decoration and then use for a traditional round of hitting the pinata.

Here's some cute little Airplane Favors that you might like to consider.

Airplane Birthday Party Ideas

Do you have some favorite airplane birthday party ideas? Do tell! Please share all your party tips and ideas for invitations, decorations, games, etc.