Avatar: The Last Airbender Party Ideas

Several years ago, Nickelodeon produced a popular show called Avatar: The Last Airbender that kids loved over the course of three seasons.  Next summer, this popular show will come to life on the big screen with M. Night Shyamalan’s version of The Last Airbender.  This is sure to be popular for the fans of the TV show and make a fun party theme and even a Halloween costume this year.

Besides having a movie outing next summer to see the show with some friends as a birthday celebration, here are some other thematic party ideas to celebrate Airbender style:

The story revolves around Aang who must save his world from the Fire Nation which is launching attacks on the world.  He sets out to master water, fire, and earth in order to defeat the enemy.  Send an elemental invitation to your guests using bags of water (for the element of water), a rock (for the earth), and/or two sticks (ultimately can be rubbed together to create fire.)  Attach a card with your Airbender party details on it.  Instead of using the name Aang, it’s the birthday child’s name that should be placed on the card asking his friends to help with his training to defeat the Fire Nation.

Tip: You can divide the kids up as they arrive at the party based on which invitation they received, i.e. the kids who receive rocks will train in earth.  Alternatively, it can be a way to move the kids through the training of each element instead of having the entire group move through training together.

In your invitation, request that your guests dress as Airbenders, or provide temporary tattoos, capes, and colorful tops for the kids to dress in upon their arrival to the party.  Also, make sure that the kids bring their bathing suits to this party.

For your party decorations:

Set the party area (ideally your yard) up as a training course in the following elements: fire, earth, and water.

For the fire section, use a large appliance box and paint it red with fire flames, and use this as party of an obstacle course.

For the earth section, pile dirt and rocks in an area.

For the water section, have a small pool filled with water, water balloons prepared, and even sprinklers and water toys.

Create a party table with whatever colors your birthday child loves, as there is no Airbender thematic party ware available at this time, and place rock candy and fire rock candies on the table as confetti.

For the party activities, have the kids train to defeat the Fire Nation:

Either divide the kids into groups or let the kids move through the training course together:

In the water area, the kids must master Waterbending, as Aang does.  Provide the kids with water balloons and have the kids pair off and toss their balloons back and forth.  Who can toss the longest without breaking the balloon?

Second, provide a plastic glass of water to each guest with an extra large, colorful straw and have the kids fill up their straws with water and then take the straw out of the water and bend the straw and see how much water they can bend without losing it.  Take it to another level and see who can bend the water and fill another cup the fastest with the water in the straw.  This may take some time, and can also be done as a group relay race.

Using a water slide  (like a slip and slide) have the kids slip and slide and bend over as they run through.  Make sure this is well-supervised, but let them try their best Airbender moves as they slide across the water.

Ultimately, the kids will master Waterbending by practicing Tai Chi.  Have an adult lead the kids through a series of Tai Chi movements.

In the earth area, the guests must learn the art of Earthbending.

Hold a Rock Relay Race.  Divide the kids into two teams each with their own pile of rocks.  The teams must move all of the rocks from one area of the party to the opposite side.  The team that finishes first, wins.

The secret to Earthbending lies on a rock buried in a dirt pile.  This will be messy, but the kids will love it.  Hide many rocks in your dirt pile, with only one that contains the secret on it.  It’s a race to find the rock.

Play Earth Tag.  The birthday child is “it” and must tag the others to become earthbenders.  Whoever is the last person to be tagged to earth, wins.

The kids finally master Earthbending by practicing Hung Gar, as on the show, where they must remain rooted in place as the Earth.  See how long the kids can hold their poses.

Finally, the kids are ready to learn Firebending as their final training piece.

Create an obstacle course that the kids must move through as quickly as possible to escape the fire.  (You can use the appliance box that looks like fire as a cornerstone piece of this course.  Otherwise, set up chairs, ropes, beams, and anything else you have around your home to create this obstacle course.)

If you have access to a firepit or a grill, have the kids make a treat over the fire to make friends with it, S’mores would make an excellent choice.

Aang in the series learns about the solar eclipse and warriors.  Provide some facts on the sun, solar eclipses, and mythology around the sun for the kids to learn about as they enjoy their s’mores.

Finally, in order to master Firebending, the kids must practice another form of martial arts, Northern Shaolin, with strong arm and leg movements to master the fire.  Give each guest the chance to display their best moves.

After all of the training has been completed, the kids are now ready to practice Airbending with one another, which is all about circular movements.  Have the kids create their own movements on their own or as a group and again display their stances to one another.

For the Party Menu:

Aang is a a vegetarian, and so this is a great party to serve up fruits and veggies.  Make veggie skewers with your child’s favorite vegetables. Serve up pasta salad, fruit salad, and veggies with dips.

For the meat-eaters, like the Sokka, you can serve beef jerkey or sub sandwiches filled with different meats and toppings.

For sweet treats, rock candy, fire balls, and flavored waters would be excellent choices.

In addition to the S’mores, bake up a batch of cupcakes and have the kids decorate according to the elements: red icing, gray icing, and blue icing with candy toppings.

For the Party Favor:

Send the kids home with rock candy pops and temporary tattoos from the party.

Get set for an extraordinary Airbender party to remember!