Penguin Party Ideas

Penguins are so popular these days. Many of you probably enjoyed watching March of the Penguins, and perhaps you took in Happy Feet. Whether animated or the real thing, penguins are darling and make a perfect theme for your upcoming winter birthday party. If the theme appeals, here are ideas to help with your planning:

The color scheme for this party is easy. Use mainly black and white for your balloons, streamers, and tableware. Add in a bit of bright orange for the beak and feet as well. You may want to cut out orange web prints of beaks and feet, and place them all over the party room. Near the party area or above the front door, you can hang a personalized penguin banner wishing the birthday kid a happy birthday.

For the activities:

• Make a penguin headband.
• On a large sheet of block paper, have the kids draw a picture of a huge iceberg, with penguins standing on it, as well as jumping off into the waters to fish. This can be hung in the party area as an additional party decoration.
• Provide Playdough for the kids to create a penguin family with.
• Make penguin finger puppets. Take empty film canisters, and cut the lids in half. Glue the lid halves to each side of the canister to make wings. Cut an oval out of white paper or fun foam for the belly. Add wiggle eyes and orange paper for a beak.
• Make a paper penguin. Materials needed: 6″ paper plate, 9″ paper plate, black and orange construction paper, and a black crayon. Color the small paper plate black, and glue the two paper plates together to form the penguin’s head and body. Cut and glue two orange circles for the eyes and three orange triangles for the feet and beak. Cut and glue two black ovals for the wings.
• Have a Penguin Word Race. How many words can the kids make from the letters in the word “Penguin?”  Whoever comes up with the longest list wins a prize.
• Have a Penguin Waddle Relay. Divide the kids into two teams, and put half of each team behind lines on the opposite sides of the room. Place a rubber ball between the knees of the first two people in line, and have them waddle like penguins to give the ball to their teammates behind the line on the other side of the room. The teammates then carry the balls back to the starting line, and the waddling continues until everyone has had a turn. If the ball is dropped, the penguin must go back to his/her starting point and begin again. The winning penguins are the ones that can waddle the fastest without losing the ball.
• Have a Crossing the Ice Relay. Each team will have two pieces of paper slightly larger than a player’s foot. The papers represent ice floes. Using only their feet, the kids must push the papers forward toward a goal. If a player steps onto the floor instead of the paper, he or she has fallen into the water and must start again.
• Have a Penguin Shuffle Race. Using beanbags to serve as eggs, the kids must stand side by side with their “eggs” on top of their feet. The kids will try to shuffle across the room without dropping their eggs. The first one to succeed, wins.

For the menu,

• Serve cream cheese and strawberry sandwiches, and cut them out with a penguin cookie cutter.

• Serve fish sticks.
• Penguin Jigglers would be fun at this party. Make Jell-O Jigglers, and cut them out with a penguin cookie cutter.
• Make a Poppy the Penguin popcorn treat. This can be used as a table centerpiece as well.
• Serve up a batch of Cream Cheese Penguins.
• Make a batch of penguin cupcakes.

For the penguin party favors, send the kids home with penguin stickers; penguin straws; black, white and orange gel pens,  or a complete penguin party favor set.