How To Make An Easy DIY Paint Party at Home For Kids
A paint party is a really fun party for all ages, adults to kids included. It’s creative and it gives everyone a unique going-home gift- their very own painting! You can have a paint party at a studio, but for a more personal and cost-effective touch, a party at home is the better option.
I made a paint party for my daughter’s birthday when she turned 8 and let me tell you, it was easier than I thought it would be and her friends loved it. I’ll take you through all the steps on how to make an amazing paint party that’s an organized and calm event!
Paint Supplies You Need
- Paintbrushes
- Sponge Brushes
- Aprons
- Canvas boards
- Paint Palettes (you can also use paper plates)
- Table Cloth
- Washable Paint
It would help if you got an assortment of paintbrush sizes, larger ones for the backgrounds and smaller ones for details. Sponges are an easy way to add texture. For the canvas size, make sure you don’t buy ones that are too large. When doing a kid’s party, you want to ensure everyone has enough elbow space to minimize spillages.
For the paint, I wrote washable paint because kids are kids, but bear in mind that washable paint is water-based (hence it’s washable) and has a more liquid consistency. This means it’s not as opaque and doesn’t have the same professional finish that acrylic paint has. If your party is for older children, consider using acrylic paints.
Choosing the Painting
There are a few ways to coordinate a paint party. You can follow a YouTube video, there are so many amazing channels which do step-by-step painting. However, since I was making the party for 8-year-olds, I hired an art teacher so that she could help them, which was a good idea because they needed live guidance.
We chose a sunset painting which worked out beautifully. You can choose anything, but keep in mind that scenic pictures are generally easier to paint than still life.
Setting Up
To set up the party, lay the tablecloth and give each seat an apron, canvas, palette, paintbrushes, a small cup of water and a few paper towels. I actually forgot to order paint palettes so we improvised with a piece of silver foil for each girl. It worked just fine.
I also set up a bar area with food and snacks. I ordered some personalized cupcakes, a few with my daughter’s name on, a few happy birthday ones and a few paint-themed ones.
Hosting the Party
Set up everyone with their paints and paintbrushes. The way we did the party was we split it into 3 parts. The first part was painting the background. Then while the paint was drying, we gave out snacks and they got to have fun in the garden. Once the background was dry, which didn’t take too long, they painted the details on the painting.
Top Tips
Having had a paint party at home, many things were done right, but a few things I would change if I did it again. I’ve put together some of my top tips for a foolproof paint party at home.
- Set up everything in advance.
- Make sure the canvases aren’t too large. Ours were a little too big which meant there was less table space.
- Make sure the children are entertained during the break from painting. If it’s not nice weather or you don’t have a garden, arrange a small game.
- Lay enough paper towels or tissues on the table, there’s always a lot of spillages. The quicker you catch them, the fewer tears there are!
- Use a disposable tablecloth so that when the party is over, you can simply roll everything up and throw it out. It makes the cleanup so much easier.
- My daughter’s party was for 8 friends, if you are making it for a large group, get extra hands to help.
My Thoughts
A paint party at home is really fun. My daughter’s party was an hour and a half which was plenty of time and they all had a blast! They were all really proud of their finished masterpieces and it was a great going-home gift!
My daughter loves art and painting so it was a really easy theme to choose for her party. But, it’s not for everyone and if you are looking for more party theme ideas check out my roundup of the best party themes for kids.
Sarah xx
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