Throw Cool(&Messy) Color Run Birthday Party In 11 Steps

If your kid happened to have their birthday in spring or summer, it means that the color run birthday party will be a great choice for you. I have organized this type of party a couple of times for my friends, and it went just perfect( a bit messy though, but I will instruct you how to minimize the risks). Modern children are notoriously difficult to be made to play outside, they would rather just play their favorite computer games, Play Station on Nintendo, but I find this active and engaging birthday party scenario work for a lot of kids, so let’s find out how you can successfully organize it.

In this article we are going to talk about:

  1. What is a color party
  2. Materials for a birthday party
  3. Choosing location
  4. What to wear
  5. Color fight rules
  6. How to make colored powder
  7. Fun color activities
  8. Food
  9. Decorations
  10. Photos
  11. Cleaning

WHAT IS A COLOUR PARTY

The original name of this celebration is the Holi festival celebrated in India and Nepal, then it spread all around Asia and West. Classic variant of this kids’ party variation is a 5-kilometer race where every kid goes through obstacle stations being showered with color powder once they reach an obstacle station. Running around and being sprayed with different bright colors raises your spirit and mood like nothing else! No wonder many adults all around the world still celebrate this fun occasion.

MATERIALS FOR A COLOUR BDAY PARTY

Preparation is the key to this party style. Unfortunately just decorating the place, sending out invitations and ordering some food is not gonna be enough. Here are some important things you will require:

  • Goggles. This is a very crucial thing( apart from the powder itself of course). They will protect your children’s’ eyes so they will be able to play and throw color powder safely.
  • T-shirts. This is the second most important thing to purchase.  The best color is, of course, white, since the powder will be best seen in it.
  • Holi powder. There are so many options in both online and local store. Just make sure you pick up a high-quality one so nobody gets allergic to it.
  • Decorations. I feel like having just color powder doesn’t quite do the trick, so I recommend getting a few extra bits and bobs. We will talk about it in details later on.
  • Plastic cutlery, plates, and napkins, disposable table cloth. You will probably not want to organize this type of event at your house or having a bunch of messy kids walking around, so it’s best to have this type of party fully outside, thus you will need all the supplies. Try to get the recyclable plastic, it’s a bit more expensive, but more eco-friendly.
  • Wet wipes. Another must-have. Kids love having their faces and clothes being colorful, but they for sure would love to clean their hand( remember, no kids allowed in the house after the color fun begins).

CHOOSING LOCATION

Let’s move on to our next point- location. It can be pretty tough if you don’t have a back yard which is the best for such type of party. But don’t worry. Here are some other great places where you can have your color run birthday party.

  • Back yard. If you personally don’t have one, ask other parents if they would love to hold a party at their back yard. It will give you the privacy you need, plus you can set your own rules.
  • Park. It is best if it is not a very busy public park, otherwise you might need a permit to organize such an event, especially if you have more then 10 kids.
  • Open field. This is also a very good option. Just drive around and see if there is an abandoned football or school field somewhere in the neighborhood, that would be perfect for our party.

WHAT TO WEAR

When it comes to such a messy party theme as a color party, you have to follow certain rules, and inform your guests about them as well. Here is what is best to take with you:

  • Old clothes. Even if you are providing your guests with white T-shirts, don’t forget to tell them about the bottom clothes and shoes. Make sure that your guests are aware that even if they are not planning to take an active part in a celebration, their clothes might still be ruined.
  • Sunglasses. While your kids are going to wear the goggles as discussed before, it is a good idea for adults to grab a pair of sunglasses just in case there will be a lot of powder flying in the air.
  • Spare clothes. Your guests might want to change after the party is over.
  • A towel. In case your guests don’t want to bring any spare clothes, they will certainly need to grab a towel to wear in a car not to make the seats dirty.

COLOR FIGHT RULES

It is very important that the kids are aware of the party rules. It is best if you either email them to the parents or write them out on the invitation. Here are some color party rules the kids have to follow:

  1. No kids are allowed inside the fouse once the color fight starts.
  2. Kids can take only a small handful of Holi powder at a time.
  3. Throwing powder into each others’ faces is not allowed!
  4. Children have to keep the distance between each other.
  5. Once the fight is over, all kids need to wash their hands.

HOW TO MAKE COLOR POWDER

Here is a very easy recipe for how you can make safe eco-friendly color powder at home. Don’t forget to use rubber gloves. By the way, icing coloring works better than food coloring, it tends to give you brighter colors.

  • Add 1 cup of corn starch into a mixing bowl
  • Then pour 1/2 jar of icing coloring( choose any color you want)
  • 3/4 cups of water
  • Carefully mix together until looks smooth
  • Bake in the oven for 60 minutes at 170 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Remove from the oven and blend carefully
  • It is ready to be used

FUN COLOUR ACTIVITIES

Throwing color powder is not the only thing you can do, here are some other great ideas for your party, all of which are illustrated in the video:

  • Make color balls
  • Make egg bombs with color powred inside
  • Squeeze bottle with color powder
  • Sidewalk chalk
  • Color slip and slide
  • Colored water balloons
  • Color smoke bombs
  • Baseball with color powder
  • Water bottles filled with color water
  • Water guns with color water
  • Sponge bombs with color powder

If the color fight is over but kids are not yet tired, here are some party games for kids.

FOOD

Food, glorious food. There can’t be a party without this element right? Here is a sample menu that I had at my party, you can keep the concepts but of course modify the menu.

  • Adults- grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Your party is outside, bringing a portable grill is very convenient, plus you can have all the ingredients prepped at home. Here are more food ideas.
  • Kids- Mack n Cheese. This is also a great option because you can prepare it the night before and then heat up right at the party. Alternatively, you can just but a pre-mixed Mack n Cheese, and you are all set. Kids love it. You can find more delicious food options here. 
  • Drinks. I prefer juices( colorful) and just regular still water.
  • Desert. Anything colorful, anything sweet really. We just had a simple birthday sponge cake with colorful icing on top.

DECORATIONS

You can go easy on yourself with the decorations, since with all the color powder and games there are already a lot of colors, you just need to top it up with the following things:

  • Balloons. Cheap, easy, impressive, colorful, all we really need. You can let kids set them free at the end of the party.
  • Banners. You can put them on the walls of your house and on the trees.
  • Paper decorations. There is so much you can do with just paper.
  • Streamers. They will look great on the walls or in a doorway.
  • Phrase balloons. They are in fashion now and will make every DIY party look professional.

PHOTOS

You will definitely want to remember those bright moments of your family life. Make you don’t forget to grab the camera with you, or even assign a dedicated photography loving adult to this duty. Those pictures will look lovely with all the bright colors and happy smiles! You can even make your own improvised photo booth if you are feeling creative.

CLEANING

It is an inevitable finishing part for every party. In this part, you can teach your kids how to be responsible for nature. Assign kids a few cleaning tasks, for example, picking up all the trash on the ground left from the games, putting cups into the plastic bag, getting rid of all the decorations. The kids should be active participants, and you can even give them some little awards, for example, a bag of sweets, in the end.

Finally

Today we have covered various aspects connected with organizing a color run birthday party, hope you enjoyed our article and use some of our ideas, or maybe add some information that we forgot to mention in the comments below!