Children’s energies are contagious! Celebrate their exuberance with active theme birthday parties. Try out the below, themed ideas to create either an aerobic, ballerina party or an adventurous, sharks party.
Active Ballerinas Birthday Party
Ballerinas are graceful, and ballet dancing requires energy and practice. Highlight those attributes with an Active Ballerinas Birthday Party!
Ballerina Decorations, Food and Tableware:
Set the mood for your ballerinas with subtle pops of pink by decorating with pink balloons and streamers. Drape white tulle over a pink tablecloth for a touch of whimsy. Create a sweet centerpiece by attaching pink and white balloons with curling ribbon to ballet slippers.
Finish your table by combining white and pink plates, plastic cutlery and napkins. Serve pink lemonade, strawberries and cupcakes with ballet slipper rings on top.
Ballerina Games:
Prima Ballerina Says: Teach the girls the five basic ballet positions and ask the birthday girl to be the Prima Ballerina in an altered version of Simon Says. She calls out positions for the guests to do, but only if she says “Prima Ballerina Says…” first!
Chasse’/ Plie: An adapted game of Red Light/ Green Light, guests will Chasse’ (a ballet step similar to a gallop) when Chasse’ is called out. They will stop and Plie (a smooth bending of the knees) when Plie is called. The first ballerina to reach the speaker wins!
Ballerina Party Favors:
Each ballerina receives a goody bag filled with bracelets, lip gloss and a guide to the five ballet positions to practice at home.
______________________________________________________________
Active Sharks Birthday Party
Sharks are dangerous and fascinate kids of all ages. Tap into their mystique with an active Shark Birthday Party!
Decorations, Food, Tableware:
Create an underwater adventure by decorating with blue streamers to simulate ocean waves. Decorate the table with monochromatic blue tablecloths, plates, napkins and plastic cutlery. For a centerpiece, cut out a cardboard shark fin, paint it grey and surround it with blue balloons - a shark fin sticking out of the water!
Serve your hungry sharks fish-shaped crackers, shark fin cupcakes with blue frosting and shark-tooth punch (lemon-lime soda with a splash of cherry juice). 
Games:
Sharks and Minnows Tag: The birthday child starts the game as the shark. All guests are minnows, who gather at a home reef/base. On the count of three, all minnows scatter. The shark tags the minnows. When a minnow is tagged, s/he becomes a shark until all but one minnow remains – the winner!
Save the Shark: Help! The shark tank needs water! Divide guests into teams. At the start line, place a plastic shark in an empty bucket. Place a water-filled bucket and large sponge 15 feet away. Each team member races to the water-filled bucket, grabs the sponge, dips it in the water, gingerly carries the water-filled sponge back to the empty bucket, squeezes it and passes the sponge to the next team member to repeat the process. The winning team fills their bucket first and saves the shark!
Party Favors:
Fill up sand pails with shells, shark stickers and a shark tooth necklace.
Whichever active party you decide to host, you and your child will be satisfied with the results. While your guests will enjoy expending their youthful energy, their parents will appreciate bringing a happy, slightly-tired child home.
