15 Boy birthday party themes and decor ideas

Yeehaaa! Cowboys and girls, gather round. There’s a party to be found! Cowboy parties are as old as the prairies so if your kid is into all things western, then this is the party for him. Get into the theme by dressing up — a vest, chequered shirt and a cowboy hat are mandatory. If you can find a pony club nearby, see if you can host your party there — let the kids enjoy a trail ride on their trusty steeds while you prepare a feast fit for hungry ranch hands. A good old barbecue and damper with jam are great treats for ravenous cowboys and you can provide jars of dried fruit, pretzels, chocolates and popcorn ready to be made into individual bags of trail mix to take home as favours.

From Monsters Inc. to Cars, there are a lot of great movies out there that boys just love which make perfect birthday party themes. Simply ask your little man what his favourite movie is and create a fun-filled theme around it. You’ll find a lot of party resources online for popular Disney or Pixar movies — a quick search will undoubtedly help you with custom invitations, plates, cake templates, bunting, labels and more.

From Spiderman to Superman, every little guy has a favourite hero. Find out who rocks your boy’s world and help him create his very own Batcave for his party. Hire, make or buy a superhero suit for your kid and encourage his friends to join in by coming as their own favourite superhero. You can have guests play superhero-inspired party games to see which superhero reigns supreme or have them unite against evil in a scavenger hunt that locates well-known villains.

At some point during their lives, almost every little guy becomes obsessed with space. Tap into that interest with a space-themed party complete with glow-in-the-dark stars, a planet cake and astronomical games, such as ordering the planets or naming common constellations. If your boy is old enough for a sleepover, consider hosting the party at night and let them experiment with a telescope before indulging in some late-night space snacks.

Heading to a dinosaur party? Here’s how to make your own dinosaur hoodie >>

They’re big, they’re scary and they’re extinct. All up, dinosaurs are cool and a common passion for both young and old boys alike. If your little man is into giant reptiles, take his party theme to Jurassic Park with jungle-inspired decorations. Hang green streamers in abundance, make trees out of paper rolls with brown paper leaves and offer fruits and other snacks in woven baskets on a table covered with green camouflage. You can hold a treasure hunt for dinosaur eggs or race against time in the Land of the Lost — see if your guests can beat an egg timer as they run a three-legged race around an obstacle course of rocks and flowing lava.

Things that go is a fun theme for a budding car, train or plane enthusiast. Decorate your venue with a racetrack and chequered flags and have a few rideable cars, bikes or scooters on offer for impromptu races. Younger boys will enjoy making their own cars, planes or trains out of cardboard boxes, so set up a craft station of safe scissors, rope, Textas, glue and construction paper and let them get busy. You can make travel-inspired snacks as well — tri-coloured fruit kebabs make excellent traffic lights and you can make your very own aeroplane meals in small foil containers for a fun-filled lunch that’s sure to be eaten.

Gory, gooey and scary — monsters are the stuff of little boys’ dreams. If your little man likes things that creep him out, then why not throw him a scary monster party? You can make monster decorations out of almost anything — why not hang streamers with creepy monster hands attached to them from the ceiling above a party table full of super spooky treats for guests to devour. Marshmallows or boiled eggs make great monster eyes, spaghetti lends itself perfectly to slimy monster tentacles or brains and you can make chompy monster head sandwiches by placing cheese-slice teeth between rounds of bread.

A jungle party is perfect for any little safari lover. Animal prints, woven baskets, binoculars and safari hats set the scene for a jungle adventure that’s sure to please. Little kids will enjoy opening their very own packed safari lunch full of animal biscuits, sandwiches cut into paw prints and jungle crackers. For older kids, an Indiana Jones-inspired treasure hunt is a must — have them search for the Grail among roaring lions, cheeky monkeys and sneaky snake pits. Send guests off with their very own pet rock that they created and saved from the depths of the deepest, darkest jungle.

A love of balls comes at an early age for most boys so, if your little man has a favourite sport, then this can form the basis of his birthday party theme. Soccer, football, cricket, basketball — let your son choose his sport, nominate his favourite player and use the team’s colours to theme his party. Have his friends come ready to play and hand out customised medals at the end of the day to each guest. Make sure you have plenty of refreshing drinks on hand — make your own fruit-flavoured water rather than offering soft drinks — and make a few round snacks, such as cookie cutter sandwiches or iced cupcakes, to fill hungry bellies.

Yaaaar! It’s a pirate party, me hearties! It’s time to sail the seven seas with a pirate-inspired birthday party. First port, a trunk full of dress-ups — striped shirts, vests, silk tops, feathers, hats and a stuffed parrot or two should get your son’s guests into pirate mode. Next up, swordsmanship — teach the little pirates a thing or two about fair play then let them at each other with cardboard swords. A treasure hunt — using an authentic pirate map, of course — is mandatory for any pirate party, as is a game of walk the plank. Finally, let them fill their bellies with all kinds of delicious pirate snacks — fish and chips served in cardboard cones, parrot crackers, oranges (for scurvy), blue jellies with hidden treasure and a tropical island cake for the pirate chief.

Take your son back to times of old with a knight-inspired birthday party straight from the history books. Decorate a pop-up tent with purple and gold bunting, perfect for a royal knight. Serve drinks from plastic goblets and decorate the snack table with tiny gold banners and jewel-encrusted plates. Before going on a hunt for dragon eggs, get guests to decorate their own cardboard shields and arm themselves with their very own balloon sword. Finally, make a dragon cake or sweet-filled pinata for the little knights to enjoy after a day of exhausting play.

Perfect for any beach boy is a laid-back surf-inspired party. Make colourful surfboards out of cardboard to hang as decorations above a party table covered with a stripy beach towel. A few beach umbrellas, beach balls and pails of sand complete the look and — with the addition of a few Beach Boys tracks — can turn even the most suburban backyard into a beachside oasis. Serve food in clean, colourful beach pails and use the shovels as scoops for chips and salad. Hotdogs, sandwiches and burgers are all great surf party fare — having a make your own beach burger stand is always a hit. Let the kids run wild with the beach balls, a backyard water slide or some water balloons while the beach tunes are pumping and make sure you have lots of drinks and sunscreen supplied throughout the day.

Perfect for your resident nature-lover. Australia is a country full of national parks so pick your closest and head to the bush for a relaxed camping party. Pop on a billy of hot chocolate and whip up some damper for hungry little campers before settling down to a barbecue lunch and a nature scavenger hunt. If you’re up for it, share the tale of old Ned Kelly before getting the kids to find their own marshmallow stick for roasting marshmallows as the sun sets. Set up camp if you plan to spend the night or pack guests off home with their very own packet of custom trail mix and a mini torch party favour.

Make your own tent with this easy DIY fort kit >>

Almost all little boys are fascinated with robots at some point in their lives. Encourage them to think to the future with this fun-filled robot party. Anything silver and metallic can be used as a decoration — silver streamers make for fun, futuristic decorations or you can go vintage and string together old nuts, bolts and screws to make metallic garlands. Serve snacks in square metal trays laid out in the shape of a robot and encourage guests to make their own take-home robot out of recycled tin cans and an assortment of craft paper, pipe cleaners and other materials.

It’s been around since the 1950s and it’s still loved by kids, big and little alike. If your little man is into Lego, then you’re in luck — chances are you’ll have heaps of supplies on hand to create a Lego party of epic proportions. Keep the decorations simple and colour-block using red, yellow, blue and green. Drinks can be served in yellow cups with Lego faces drawn on them and you can serve a range of snacks in Lego colours and shapes — rectangles of cheese, Lego-shaped sandwiches, iced Lego biscuits and fruit cut into rectangles all make excellent choices. Guests can enjoy a range of Lego-based games, such as building the highest tower, sturdiest building or most creative animal and will enjoy a party favour of a few Lego pieces of their own to take home.