Batman has always been a staple in pop culture. The person behind the mask has evolved and changed, but kids have grown up with some version of the caped crusader since the 60’s. When I got the opportunity to host a Batman party from BSM Media it agreed with my fan boy sensibilities and my desire to further my child’s interest in one of the great super heroes.
They supplied us with some Batman toys: the Power Attack Total Destruction Batmobile, some Power Attack basic figures and some Deluxe Figures too. We also received a Batman party pack that had goodie bags for the kids to take home and more Batman balloons than you can swing a stick at.
Even if you only have a couple Batman items around the house there are still ways that you can plan a Batman party for your kids. Here are some of the key points that we did that might make your Batman or other superhero themed party a hit with the kiddo crowd. The kids at our party ranged between the ages of 3 and 9, so we made the games a bit more difficult for the older ones.
The Length
Your party should be 90 minutes maximum. If your party is any longer you’ll wish that you were watching Batman & Robin, arguably the worst Batman movie ever made.
The Food
I tried to make bat shaped cookies, but they turned out looking like doves. Since I wasn’t going to change the theme of the party to Prince and The NPG we opted to cut the cookies in half. A room full of hungry children are not going to judge you on the shape of your cookies-remember that. Side note: If anybody knows where you can purchase a bat cookie cutter we’d love to know.
The kids also ate bats in a blanket for their main snacking course. Of course, ‘pigs’ stood in for our bats, creating the classic snack that kids love.
The Music
For the background music we started to play the thematic scores from the recent Batman movies. They are great to listen to for adults or when you’re in the theater, but not so much for a children’s party. We switched the music to the campy Batman music from the 60’s. While the children may not have heard it before it did make the adults happier and still leant Batmosphere to the party.
The Games
This is the part of the party that the kids liked the most. They were free playing with toys or taking part in one of the organized games that we had planned.
Bat, bat, joker- It’s a takeoff on the classic “duck, duck, goose”, but we used Batman terminology. It was fun and got the kids to run out some sillies. You could also substitute ‘duck’ for anything your kids are into.
Mr. Freeze Dance-The kids all know how to play Freeze Dance, where they dance until the music stops and the last one to stop sits down. All of the children play until there is one person left standing. We took that classic game and simply added the classic Batman villain Mr. Freeze to it. The children danced to the old Batman theme and Psy, Gangham Style.
Coloring the Batman masks-Children love coloring and coloring Batman masks was fun and simple.
Escape from Gotham City-With apologies to Kurt Russell and the 80’s classic movie….we put Batman in jail and created an obstacle course that the kids had to move their vehicle through in order to get him out. Once the children got through the obstacle course they received one of the Bat dove cookies.
Old comics
In my attempt to make everyone feel comfortable I got some of my old school Batman comics and put them out. A couple of the adults picked them up to reminisce about the innocence of how things were in the 70’s.
The Toys
The Batman Power Attack toys were all very durable and had great movement in the arms. The Deluxe figures have a switch in their back that allows them to ‘punch’ action, rotate their waists or add accessories. The Total Destruction Batmobile was very fun to play with, has a battering ram and shoots projectiles from the front of the vehicle.
This was a very fun party that we’ll borrow the theme from as our kids get older or add more characters to what they like. Do you have any children’s party tips that have helped make your events a success?
We received a majority of the Batman party supplies and compensation from BSM Media. All thoughts are our own.
Things were innocent in the ’70’s?
They were more ‘undercover’, not as in your face. I blame the end of Disco personally.