Ever since she was in preschool, my oldest daughter has said she wants to be a pizza maker when she grows up. Therefore, it seemed fitting to throw her a pizza party this year for her eighth birthday. There are local pizzerias that offer make-your-own-pizza parties for kids, but we decided just to have a few friends over at home and let them top their own personal pizzas. It turned out to be quite a fun evening for our daughter and her friends, even though it was not much work for us! Here is our blueprint for a simple, inexpensive pizza party for kids.
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Food for your Pizza Party for Kids
It goes without saying, the pizza was the star of the show when it came to food at our pizza party! We picked up personal pizza crusts to make things super simple, rather than having to bake dough, and we set out toppings in small bowls similar to these. My husband preheated the oven, brushed the crusts with oil, and then called each child up one by one to top his or her pizza. Together, they put marinara sauce on the pizza, and then the kids selected their toppings. He placed the ready-to-bake pizzas on sheets and popped them in the oven at the same time.
The toppings we offered included:
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Mini pepperonis
- Crumbled bacon
- Chopped green peppers
We did not get terribly creative with the toppings because we guessed (correctly) that most kids would opt for cheese and pepperoni.
On the side, we served a vegetable tray, grapes, and tortilla chips, along with drinks. For dessert, we had a giant chocolate chip cookie cake (thinking the cookie resembled a pizza!) and ice cream.
Party Activities
While the kids were taking turns topping their pizzas and waiting for them to cook, they decorated their own chef hats and pizza boxes.
These chef hats were a little bit big on some of the kids, but they worked well. The kids wrote their names on the hats and colored them with crayons.
The pizza boxes were where the kids’ creativity really shone through. We provided stickers (this inexpensive variety pack was perfect!), markers, and Do A Dot Art! markers, and the kids each decorated their own pizza box. When each individual pizza was ready, we placed it right in the child’s pizza box, and then if there were leftovers, the kids could easily transport them home in the pizza box as well.
Make sure you get the right size pizza boxes! I almost ordered a less expensive set of boxes until my husband pointed out they were only big enough for cookies. Oops! These 9-inch pizza boxes turned out to be absolutely perfect for the personal pizzas we served. They even came with little doilies to place beneath the pizzas.
Overall, the pizza party lasted about two hours and flowed as follows.
- Ask kids to start decorating their hats as they arrive.
- Begin calling kids to the kitchen to top their pizzas.
- Introduce the pizza box decorating activity.
- Eat the pizza when it comes out of the oven.
- Serve cake and ice cream.
- Open gifts.
- A few minutes of free play time before the guests go home.
Another idea: try a printable pizza-themed escape room!
Decorations and Ambiance
We got a red-checkered table cover from Amazon, which reminded me of your quintessential pizzeria, and we played this YouTube playlist of classic Italian music. I got my daughter a really comfy and nice quality J. Crew pizza shirt (comes with a bonus plain tee) to wear. Aside from that, we had our daughter paint her own pizzeria sign on packing paper and hung it on the wall. Done!
If you want to go a step beyond with your pizza party decorations, here are some ideas for you from Amazon:
- Pizza party plates, cups, napkins, and plasticware for 24 people
- Pizza party photo booth props
- Jumbo pizza slice balloons
- Pizza party banner
- Pizza party table decorations
Pizza Party Invitations
This was a low-key party, and we only invited a few kids. We did not do formal pizza party invitations; all I did was text the parents! However, if you want to send out pizza party invitations, here are some fabulous designs you can order right from Amazon:
Pizza Party Kids’ Favors
We did not do favors for this party, other than the hat and box the kids decorated and brought home. If you opt for pizza party favors, here are some ideas from Amazon:
- Pizza keychains
- Gummi pizza candy
- Pizza treat boxes
- Pizza stickers
- Decorate your own pizza sticker set
- Kids’ rolling pins
I truly believe parties do not have to be picture-perfect or fancy to give our kids a special and memorable time. My daughter loved her pizza party, and her friends did, too!
Are you planning your own pizza party for kids? Share your ideas in the comments!
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Ohhhhhh this is so cool. I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!! I’m going to do it for my son’s birthday.
Awesome, Jen! Let me know how your pizza party goes!
Thank you for these great ideas. I’m having a pizza party for my son and I am super nervous about it. I’ve never had people come to my home to celebrate a birthday. We’ve always celebrated outside like chucky cheese.
I’m sure it will be so much fun, Yadi! I’m glad these tips helped. I say keep it simple 🙂 Please let me know how it goes!