How to Host an Out of this World Kids’ Space Party!

Does your child dream of astronauts, rockets and distant galaxies? Or even aliens?

If so, an outer-space themed party will fulfil their wildest dreams. Space parties combine imagination, adventure and hands-on fun, making them a fantastic choice for children of all ages. Better still, many space-themed ideas are simple to create at home, making it easy to throw a spectacular celebration without the need for a NASA-sized budget.

>> Hire a Kids’ Party Entertainer

Planning the perfect kids’ space party doesn’t have to feel like mission impossible either! We’ve put together a helpful guide packed with creative ideas, practical tips and plenty of inspiration to help you create a celebration that’s fun, memorable and (hopefully!) stress-free. Whether you’re planning a small gathering at home or a much larger party, you’ll find everything you need to make your little astronaut’s big day truly out of this world.

Ready for blast off? Strap yourselves in, fire up the rockets and let the countdown begin!

Space-themed Invitations

The adventure begins long before the day of the party, with the invitations. Instead of a standard invite, why not send a ‘Mission to Planet Birthday’ invitation that recruits guests as astronauts for this important space mission?

You could word your invitations like this:

Commander [insert your child’s name] requests your presence on a special space mission. Please report to Mission Control [insert venue] on [insert date] at [insert time] for an unforgettable adventure!

If you are creating your own invitations, use colours like navy, silver and black with stars, planets, rockets and astronauts. Or if you’re planning on sending digital invitations, then animated space graphics or countdown timers will make them even more exciting.

Whatever type of invitations you choose, encourage guests to come dressed as astronauts, aliens, their favourite space explorer, or even a star, to add to the atmosphere.

Galaxy décor

One of the best things about a space party is the dramatic décor. Dark backdrops work brilliantly, allowing you to add colourful planets, stars and glow-in-the-dark items that really stand out.

Decoration ideas include:

Floating asteroids – create irregular shapes from scrunched up foil and suspend from the ceiling on fishing line.
Planets – spray Styrofoam balls in metallic colours; once dry, add glue and sprinkle with glitter
Glow-in-the-dark stars – stick to walls and ceiling
Star-shaped foil balloons – an easy decoration
Black tablecloths with metallic tableware – sprinkle with confetti stars.
Silver and blue balloon clusters – resemble planets
Fairy lights – create the illusion of stars
Projector displaying moving stars – can instantly transform your room into outer space.

Out of this World Kids’ Space Party Food

Space-themed food is easy to create with just a little imagination and some creative labelling.

Popular choices include:

Rocket hot dogs – skewer hot dogs and wrap in spirals of pizza dough (secure the dough at the base by pushing it onto the skewer) – bake at 190 degrees Celsius until the dough is crisp and golden. Top with a cheese star or triangle and serve upright in a metal food bucket or similar container.
Moon cheese pizzas
Meteor meatballs – serve with Mars dust marinade (tomato ketchup!)
Rocket fruit skewers – place alternating grapes and blueberries on a skewer and top with a watermelon triangle
Stellar sandwiches – cut sandwiches out with a star-shaped cutter
Flying saucers – place half a cherry tomato in the centre of a round cracker and add dots of squeezy cheese around the edge to resemble lights.
Birthday cake – a simple sponge decorated with stars and planets works perfectly, or, if you’re feeling creative, you could transform a Swiss roll and waffle cones into a rocket cake.
Drinks – serve colourful fruit punch as ‘Rocket Fuel’ or blue lemonade as ‘Galaxy Juice’, and complete the look with striped paper straws and clear cups.

For a truly stellar, stress-free experience, why not consider hiring a professional caterer?

Space-themed Music

Music helps to bring your party to life from the moment guests step through the door. Popular choices include music from films, energetic dance tracks and well-known songs with a space connection.

Sci-Fi and Movie Scores

Perfect for background music during arrival, food or a ‘Zero G’ freeze dance:

‘The Star Wars Main Theme’ and ‘The Imperial March’ (John Williams)
‘Cantina Band’ from Star Wars
‘Walking on the Moon’ by The Police

Space-themed Kids’ Songs

Keep the energy high with dance-focused music and catchy sing-alongs:

‘Intergalactic’ by Beastie Boys
‘Starman’ and ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie
‘Zoom, Zoom, Zoom (We’re Going to the Moon)’ (Traditional/The Kiboomers)
‘Blast Off Boogie’ by Bounce Patrol

© SolStock from Getty Images Signature via Canva.com

Games for your Kids’ Space Party

Children love activities where they can burn off energy, and a space theme offers plenty of creative possibilities:

Zero Gravity Freeze Dance

Inform the kids that they are now astronauts entering zero gravity.
Play appropriate music while partygoers leap, glide, dance and do their best to mimic slow-motion floating.
Pause the music suddenly
Astronauts must now freeze in whatever floating pose they were in when the music stopped.
Anyone failing to hold their pose is out.

Moon Rock Hunt

Hide silver-painted stones, foam balls or wrapped chocolate ‘moon rocks’ for children to find and collect. Depending on what time of year it is, you could take this outside.

Astronaut Training Camp

Essentially an obstacle course; children crawl through tunnels, balance on moon rocks, jump between planets and complete challenges to earn their astronaut certificate. You can easily create and print certificates yourself using the free version of Canva.

Pin the Rocket on the Moon

Place a large, pale-yellow circle on a dark background and hang on a door or other suitable surface. Print and cut out rocket clipart (write children’s names on the back), blindfold each guest in turn and have them pin or stick their rocket on the moon. The owner of the rocket nearest to the centre of the moon is the winner.

Rocket Launch Competition

Provide paper, card and other simple craft materials. Have children create their own rocket and award a prize for the one that flies the furthest.

Professional Entertainment

If you really want to launch your kid’s space party into the stratosphere, booking a professional entertainer is the ultimate power move. DIY party games are great fun, but they are down to you to organise, along with everything else! Handing the flight controls over to a professional will not only turn your party into a fully immersive galactic experience (which the kids will be talking about for lightyears to come!), it will also give you the opportunity to relax and enjoy the fun too.

We suggest:

Character actors (A Star Attraction)

Hire a professional to dress as an astronaut, alien, or popular sci-fi character. Now sit back and watch as they lead the kids through a cadet boot camp, teach them how to walk in zero gravity, salute and complete a space mission around your venue.

Mad Scientist

Hire a children’s entertainer who poses as a mad scientist and watch the kids’ eyes widen as your entertainer makes their hair stand on end with a static electricity machine, uses water vapour to knock paper cups off their heads and helps them create alien volcanoes or glowing space slime from safe household ingredients.

Balloon Modeller

A balloon modeller will create items such as wearable jetpacks and astronaut helmets or even space rockets. This one is fantastic value as the balloon models make great photo props and double up as party favours too.

Face painter

Professional face painters will have specialised UV reactive neon paint and cosmetic glitter to transform the kids into aliens, stars and cosmic superheroes. In a darkened room with a little backlighting, the partygoers will be transformed into part of the immersive décor.

The Final Countdown – Party Bags

Finish your adventure with themed party bags filled with small space-inspired gifts.
Ideas include:

Glow sticks
Astronaut or planet stickers
Mini alien toys
Space slime
Freeze-dried sweets
Milky Way chocolate stars
Treat-size Mars bars
Flying Saucers (sweets)

Mission Accomplished

With a little planning and plenty of imagination, you can easily host a space-themed party that will eclipse the kids’ wildest expectations. The most important thing is to create an atmosphere where children can laugh, play and let their imaginations soar as they embark on their very own space adventure. We hope our guide has inspired you to plan a celebration that’s out of this world!