Karaoke party

What makes this an experience?

We give the tired image of karaoke a much needed facelift with birthday party ideas that your kids will love. There will be no sappy love songs sung to an empty room. Instead, picture a live rock concert where kids become the stars! The kids will be issued VIP backstage passes, dress up in rock and roll costumes, and perform on stage to their favorite songs. This is no karaoke party, this is a rock and roll karaoke experience!

Karaoke birthday party preparations

It pays to plan ahead. Your guest list and party theme are intertwined. We recommend drawing up your guest list only after you have picked a theme and thought about what the party will involve and the space you have available.

Planning your party space

Dividing your party into multiple rooms helps keep interest levels high and the movement between rooms gives you an opportunity to periodically control the energy level. We recommend three ‘spaces’. They do not necessarily need to be separate rooms, but it is helpful if they are.

The three spaces are “the rock lounge” (a family room will do), “the stage” (where the karaoke will be set up), and “the dressing room” (a room or space adjacent to the stage where the performers can get decked out for the show).

The guest list

While this is likely to be a party more popular with the girls, you should not shy away from inviting boys as they are sure to have fun as well. The size of your guest list should take into consideration not just the size of your entertaining space, but also the amount of time it will take to give everyone a chance on stage.

Invitations

Karaoke birthday invitations are an easy do-it-yourself project if you have a computer and a color printer. We have put together an idea to get your creative juices flowing. We also show our favorite online option.

Do it yourself:
Project – karaoke party invitation: Here is an easy to edit and use invitation for your kids’ karaoke party that you can use. Just open it in PowerPoint, fill in your details and print it on some nice card stock. [click to download]

Have someone else do it:
Want something more fancy, or just do not have the time or inspiration to do it yourself? There are thousands of options online, from budget to divine. We've hand-picked our favorite which is this cute karaoke scene. This comes from the huge collection of unique birthday invitations at FineStationery.com. Do a search for 'Movie Birthday' and you'll see there are a number to choose from.

Ready to decorate?

A truly unique birthday experience starts with the decorations. Some effort here will help bring your guests into the world that you are creating. We generally prefer not to spend a lot of money on elaborate decorations, rather our focus is on projects we can do ourselves and inexpensive store bought items that have a big bang for the buck. 

What will you need

Consider the items below as our wish list of decorations. Pick and choose what works best for your space and budget. The placement of each item will be described in more detail in the sections that follow.

To make:

- A sign for your entrance

- Backstage passes

- Signed guitar cutouts

- Rock Star posters

To buy:

- Balloons (any color will do)

- Streamers

- A red carpet

- Mirror ball

- Karaoke machine

Room-by-room guide

Outside: Greet your guests with a sign welcoming them to your Rock and Roll Cafe. Poster board will do just fine. Decorate it with musical notes and a microphone. And for a person touch, name the cafe after your child. For example:

Welcome to John's
Rock and Roll Cafe!

The sign sets the stage for the party and is an easy do-it-yourself project as shown below. Use balloons as appropriate, outside to provide that extra wow factor.

Project - Welcome sign: Using a large white poster board create a sign to welcome guests to the Rock and Roll Cafe. Start by sketching a large, cloud-like shape that will serve as the outside border of your sign. On one side, sketch a couple of musical notes that extend partly outside of the top of the "cloud". On the other side, sketch a microphone that also goes beyond the cloud. Now fill the rest of the sign with the words "Welcome to [your child's name] Rock and Roll Cafe!". Now color in the words, notes and microphone. Color in the outline of the "cloud". And finally, cut out the sign along the outside of the cloud, notes and microphone. Voila! Your sign is done.

The rock and roll lounge: Continue the chosen color scheme inside. To create the appropriate mood in the lounge, think about creating your own version of the Hard Rock Cafe. On the walls, put posters of your kids' favorite bands and singers. In addition, cut out guitar shapes from poster board and cover them with autographs. You can either fake autographs of their favorite bands, or you could put the names of the guests.

The stage: What is a performance without a stage? Regardless of your space or money constraints, you should make some sort of stage for the karaoke performers. It could be as simple as some cardboard boxes flattened and taped together. Or if you are handy with a hammer, consider constructing a little stage out of wood. It doesn't need to be more than a few inches off the ground. Just something to define the performance area.

Ideally while some are performing others will be dancing. So make an effort to create a dance club feel. A mirror ball would be ideal.

The dress-up room: To help the performers get in the right frame of mind, you will have an area with dress up clothes. Mark the entrance to this area with a star labeled "Dressing Room", throw a popular star's name on like "Mylie's Dressing Room".

Act 1, Scene 1

Just like every great rock concert you have ever attended, your party is a production. As producer you will need a script, which we detail below.

Scene 1 - the rock lounge: As your guests arrive, lead them to "The Lounge", a private sitting room reserved exclusively for them (a.k.a. your living room). Music of their favorite bands and singers fills the air. There will be a variety of activities set up to transform your guests into rock stars:

Tattoo parlor: set up a station to give your guests rock-themed temporary tattoos

Face painting: no need to hire a professional. With a good, but simple, kit you can create some impressive little designs. Just keep the options simple.

Walk of fame: have the kids decorate and sign large paper stars which you have cut out in advance. As they are completed, tape them to the ground on the walk to the karaoke area. Thick, solid-color wrapping paper can serve as the "sidewalk" to which the stars are attached.

Scene 2 - the karaoke stage: When all have had a chance to complete their stars, pull everyone together and announce that it is time for the concert to begin! Lead everyone across the completed "walk of fame", to the karaoke area.

Now it is time to set the ground rules. First, make it clear that everybody has to take turns – though groups of singers should be encouraged. Next, you announce that there is a rock star dress-up room.

This is the room (or space) that you’ve designated with a star on the door. Inside are all sorts of props for the kids to wear and hold. Pull out all of the craziest shirts, hats, ties, costume jewelry and props that you can find and put them in this room. Dig into your closet for these items… I’m sure they are there! Inflatable props, like guitars, are fun and good for those that prefer not to sing.

Scene 3 - the performances begin: Now choose the first rock stars to strut their stuff. It is possible, regardless of the energy level, that when it comes time to jump on the karaoke stage, you may not have any volunteers. No problem. As a contingency you will have prepped your child in advance to be the first singer, and perhaps they can convince one or two others to join them. Note: if your child is not willing to be the first singer... then you probably chose the wrong party theme :)

While they get dressed, play some music for the other kids to dance to, or distract them with a game of Simon Says. Once that first group gets on stage, your next group will likely be begging to go. Send them to the dress up room to get ready while the first group is singing. Continue this as long as there is interest, or until the food begins to call (likely the latter).

"Interest is waning what do I do?" If you fear that energy levels are falling, then be ready with a few tricks up your sleeve. One favorite is to simulate a balloon drop by emptying garbage bags full of balloons into the middle of the dance floor. You may also wish to break up the singing with some games, like the Freeze Dance or Name That Tune. Be flexible though… if they are having fun singing, then run with it.

Scene 4 - the finale: To end on a high, and to ensure everyone gets one last moment in the spotlight, you may wish to end with a group song. Pull everyone up on stage and put on a song that you know most of them are familiar with. "We’re all in this together" (from High School Musical) was the perfect choice at our daughter’s party. Have your video camera ready for this spectacular finale!

Scene 5 - wrapping it up: After all of that performing, the kids will be hungry! So when the time is right, lead them to the food and cake. After cake, if there is time, the kids can head back to the karaoke for more singing. Otherwise, send the kids packing with a rock star themed favor bag.

At last, take a well-deserved deep breath and smile… you are done! Once again you have pulled off a truly unique and memorable birthday party experience. You turned your kids and their friends into rock stars for a day, and in the process created a birthday party that they will always remember.

Food for thought

For meals at children’s parties, what is important is that they eat... so it is best to keep it simple. Pizza bites, chicken fingers, cut fruit and cut veggies are always good choices. Juice boxes and water will round out the meal.

No time to think about food? There is an easier way! Appetizerstogo.com has some slider burger and franks the kids will love. And best of all... they will deliver it to your door overnight! This is a great little resource, and apparently Oprah agrees, as they featured on her 2007 "O list".

The cake is your opportunity to get creative, and we have a couple of easy do it yourself ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

The first idea is a star cake. Use a star-shaped pan (available at most party and craft stores) for your cake, and decorate it with a picture of a microphone and add some store-bought candy decorations (stars, guitars, musical notes, etc.).

Another option is a variation of ice cream cone cupcakes. Bake cupcakes in ice cream cones; but instead of decorating them like ice cream, decorate them as if they were microphones! The best combination we have seen is chocolate (brown) cones, with white frosting that is covered with silver sugar flakes. I even seen some with licorice sticking out the bottom as a cord. We opted for the "cordless" variety at our party.

                 

Birthday-in-a-Box has a selection of candles perfect to top off your cake. How about High School Musical or Hannah Montana?

Favor ideas

For favors, the easiest route is to stick with a rock star theme. With that in mind, you can send the kids packing with: 

Inflatable guitars and microphones: these can be used as props during the karaoke

Guitar pick zipper pulls: great for school bags

Rock star bracelets: you may want to hand these out at the lounge

Sunglasses: these could be handed in the dress up room

Temporary tattoos: what would a rock star be without tattoos

We love sharing ideas about parties, but we are only able to do so because of the commissions we receive from our affiliate partners.  We hand pick the products we promote, focusing on value and that ‘wow factor’ that we see as essential for the experience. If any of the products are of interest to you, we would be grateful if you would visit our affiliate partners through the links on this site. See the Final tips and shopping list tab for a summary of the products mentioned.

Final tips and pointers

We have recommended a disco ball or some other flashing lights to encourage your karaoke spectators to dance. There is no reason why you can not take it to the next level and create a real dance club environment. For tips on how to do this check out our Dance Club party.

You will almost certainly have some shy guests who will be reluctant to step foot on stage. Be sure not to push them into anything they do not want to do, but also keep in mind some might appreciate a bit of encouragement. You may find some are happy to go on stage as long as they do not have to sing, so give them an inflatable guitar and have them play back up. There is a good chance that once on stage, they will change their mind about singing.

Shopping list summary

Invitations:

www.FineStationery.com. If you've opted not to make the invitations yourself, you can't go wrong with the selection available online. Here is our favorite, but search for 'Karaoke Party' at www.FineStationery.com for more options.

Decorations:

	Solid Latex Balloons Any color balloon works for a karaoke party. Be creative!		Solid Crepe Streamers Match your streamers with your balloons to complete the karaoke party feel
	Mylar Rock Star Balloon An extra special balloon perfect for your karaoke party theme		Mylar Music Balloon Add some flare with the Greatest Hits balloon
	Mylar Guitar Balloon A fun addition to your balloon display		Mylar Jukebox Balloon Another great balloon choice for your theme
	Personalized Banner Welcome your guests karaoke style		Rock Star Centerpiece A perfect accent to your party table
	Placement Make mealtime fun with personalized placemats

Activities:

	Karaoke Music What is a Karaoke Party without great karaoke music? Create custom cd's with your kids favorite songs.		Dancer Pinata What party would be complete without a pinata?
	Face Paint No need to hire a professional. Get a decent kit and do simple designs yourself.		Friend Tattoos Always a crowd pleaser with the younger kids
	Glitter Nail Polish A lot of fun for young girls, but allow plenty of time to dry		Hair Mascara A perfect and fun accessory for a karaoke party
	Body Jewel A wonderful finishing touch for your little singers

Favors:

	Rock Star Favor Box Everything you need to send off your groovy guests		Rock Star Favor Set If you prefer, go for the Rock & Roll favors
	Disco Ball Necklace A must-have favor for your karaoke party		Luggage Tag Personalized, laminated Rock Star luggage tag
	Bag Tag Personalized, laminated Rock Star bag tag		Button Round Rock Star button can be printed with names or a brief message
	Magnet Round Rock Star magnet can be printed with names or a brief message		Sickers The perfect sheet of Rock Star themed stickers