How to Throw A Banana 3rd Birthday Party

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A perfect idea for a 3rd birthday party? Throw a banana bash! Check out this whole party full of ideas for a banana birthday party, from games to decor to favors and lots more.

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

A couple of months before she turned 3, Mags decided that she wanted her 3rd birthday party to be “a banana party!” And we were like…. what?

We fully expected a Disney character, because that’s her true love. (Remember her pink Mickey Mouse party?) At first I didn’t really know what a banana birthday party should be, but once we decided on a couple of main activities, we just filled the rest in with a lot of yellow stuff and called it good.

Brace yourself, because this post has approximately one zillion photos of this 3rd birthday party.

How to Throw a Banana 3rd Birthday Party

Every party needs a good name, so obviously it had to be called Maggie’s Banana Bash.

Whenever we throw a kids’ party, I try to make sure there’s at least one hands-on activity, and one run-around activity. The hands-on activity helps pass some time, and the run-around activity makes sure that we send the kids home nice and tired so they’ll nap.

Chocolate Dipped Banana Station

For starters, once all of our guests arrived we had a banana decorating station set up.

We melted some chocolate wafers and had a bunch of different sprinkles and toppings out on some tables. (I recommend doing this activity outside, on tables with disposable tablecloths because it can get messy).

How to Make a Banana Decorating Station

Ingredients

  1. To set up a banana decorating station for a banana birthday party, I recommend doing it outside! Cover an area with a disposable table cloth and set out plenty of sprinkles.
  2. Cut a banana in half and dip in the melted chocolate.
  3. Insert a paper straw or stick in one end.
  4. Let children hold the straw and then go crazy with sprinkles, decorating their melted chocolate.
  5. Use washi tape to label the straws with kids’ names, so the bananas don’t get mixed up.
  6. Place the bananas on baking trays covered in parchment paper. Place these in the freezer while the kids are enjoying playing or having lunch.
  7. After lunch, bring out the frozen bananas for dessert!

I loved this activity, and I think the kids did too. But let me reiterate: it’s messy. Ha!

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

Favors and Prizes for a Banana 3rd Birthday Party

I love having a little takeaway that’s kind of personalized, so we made these little banana buttons and gave each kiddo one. Our family each wore one during the party as well.

I also stumbled on this post from our friend Alison, who apparently also had a banana birthday party for her kiddo a few years ago! She had the brilliant idea to make “banana bucks” with the birthday kid’s face on the money, and I HAD TO do it. I mean who doesn’t want their face on money?!

Each kid got a couple of banana bucks in a little goody bag. They used the banana bucks to pay for a chance to get a prize in basically the best part of the whole party: The Banana Stand.

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

Banana Stand Punch Prize Board

The entire time we were planning the party, we kept saying over and over, “There’s always money in the banana stand.” (Arrested Development, anybody?) So it became our mission to somehow incorporate some sort of banana stand into the party.

I also wanted a fun way to give the kids party favors that wasn’t a piñata, so we hit on the idea of a prize punch game, but in the form of a banana stand! It was seriously so cute to see the kids come up and pay a banana buck to punch one of the holes and get the prizes out.

We’ll have a whole blog post on how we constructed the banana stand. It was pretty easy to make and super sturdy. It would be perfect for so many different events, too!

Decorations for a Banana Birthday Party

We kept it simple! I found some paper bananas that you can link together into chains, and combined them with yellow & white balloons and some paper fans.

I used this letterboard for the bananas sign. And other than that, we got a giant inflatable banana that the kids loved tossing around the backyard.

Mags and I made mini cupcakes with lots of yellow sprinkles, just in case some kids didn’t want their frozen bananas. But let’s be real, most kids had both.

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

Other Amazing Party Theme Ideas

I love the Banana Bash for a 3rd birthday party idea, but we also have a huge library of parties that we’ve thrown for our family! You could adjust any of these parties for pretty much any age.

Check these out:

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party
How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

It was such a sweet day! I’m honestly not sure how many more of these kind of celebrations we’ll do.

Sometimes I just want to say screw it and take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Any moms out there feel me?!

But then as soon as one of the kids mentions a party idea I get all excited about it. I go back and forth!

But as far as party themes go, a banana birthday party was a fun one to come up with ideas for! And no matter what, I love celebrating our kids’ birthdays.

Another year gone by is a reason to help them feel extra festive, and I’m so happy they’ll have these memories. Happy partying! xoxo

P.S You know what would have been amazing at this party? A DIY ball pit.

How to Throw A Banana Birthday Party

Banana Decorating Station for a 3rd Birthday Party

Yield: Frozen Decorated Bananas
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $30

Learn the easy way to create a banana decorating station for a party! It's a perfect activity AND snack.

Materials

  • bananas
  • chocolate melting wafers
  • sprinkles
  • paper straws
  • washi tape
  • parchment paper

Tools

  • baking sheets
  • Sharpie

Instructions

    1. To set up a banana decorating station for a banana birthday party, I recommend doing it outside! Cover an area with a disposable table cloth and set out plenty of sprinkles.
    2. Cut a banana in half and dip in the melted chocolate.
    3. Insert a paper straw or stick in one end.
    4. Let children hold the straw and then go crazy with sprinkles, decorating their melted chocolate.
    5. Use washi tape to label the straws with kids' names, so the bananas don't get mixed up.
    6. Place the bananas on baking trays covered in parchment paper. Place these in the freezer while the kids are enjoying playing or having lunch.
    7. After lunch, bring out the frozen bananas for dessert!

Notes

Smaller kids may need help with their banana decorating, but it's great for older kids as well!

I find that the age range is around 2-12 or so. Even tweens love decorating their banana and snacking on it later for a sweet treat.

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4 Comments

  1. This is so stinkin cuuuttee!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Just an idea (if you ever make another banana dipping party): pop the bananas on the straw for kids to start dipping in chocolate …and put a cupcake liner underneath the banana that way any chocolate that’ll drips will be caught by the liner. It might not stop the mess from happening but it might help a bit!
    I saw that on a post idk where as a do it! for when kids eat ice cream that drips.

  2. Omg I just love this post! it has so much inspiration. My son wants a Banana theme party and I was so lost. I was wondering how did you make the Banana Bucks?