This Pokemon birthday party is the CUTEST! Fun ideas for Pokemon themed games, decorations, food, and party favors! A little Pokemon lover’s dream come true! (This post contains a few affiliate links. That means that I get a small credit for referring you to a product that I used and love, but it doesn’t cost you any extra.)
I am so excited to finally share my son’s Pokemon birthday party with you today! It was a ton of work, but my little man was SO excited about how it all turned out. Just look at that cute face . . .
Part of the reason that he was so proud of himself is that he was involved in almost all of the preparations. I have made it no secret that I struggle with mental illness, or that it has been INSANELY bad since my miscarriage last summer. (No pun intended, but it’s appropriate.) Crippling postpartum depression can happen after a miscarriage . . . who knew? Ugh. Anyway . . . I knew I WANTED to do a Pokemon birthday party for him, but as it got closer and closer I still hadn’t planned a thing. I was/am in survival mode, so I was doing the bare minimum in life and definitely didn’t have the energy or motivation to do a detail-heavy fabulous kid party. However, my little guy was PUMPED about his Pokemon birthday party and asking me about it every day. Finally, I told him that if he wanted it to happen I was going to need help. Well, he was by my side every step of the way. He helped me wrap tape on ping pong balls, put up the decorations, and choose the games. He sat by me as I made printables, helped me put together the party favors, and he even made the Pikachu Peeps himself! He is a creative soul, so he loved every second of it, and having him by my side made me so much more motivated to give it my all and enjoy the process. In the midst of an extremely gloomy year, he patiently kept me going and gave my energy and mood a big boost. It felt like a MAJOR “Mom Win” to throw this Pokemon birthday party, but it wouldn’t have happened without my little buddy helping me along. He’s a gem. 🙂 (By the way, if you want an Ash Ketchum hat for your kiddo I found it HERE.)
Enough about that, let’s take a look at the party!
I always like to start my parties with a coloring activity sheet at the table to keep all the kids in one spot and relatively calm as we wait for everyone to arrive. I found this fabulous printable activity sheet in the Frog Prince Paperie Etsy shop HERE.
Once all of the rowdy little guys arrived we got busy playing games! The boys each got a belt on which to attach Pokeballs that they earned, which is where the Pokemon trainers keep their Pokemon after they capture them in the show. They earned a new Pokeball after completing each game/activity.
These belts were a HUGE hit!! The balls were quite a bit of work to create, so be forewarned about that! We took ping pong balls and wrapped half of them in masking tape. Next I spray painted each one with red spray paint. This took several rounds since I had to wait for them to dry, roll them over, and spray the next side. Once dry, the kids helped me peel off the masking tape. We added a thin strip of black electrical tape at this point, along with a round velcro dot. The “belts” were really velcro straps that I found at Walmart. They weren’t even all the same because I wasn’t willing to go to more than one store and they didn’t have enough of either kind. Ha! The kids didn’t notice. You can see what I mean in the pictures below.
The first game that we played was an outdoor Pokemon hunt. After all, you’ve “GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL!” 🙂 My boy helped me choose which Pokemon character to use for the hunt and I made printables for the hunt. My husband hung pictures of the characters all over the yard and the kids each took a homemade paper Pokedex with them to check off the characters that they found as they were hunting. (In the show Ash, the main character, has a small electronic machine that scans the Pokemon creatures and tells him what they are called and their powers.)
Of all of the games, this was the favorite. It also took the longest to play and didn’t require micromanaging by mom and dad. Jackpot!
If you would like to play this game, use the following free printables that I prepared!
POKEMON HUNT – CHARACTERS TO HIDE
Another game that we played was “Pin the Pokeball on Charizard.” I bought it HERE.
Another game that we played was “Pokemon Races.” This was perfect because it was outside, high energy, and it required ZERO prep. In a nutshell: they took turns choosing Pokemon creatures and then raced moving like that particular Pokemon. Never gets old.
Let’s take a look at the decorations and food now. I love how everything came together. Bright colors make me smile. (Banner available HERE, dangling streamers available HERE, and napkins available HERE.)
Luckily this party was in March, so Peeps were readily available. We grabbed a box of them, some fun straws, and some edible markers and I let him go to town. His Pikachu Peeps may not be perfect, but he had a blast drawing on them, and I think they are really cute!
I found these darling FREE printable soda or water bottle wrappers HERE.
I made the Pokemon card pennant banners (tutorial to come) using a similar technique to the one I used to make the Dr. Seuss Book Page Pennant Banners. I bought the Pokemon cards to use HERE on Amazon. The reviews said there were repeat cards in the bundle, and some said they weren’t “real,” but I didn’t care about any of them, so I grabbed several orders of them and went to town. In addition to using these Pokemon card pennant banners for this Pokemon birthday party, I also used them to transform his Dr. Seuss bedroom into a Pokemon bedroom as a birthday surprise, including Pokemon wall art that also used these cards. These cards were also used as party favors. They are definitely the best deal I’ve seen anywhere on bulk Pokemon cards!
Cake decorating is NOT my strength, so I made a simple cake like the one that I spotted HERE and printed out a cake topper from her Etsy shop, Frog Paper Paperie. (The same place that I got the activity sheet.)
On their way out the door each kid got to gather up the Pokemon Badges that they earned, along with a bag of ten Pokemon cards. I found the printable badges and badge cases FREE to print on the blog Merry Printable HERE. I made the giant, customized “Callum Pokemon Card” for decor FREE on MyPokeCard.com. (I also used it in his new Pokemon bedroom!)
A great time was had by all at this Pokemon birthday party, and my boy was just radiating glee through the whole thing. SOO worth the effort! POKEMON . . . I CHOOSE YOU!!!!
If you enjoyed this Pokemon birthday party then be sure to check out all of my other parties, along with the awesome parties from my contributors, in my PARTY ARCHIVE. Here are a few of my favorites:
How to Train Your Dragon Birthday Party from Yours Truly
Star Wars Lego Party from my contributor Angela
Wild Kratts Birthday Party from Yours Truly
Superhero Party from my contributor Emily
A Disney Adventure Birthday Party from Yours Truly
Jennifer says
Amazing job!! So many fabulous details and the kids look like they are having so much fun!!
Lola says
How cute! It makes me want to make my own Pokémon party! Everything looks so much fun and the kids seem like they’re having a blast! Awesome ideas, great job!! Keep it up! 🙂
Mother of 3 says
We must have boys around the same ages; I clicked to read all about your Pokemon party (we had one a few years ago) and saw that you also have had How to Train Your Dragon (which we just did this past Sept) and Star Wars. I love the Pikachu peeps! What a great idea. The games look so fun too; my son’s party was in January so we needed indoor games.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Ha! That’s awesome. We’re just two super awesome families I guess. 🙂
Amber says
Looks like a well planned out party! I love the peeps too, what a great idea!
Frugal Hausfrau says
What a fun party – it’s neat to see Pokemon again! Thanks for sharing on Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Fleur says
Great ideas, thank you for the inspiration, I will use some of them for my son’s Pokemon party!
MEGAN GORRELL says
These birthday parties are amazing! I will be using then next year for sure! Our birthdays just passed last week. Wish I had thought to come here first. I love the belt idea!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thanks! They just about did me in, but I threw them in the end! Whew!
Annie says
Awesome Ideas! Thanks. Do you have a tutorial posted for the Pokemon Card Banner?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Not yet. It will be live within the month. Sorry!
Erin Coyotecatl says
Hi, I love your pokemon party ideas! I have been desperately trying to print out some of your free pokemon hunt printables ( specifically the small characters and pokedex link) and I can’t seem to get it to work. Can you help me? (it just shows a blank paper)
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I will email them to you. 🙂
Sarah Westover McKenna says
They work for me – I don’t know what to tell you! It takes a minute for them to upload . . . Here are the links again:
https://app.box.com/s/umpu9hmt9k649m8p1j9pwel1yrrfx3f0
https://app.box.com/s/2nsypxrohlyfnjuqq8obt9seu5gc45c1
https://app.box.com/s/987r6qh7jnihxq70n7lon3joh09pgd6u
If this still doesn’t work email me at bombshellbling@gmail.com to let me know and I will email you the files directly. It may take a few days – my health has been poor so I’m way behind on work. Sorry!
Colleen says
Hi, I am planning a very similar pokemon party for my son’s 9th birthday. As one commenter mentioned, I’m having trouble downloading the pokedex and pokemon printables. Would you mind sharing them?
Thank you so much! My boys are poke-crazy over here. After all of this party planning, I have to admit, they ARE fun…
Thanks again!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
They work for me – I don’t know what to tell you! It takes a minute for them to upload . . . Here are the links again:
https://app.box.com/s/umpu9hmt9k649m8p1j9pwel1yrrfx3f0
https://app.box.com/s/2nsypxrohlyfnjuqq8obt9seu5gc45c1
https://app.box.com/s/987r6qh7jnihxq70n7lon3joh09pgd6u
If this still doesn’t work email me at bombshellbling@gmail.com to let me know and I will email you the files directly. It may take a few days – my health has been poor so I’m way behind on work. Sorry!
Emily Morris says
Hi there! This is so cute! I’m going to link to this blog on my company’s FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/AllieLoganDesigns12/
We have two (2) adorable, personalized Pokemon invitations for sale in our Etsy shop. We would love to partner with you on some other fun parties!
Marie says
These are fabulous ideas for a Pokemon birthday party! Those belts are absolutely a stroke of genius! Thanks so much for sharing this. My son would love this for his next party!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thank you!! 🙂
Vineta @ The Handyman's Daughter says
How perfect! My son is obsessed with Pokemon too, and his birthday is coming up in December. He would love this!
samantha says
These are such good ideas! I love how you framed him in a Pokemon card. My 8 year old is Pokemon obsessed and would love a birthday just like this. Thanks for joining the Family Joy Link Party.
Julie says
Hi, I am trying to print off the small character and the cover for the Pokemon hunt and it won’t let me print them? Can you email them to me? Thanks Julie
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Sure thing.
Julie says
I love all of your party ideas. I have a Pokemon party to plan as well! You have given me some great ideas. The scavenger hunt is amazing. My son is so excited about this activity. I am having a little trouble downloading larger characters that I would hang around the yard. Is there anyway you could e-mail me that file?
Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with us!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I sent them your way! Have fun! 🙂
Joanna says
Love your ideas! How did you make the personalized Pokemon card for your son?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Here: http://www.mypokecard.com/en/
Angela says
Hi! Love your wonderful party ideas! I would love to do the scavenger hunt for my little guy. I can’t figure out how to download the files for the characters to hide and the inside and cover of the booklet. Would you mind emailing it to me? I would really appreciate it! Thank you so much!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done! They have been sent. Enjoy, and thank you for the kind words! 🙂
Beth says
I cannot print the small character and the pokemon cover, can you send them to me. Many thanks: )
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done – They have been emailed! Enjoy! 🙂
Anna says
I am having the same problem, Was wondering if you could also email to me?
Thanks!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done!
Natalia says
Thank you SO much for this!!! Your free printables saved this mama a lot of time and headache, and everything looks so great, loved your ideas. YAY for “sharing is caring”. THANK YOU!!!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
You are so welcome! I’m so thrilled they helped your party!!
Jen says
HI,
I’m having trouble printing the Pokemon hunt printables too. Would you mind emailing them? Thank you so much!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done!
Kim says
I am so excited to use the hunt as pat of my sons party. Those belts are genius. I have one question…….how did the kids earn the badges that go in the badge case?
Tiffany Hoellein says
HI,
I’m having trouble printing the Pokemon hunt printables too. Would you mind emailing them? Thank you so much! My son is very excited for his party and I was very excited when I found your party ideas! Love them!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done!
Nicole says
I’m also having trouble printing out the scavenger hunt documents. Would you be willing to email them to me? It’s such a cute idea that my daughter would love!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done!
Andrea says
THANK YOU so so much for all the ideas!!
Fran says
Like others, I cannot print out the characters for inside the pokedex, nor the cover. It appears that these two files are missing the “printable” version. The large characters have that choice….Maybe that is why so many of us are having problems? Regardless, could you please please please email me those files?? Thank you!!!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
sent. enjoy!
kimberly says
Hi
I am having trouble printing the small characters for the pokedex and the cover. Could you please email it to me. I love this idea for my son’s party in a couple of weeks.
Thanks
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I just emailed them to you. Enjoy!
Hannah Frazier says
Could you also email the printables to me as well. Thanks you!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Done. Enjoy! 🙂
Erin Higginbotham says
Hi there! You have a lot of amazing ideas here! So many practical, fun ideas. I can’t wait to try them out, and my son is so excited for his party! I had some trouble downloading the pokedex and scavenger hunt pictures. Could you please send them my way?
Thanks so much!!!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I just emailed them your way. Enjoy!
Veronica says
How did you make the belts. I love that idea
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thanks! They were definitely a hit with the kids. The instructions are in the post midway down. There are step by step pictures, which should be helpful, and here is the paragraph copied and pasted from the blog post explaining what I did for the process:
“These belts were a HUGE hit!! The balls were quite a bit of work to create, so be forewarned about that! We took ping pong balls and wrapped half of them in masking tape. Next I spray painted each one with red spray paint. This took several rounds since I had to wait for them to dry, roll them over, and spray the next side. Once dry, the kids helped me peel off the masking tape. We added a thin strip of black electrical tape at this point, along with a round velcro dot. The “belts” were really velcro straps that I found at Walmart.
Chris says
Hi Sarah!
Could you email the Pokémon hunt printables please? I can’t access them from the links.
My son will love that for his party!
Thanks, Chris from Scotland.
Lise says
Woaw ! That’s some really good work, I’m impressed !
I also prepared a Pokemon theme party for my boy, but I was far from the work you did !
Kristin says
This may be a silly question but how did they use the pokeballs and belts? I want to make those because they are SO cute but did they earn the pokeballs during the game where they found the characters? I guess I’m not enough aware of how all of that should work. Also, you mentioned giving out badges? Can you elaborate how you did all that too?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Hi Kristin! As I mentioned in the post, the pokeballs were given out throughout the party. They each got a belt at the beginning, and they earned a ball after each game. After the hunt they got one, after the races they got another, and so on and so forth. The badges were more of a party favor. I’m not even sure how they use badges in the cartoon, but my son thought it was the best ever. It was so long ago that I don’t remember EXACTLY what he said they were, but I got them here: http://merryprintables.blogspot.com/2015/09/pokemon-badge-case-printables.html
Beth says
Can I bug you to give me a bit more info about the velcro belts? I feel dumb asking, but where did you find them in the store? And do you remember how much they were? Thanks, your Pokemon genius is saving my sons party.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I believe they were in the office supply section? Or perhaps crafts? You could probably find them on Amazon or elsewhere online. There is a picture of them on the post: https://www.bombshellbling.com/pokemon-birthday-party/pokemon-party-5/ I hope that helps. I don’t have a clue what they cost, sorry. This party was years ago. I’m so glad my ideas are working well for you! 🙂
SA says
Love your ideas! I am definitely inspired. How did you decide which kids got which pokebadges?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thanks! Honestly? I can’t remember. I believe they each got one of each badge. It wasn’t a big deal, that much I do know.
Maureen says
Sarah,
Just saw this post on your son’s party and it looks great! Threw my daughter a Pokemon party years ago and wish I had included some of these ideas. The Pokémon hunt was a great idea I wished I had had. 🙁
My husband and I made a piñata and for an activity I made Pokémon stamps from craft foam and wood blocks. The kids stamped their goodie bags and put their gifts in them. Inexpensive and little mess.
I am very sorry for your loss. As someone who also deals with Depression I understand the “bare minimum to get by” phase and wish that I could turn back the clock and get the time with my daughter again. Hopefully things will get better for you.
Maureen
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thank you for your kind words, Maureen! Your Pokemon stamps for the party are such a great idea!
Nicole says
What an amazing job you do! Thank you for the inspiration and your little boy is just adorable! 🙂
Lara Bolte says
I used your Pokémon Hunt printable for my son’s 6th birthday party this past weekend and that game was a RAGING success. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
You’re welcome!! This makes me so happy to hear! 🙂
krista says
Hi Sarah,
I know this party was a few years ago, but your ideas are my favorite for a cute pokemon party! My son is having his pokemon party in a few days and I’m hoping to use your printables for a hunt. I’m having some difficulty printing the larger characters (to hide around the park). Anyway you could point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thank you for your kind words! Here is where you can download the printable: https://app.box.com/s/987r6qh7jnihxq70n7lon3joh09pgd6u I tried printing it just now and it worked, so I’m not sure how much more help I can be. Have a great party! 🙂
Jessica Brodie says
Thank you so much for sharing your creative ideas. I’m excited to try to pull this off for my son’s 8th birthday! What color is the Rust-Oleum paint? I see it on Amazon in Paprika but just wanted to make sure that’s the right shade of red. Also, for the velcro belts, can I just buy a roll of velcro and cut it to fit the boys’ waists?
Thanks very much
Jessica
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I’m sorry, but I have no clue what color of red spray paint I used. This party was several years ago. Any red should be fine. I can’t promise your velcro plan will work since I haven’t tried it, but it sounds reasonable! Have a great party! 🙂
Kristy says
The pokedex printable was awesome! I already had my characters picked and printed but it was great to have these! The kids loved them and had a blast searching and then helping each other ? my son also made the pikachu peeps by himself (he 2as so proud
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Yay!! I’m so glad my printables helped you have a great party!
Mellisa says
Thanks so much for all the work and sharing you did with the scavenger hunt printable items in particular. You hard work has brought joy to our little guy’s birthday!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
You are so welcome! This makes me so happy to hear!
Thanh-Tam Ho says
Thank you for sharing your struggles and the amazing things you accomplish. It is a gift to other mothers to hear real life stories about challenges and how you continue to meet the needs of your son despite them. Thank you for the emotional (and creative) inspiration!
Heidi says
Thanks for the wonderful ideas and especially all the Pokemon printables!
Rhoda says
these are great ideas! i just have a question for the pokemon hunt, u just print one for each picture and hide them and if they see them they will just cross/check them out in their pokedex?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Yep! That’s how I did it.
Andrea Perez says
I appreciate your post so much! I have been searching for this pokemon scavenger hunt, was even willing to pay a couple dollars for it, but all the posts I found discussing it, they never had links! Your links are so so greatly appreciated! This is my sons first real birthday party in 3 years, he’s so excited, and I think this will be such a fun addition! Thanks again for not only sharing your ideas, but the links as well!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
I have the links because I created them! 🙂 I wish the other sites had linked to my original post. That’s unfortunate. I’m glad you found the original source and were able to get the printables for your son’s party! YAY! Have fun!!!
Rachel says
Thank you soooooo much for sharing your wonderful game ideas (and for sharing the links!). My son just turned 6 and his birthday party is this weekend and the scavenger hunt is PERFECT for him and his crew. I’m so excited for how excited he will be!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
You’re welcome! 🙂 Have a wonderful party!!!!
Camille Dimond says
Hi! Not sure if you’ll see this seeing as it’s been a few years since this was posted. But the spray paint on my pokeballs are SUPER sticky. Do they just need to dry longer? I’m nervous they’re going to be a sticky mess at the party and not very much fun to play with. Thanks for your input!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
When spray painting, use multiple very thin layers, letting each one dry completely in between. In your situation I’d let them dry in the sun for a very long time. Not sure it’ll fix it, but it’s worth a shot. Sorry about that!
Neet and Angel says
Awesome post! My son’s birthday is coming up and I’m definitely going to use some of these ideas for his Pokemon themed party. The Pikachu cake topper is a must-have and I love the idea of creating a Pokemon gone wild scavenger hunt. Thanks for sharing! 🎉👍