Is This a Bad Birthday Idea?

I see that so far, everyone thinks this is a great idea. Probably because it IS! Growing up I had 'interactive' Bday parties, and while it was never anything fancy, everyone wanted to come to my birthday parties, because they heard how much fun they were! I actually did tie-dye one year and it was great fun! Another one that really sticks out for me is the Taffy-pulling Bday party :)

You can put on the invites that you will be coloring T-shirts and upon RSVP"ing" they can advise you of the child's size and you can go to the local dollar store, walmart, or AC Moore/Michaels craft store and buy the T-shirts (you can get them for $1-$3 each.) That is their party favor.
Combine the parties and have the local bakery do a tie-dye cake (yes, as mentioned below, it can be done, and will be a great part of the theme). You can do 60s theme (even though kids don't realize it lol) with peace symbols, smiley faces and tie-dye decorations easily found at Party City or Oriental Trading Company's catalog/website. Hvve fun!

I think it's an awesome idea! Can I come haha :)

I actually did something similar as favors for my son's birthday earlier this month. It was a space theme, and I made each child a t-shirt that said "Captain Colin" etc, with an ironed-on space themed applique, then they decorated them with fabric markers and space-themed stencils. It was a huge hit, and the kids can actually WEAR the item later, instead of throwing the candy and trinkets in the trash as soon as they get home.

Have fun - super fun idea!

K

Again, Great Idea! But I would also supply the shirts. You have enought time so just search out Walmart, K-mart, or any discount dept store for cheaper packages and possible sales.

My 2 year old just did a Tye Dye day at daycare and loved it! He colored his shirt mostly green with some purple cause they are the colors of the Hulk. He even calls it his "Hulk" shirt and then says, "Rarhhh! Hulk!"

Just be sure to remind the other parents (In CAPS if necessary) to dress invitees in clothes that they don't mind to have ruined.

Enjoy the party!

Well, then I must be tacky if it is...several years ago my 9 year old, at the time, wanted a tie dye birthday party/slumber party. We asked each guest to bring a clean washed white shirt (make sure the shirts are washed or the sizing could cause the dye not to work, we tie dye all the time and have been for years, love it!). We supplied the rubber bands (Office Depot, different sizes and widths, really cheap) and dye. It happen to rain so we laid out newspaper in the garage and did it in the garage, other than that we'd have done it on the grass, which is how we always do it. One thing I would suggest is on the invitation asked them to please wear old clothes. We do the bottle method and it can get messy. We had a few dress nice so we covered them in garbage bags. We did have plastic gloves for the kids to wear to protect their hands from the color. No one got dye on them and we did it in groups of 3 -4 at a time, we had about 20 kiddos. The boys went home with their shirt in a baggie with directions on what to do and the girls spent the night. They got their shirt in the morning ready to wear. I also made a cake that looked like a tie dye shirt. It was fun and we had plenty of adults to help too. That was thier "goody" to take home with them and the party was a huge hit. Hope this helps...have fun and give it a try. Good luck and God Bless.

P.S. We let the kids do thier own banding on the shirts, but since your group will be younger you could have the parents help with that part. I also showed them how to do spiral shirts, stripes, etc. to help them with thier designs. I bet the parents would get into it too. Just make sure that you buy double what the box tells you it makes. Like if it says it makes ten shirts, it will really only make five. So make sure you have too much and don't run out. This comes from experience. :o)

Sounds FUN! I may steal this idea to use in the future.

Have some examples of t-shirts, as there are lots of ways to do it (rubber band here and there and there and there OR swirl then one big rubber band AND THEN dip once or twice).

Have plenty of adults to help the kids (it's okay to dip a corner in the blueTHEN a different corner in the yellow, but not vice-versa w/o mixing the colors and ruining the yellow).

Another thought -- you could do this early in the party, do a load of wash with all their shirts to wash out all the extra dye so that when the kids go home with a shirt ready to wear instead of one that mom has to wash after they get home.

That sounds AWESOME! In fact, I know two people here in Atlanta who actually do this as part of their business -they will come to your house with all the stuff and do a tie dye party for birthdays or whatever. The kids will love it!

This sounds fun! And, you are right. That "goodie" bag stuff is trash. Don't waste the money or the landfill space.

Actually that sounds really fun! Like a party I would even like to attend! Go for it!

That sounds so fun! I don't think it is tacky to let parents know that they can bring other items to dye.

I think it is a cute idea. We did Scooby Doo tie dye shirts as the favors for my son's most recent party.
It would be nice if you could provide the shirts for them though.
I bought the cheap Hanes undershirts in a package and they ended up costing about $1 per child. I'm not sure you could get washcloths much cheaper.
All the kids and parents tell me how much the shirts are loved!

i think it would be super fun!!!!!!!!!

What a perfect idea! An activity that IS the party favor. And very original. And honestly, who cares if other people think it's tacky. If your kids enjoy doing it, they'll have fun, and that's what's important. Go for it! BTW, I may steal this idea when my girls are a bit older. :)

I did this last year for my son's 8th birthday party. It was a HUGE hit!! His brother was 3 at the time & loved it & there were a couple of 15 year olds there & they loved it as well. The only difference is that I used spray paint because it was easier. I provided everything & it was relatively inexpensive. Everyone there had a blast & my kids haven't stopped asking to do it again! I didn't do tie-dye cause it seemed like a lot of prep work & very time consuming. Do you have a quick method (like an hour or two?). Thanks!

I think that is an awesome idea! Do it!

The cheap party favors are just that...cheap! and always get tossed in the trash...what a waste of $ and not very environmentally friendly! The wearable and re-usable (adding they can bring something old) party favors are so much better!

~I totally feel you about the "joint" party's....all 4 of my boys are born within 2 weeks of each other in Oct. the12th,18th,21st,25th...over the years we have done it all and are at the stage now, since they are all older and want to invite friends-ick!.... that they get their individual "friend party"...then "special dinner w/mom&dad" on their actual day....then a "joint party" for all the family! It's exhausting! And being so close to Christmas,and Halloween and Thanksgiving makes for a VERY stressful end of the year at my house! It was SOO much easier when they were all little and we grouped them all together and had one big party...for just the family! Oh, how I miss those days...

*Just wanted to add, I work at in the Bakery at our local big chain grocery store and our cake decorator can EASILY make you a "Tye dyed" cake...so easy and they turn out very cute...it's really easy to do and I bet your local grocery store could do it too!

I think it's a fun idea! I think I'd do maybe t-shirts instead of a wash cloth though. I don't know how expensive boys undershirts are. Can you get them in a pack? If you can find them in a pack, then it wouldn't be that expensive.

Sounds great. I did tye dye for a birthday once and I'm pretty sure everyone bought wanted they wanted to dye and could bring several things. A washcloth is a great idea, since they can use that for a long time.

I think it sounds like a great idea!

Sounds super fun! Tie dye is so fun and I never thought of that as a party theme, it's great! I don't think your other idea is tacky at all, as long as you have something you provide for them it's great. I also agree that the "goody bag" should be something useful, so go for it, but you want to include on the invite for them to wear old clothes since it will be permament dye! On a side note, my niece had a party at a tie dye place (that is now closed) many years ago and my brother got her a cake from Cookie Factory (that's also closed in OP Mall but there is one at Zona Rosa) and they made this tie dye cookie cake that was AWESOME! If you were interested in something like that you could call around and see if other stores will do it...I know there is a Nestle store in OP Mall now along with Mrs. Fields and they both do cookie cakes!

Awesome idea! You should try shibori (not for the party though) if you and your kids like tye dye! I think it would be so much fun to go to a tye-dye party!

I think this is a great idea!! It's an activity and take home treat all in one!! I remember having similar parties when I was a kid (I'm 32 now). One year we did tie-dye and one year it was puff-paint. Good idea!!

Are you kidding? we live in Austin and everybody wears tie dye! You will need helpers to help so make sure you have enough adults..

It is a great idea.. Just remind the parents to send their children in clothing and shoes that they do not mind their children getting dye on..

Our daughters 1st grade classes always do a tie dye day, it is the shirt the kids wear when they go to Sea World at the end of the school year! They looks so cute..

I think that's a GREAT idea!! I would have a few extra things just in case someone isn't able to or forgets.

I think that sounds fine.

For wording I would put 'Will be doing tye-dye. Please bring a shirt or pillowcase to dye and a smock.'

Simple is sometimes always better. My son's most favorite party was his friend's indoor soccer party. The party favor was filled water bottles. We used that one for a year!

Although I would probably buy a few large white t-shirts or cheap pillowcases in case people forget to bring something.

I think that sounds really cute - they will have another t-shirt to wear instead of another bagful of trinkety junk and I bet they will have fun doing it.

I think it sounds super fun! My kids also just turned 2 & 5 both in July and we did their party together. I totally agree with you on the treat bags too I hate buying all those silly little toys when I know the kids will loose them in a day. I think the tie dye sounds fun and I bet the kids would love it.

I LOVE the idea... but agree with some of the other moms and provide T-Shirts instead of wash cloths. Great Idea Mom - good for you being so creative!

Sounds like an awesome idea. I agree about party favors. I don't even make them anymore, if I did, it would maybe just be a brownie or something in a cute little bag.

I think it would be fun............to bad you can't sew a couple of wash cloths together and make a draw string bag for them.......cheap white wash cloths wouldn't cost to much and tie them with some cheap ribbon.........just a thought......then they can have a bag and tie-dye it......

It will be pretty messy depending on how many kids show up......but sounds like lots of fun too....

If your kids love it, then do it......it's their party after all......

Have fun and take care.....

I think it is a great idea!!! Kids love to do crafts and it is something they do not often get today. I would go with the idea. It is not tacky at all and who needs more pencil and eraser party favors. My daughter did tie dye at summer camp a couple of years ago and still uses the pillow case that she made. that is another idea. You would not have to try to guess sizes for shirts.

Sounds like a great, fun idea to me! I would prefer that to the party favors.

By the way, can I steal that idea for my daughter's birthday party?!

I love the idea, and My son's bday is Sep 22 also~ I agree with maybe providing the t-shirts, the only thing with that is you may have some children in different sizes. But overall this is a great idea~

I think that is a great unique idea! Go with your gut.