Birthday Party Printable Kit: Banner, Toppers, Invitations and More

Every birthday party I have ever thrown has had the same last-minute problem: the table looks bare. The cake is there, the plates are there, but nothing says party. A banner and a few toppers change that in about ten minutes, and I got tired of buying them in packs that never had the right letters.

So I put together one kit, 15 pages, that covers the pieces that make a table look planned. It prints on a home printer and it comes in two color editions so you can match your balloons.

What is inside

• 42 banner pennants over 7 pages: A to Z, 0 to 9, and ! ? & . plus a star and a heart
• 24 cupcake toppers over 2 pages: 12 messages and ages 1 to 10
• A fill-in invitation, 4 per page
• Thank-you cards, 4 per page, with writing lines
• 12 favor tags and 8 food tent cards
• A how-to-print page and dashed cut lines on every sheet
• Two PDFs: Berry and Gold, and Teal and Coral

Three pieces to try first

• The banner: each pennant has a white fold-over tab so a string runs through it. To spell HAPPY BIRTHDAY you need two P's and two Y's, so print those pages twice.
• Cupcake toppers: 2 inch circles with messages like Make a Wish, Party Time and Wish Big. Tape a toothpick to the back and push it into the frosting.
• Food tent cards: 3.5 by 2.3 inches, fold on the dotted line, write the dish name on the line. The name reads upright from both sides of the table.

How to print it

Print at 100 percent on white cardstock. Cut pennants with scissors on the dashed outline, or stack three sheets on a paper trimmer for faster work. For crisp folds, run a ruler along the dotted line and score it lightly with a dry ballpoint pen.

I like to build the banner the night before. Thread a ribbon through the tabs, space the letters with a gap between words, and tape it to the wall with painter's tape. The toppers I do the morning of, because they take five minutes once the circles are cut.

Why two color editions

Berry and Gold is bright and pink, and goes with almost any decor. Teal and Coral is a bolder, summery palette that looks wonderful with a pool or garden party. Both editions are in your download.

Print what you need, keep the rest in your files, and reuse the kit for the next birthday. Change the numbers and messages and it works for a one-year-old and a ten-year-old alike.