9 Fantastic Birthday Party Themes for Tween Girls She'll Love

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Making your daughter a cool birthday party with a trendy theme doesn't have to cost a fortune. You can find birthday party themes for tween girls that are reasonable.

Dollar stores, thrift stores, DIY, and even borrowing items can make even your eye-rolling tween squeal with delight over one of these birthday party ideas for any tween girl.

Most of the party decorations shown below can give you ideas that you can end up making yourself. Better yet your tween can make them.

Simply to avoid repeating myself below in each party theme and just plain sounding weird, a few thoughts on drinks and birthday cakes I have learned after 3 kids.

Drinks:

• Kids will abandon them unfinished everywhere. The exception is juice pouches which will be empty in one sip
• Having bottles of soda or a punch bowl will cost far less and reduce waste
• Names on cups will reduce that even more
• 45 Best Party Juice Recipes for a Crowd: Perfect Drinks to Serve at Your Next Gathering

Cake:

• Cakes can be amazing but may require huge amounts of time, energy, and money. In my experience, they don't get eaten and are sometimes barely touched especially if you have lots of other foods.
• Cupcakes, however, will get eaten no matter what. Even when they come out fugly looking.

If you're still set on cake try these:

• #CakeGoals: 29 Amazing Barbie Cake Ideas to Inspire You
• 31 Pink Cakes: A Visual Delight of Sweet Creations
• 35 Stunning Black Cakes That Will Take Your Breath Away
• 31 Wednesday Addams Cake Ideas to Get Your Goth On

If you need party planning printables, here are a few to help. (direct downloadable link)

• Party Planner
• Party Menu Planner
• Guest List Tracker

⛺1. Glamping Party

Off-season or bad weather doesn't have to ruin this idea.

Images of girls screaming at the sound of noises in the yard make this indoor idea sound much better.

Indoor bathrooms and bugless campouts make it even better.

Whether creating one huge tent with sheets, a real pop-up tent, or individual tents makes this party theme so much fun to put into motion.

What you need:

•  A tent or tents...this doesn't need to be expensive...borrow if you don't want to make one 😉
• A "fire" pit - create this with rolled brown towels to simulate logs and add red, yellow, and orange tissue paper with battery-operated candles, mini lanterns, or glow sticks for the fire.
• Beach/camping chairs or bean bags

Tween Glamping Party Food

• S'mores
• Hot dogs
• Make your own sundae bar

Tween Glamping Party Decor

Tween Glamping Party Games

• Flashlight tag
• Truth or dare
• Board games

• 49 Outdoor Scavenger Hunt for Teens: Ideas They'll Love

• 125+ Best Girls Sleepover Ideas for Teens and Tweens

• 89 Super Fun Teenage Girl Birthday Party Activities

• 117 Never Have I Ever Questions For Teens

💅2. Spa Party

This is one party theme that you can make super simple or really run with it.

Decide if you will do facials, manicures, pedicures, hairstyles, or all of the above.

This party theme works best with a few adults to help out, especially if you are offering different spa services.

We even have a local salon that offers this service on days they are normally closed.

The one my daughter attended had two ladies present, one did mani/pedis and the other did hairdos.

They provided pizza, snacks, and smoothies served in pineapple drink cups.

If doing it at home, you will need:

For pedicures and manicures:

• Dishpans to soak feet or bowls for hands
• Towels
• Nail polishes
• Cotton balls
• Nail files
• Polish remover
• Nail art kit  ...we have this one
• Flip flops, girls can bring theirs, or you can have these on hand

For facials:

• Cleansers
• Moisturizers
• Facial masks
• Bowls for washing
• Mirrors
• Cucumbers
• Warm face cloths...keep them warm in a crockpot

Pre-teens have sensitive skin. Make sure to watch for any redness, tingling, or itching. Remove and rinse well immediately if there is any reaction.

For hairstyles:

• Individual brushes
• Hair Elastics
• Bobby pins
• Colors - make sure to get parent permission 😉

Fun Spa Party Theme Extras

If you want to get fancy, you can have robes for the girls to wear or microfiber towels...they can then be the take-home gifts.   

Whether waffle style, kimono, or plush and fluffy, at least it's more practical than cheap toys that get lost or thrown away...since most of them are super annoying....hello whistles and gel toys that leak....?😒

Food Ideas for Spa Parties

Fruit smoothies

• Yogurt bar
• Fruit and cheese tray
• Fruit-infused water

Spa Decor

• Create a sign offering the "services"
• Set up a booth for each service
• Create a relaxing setting by adding some fun tween magazines to the coffee table and some mood music.

Spa Theme Activities

Make Your Own Lip Gloss Station

Spa Party Games

• Spa Bingo
• Spin the Nail Polish Bottle
• DIY Flip Flop Craft

One of my favorite ideas is a photo booth set up...many kids at this age have cell phones, but how about using an instant camera so that you can print out photos right away.

With enough props and some imagination, a photo booth could be a party theme all by itself.

Instead of purchasing favors or playing party games, you can combine the two and have the girls make their own spa products.

If you do this activity first, these could also be used for the spa portion.

🎨3. Art Party

Girls' night outings for painting are a thing to do around here, but it could easily be a fun activity for your next girls' party idea.

What you need:

• Canvases
• Paint
• Brushes
• Aprons - these could be personalized with puffy fabric paint
• Don't want the mess, try oil pastels like one of these or ...search for make your own art studios in your area and book a party!

Art Themed Party Food

• Pretzel rods dipped in different color frosting look like paint brushes.
• Palettes can be used to fill with candies, jello, or fruits of varying colors.
• Cupcakes can be frosted in different colors or left white and decorated with rainbow jimmies or M&M's

Pictures of the artists with their masterpieces are a must.

Artsy Decor

Paint sample cards from the store can be had for free and make great supplies for making your own decorations, favors, invitations, and even crafts.

Art Party Activities

Again, photo booths are a cool way to mark a special day. Don't want to purchase a photo booth kit, use a few thrift store frames re-painted in bright colors.

Art Games

• Blindfolded artists
• Musical painting (like musical chairs, stop when the music does)
• Similar to the art theme is a craft party, see below.

🍩4. Donut Party

Donuts seem to be one of the hottest new birthday party ideas for tween girls and even bedroom themes.

Tween Donut Party Food Ideas

This couldn't be any easier than well, duh...donuts.  Buy donuts and be done.

But you could set up a make-your-own donuts station,  make donut pops, munchkins, or make a variety beforehand.

Tween Donut Party Decor

No theme is complete without the party decor to go with it.

If you want to do it yourself, try:

• Start with 2 vinyl table cloths in different colors. Use one as your base and use the second one to create frosting by cutting a wavy edge all the way around. Layer them for your table decor, a banner, or use them as a backdrop for photos.
• Skinny balloons to look like sprinkles

Amazon makes it so easy...so many donut party accessories and supplies.

Party Games for Donut Theme

Kids love party games. Try these to make your party a success.

• Donut decorating contest
• Donut eating contest - hang one donut per person from a string. Tie their hands behind their backs, and the first one to eat their donut is a winner
• Donut piñata

🍕5. Make Your Own Pizza Party

You can't go wrong with this party since what tween doesn't love pizza?

Party Food

Since this revolves around making pizzas, there are several ways you could go with this.

Depending on your skill level or patience level, LOL, you could go the simplest of routes and start with frozen cheese pizzas and provide multiple toppings.

If you'd rather, you could use a ready-made crust and buy sauce, shredded cheese, and toppings.   We buy these, and all really like them.

You could do personal-sized or full-sized pizzas.

You could even do mini-pizzas by using English muffins.

If you're even braver and have tried it ahead of time, go with fresh, ready-made dough and let the kids knead out the dough, make the size they want, and of course,e provide all sorts of toppings.

If you know what you're doing, which I definitely don't, you could even make dough from scratch.

I'm good at cooking some things, but scratch ingredients that are then baked are one thing I cannot do, even after all these years, except for this recipe.

But if that's you, go for it.

Unless you really know what the guests like, most kids aren't particularly adventurous when it comes to toppings, so keep it simple with just a few, like pepperoni, pineapple, and bacon bits.

If you do want to provide a lot more, try asking ahead or make the quantity of each type smaller.

Unless you plan to eat all those leftovers.

Then again, if the parents of guests stay, they could make their own pizzas too.

Pizza Party Decorations

Red checkered table decor transforms your party into a cute pizzeria and is simple for clean up.

Since this one could get messy, cute chef hats and aprons to cover up clothes provide a way to keep kids clean and give the guests something to take home.

If you have or know someone with a Cricut, iron-on vinyl patches for the hats and aprons of a pizza, and their names could be made pretty simply.

Pizza Party Games

• Design an apron
• Pizza topping name game (list a topping for each letter a-z)
• Pin the Pepperoni on the Pizza

🎬6. Movie Party

This is a super-easy theme to go with for an afternoon, evening, or sleepover. Indoors or out.

The bigger the screen, the better.

But since most of us don't have the luxury of a theater room, there are ways to make it possible without breaking the bank.

If you don't have a large TV, want to make it bigger, or even take it outside, you can get a projector and screen for under $100.

Yes, that may seem expensive, but so many people spend a fortune on parties, and most of the items can't be used again.

This setup can be used time and time again for family movie nights, enjoying sports, and binge-watch parties.

Even imagine fierce gaming competitions of Fortnite or Just Dance.

Which could be birthday party ideas all by themselves.

As for the movie, it all depends on the crowd.

Guest ages and temperaments need to be thought of.

Some kids don't do well with scary movies.

Even ones that don't seem scary to most kids can cause problems for others.

After seeing a Goosebumps episode at someone's house, my daughter became a regular visitor to our bed.

Even at 13, she still sometimes ends up on the floor of our room.

She loves Stranger Things, but anything with dolls, forget it!

So, unless you've spoken to parents, you may want to opt out of choosing something even mildly scary.

Kids at this age may not want to tell their friends they're afraid. Take it out of their hands and find out from parents the real deal,l and let the tweens save face with their friends.

Also, at this age, there starts to be a wide separation between what some parents allow their kids to watch.

Adult themes, language, and violence all get differing rules from different families.

Perhaps there is a favorite movie they'd all like to watch over again.

Maybe the invites could include a listing of a few choices to vote on and a write-in spot?

Taking it outside? 👉25 Outdoor Movie Night Ideas: Epic Fun for Everyone

51 Flippin' Awesome Cheerleading Movies and TV Shows

Movie Party Food

Just about any snack food would go with this type of party.

If you want to go all out and make it like a real movie theater or drive-in experience, you could create your own concession stand complete with a popcorn maker, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, and even snow cones.

Oh, and don't forget the candy.

Bulk purchase mini bags or buy larger bags and create a candy bar.

It can get crazy, or keep it simple.

Using an air popper and some fun popcorn buckets.

Need more inspo👉 19 Easy Movie Night Snacks: Tasty Ideas for Indoors or Out

Movie Theme Party Decor

Set up some beach chairs, even in your living room, complete with blankets.

Or create lounging spots with lots of pillows or beanbag chairs.

You could even build cardboard cars around them for fun.

How about putting up movie posters and a ticket booth?

You could try getting a refrigerator box to make this one inexpensive and easy.

A younger sibling might like to pretend to be the ticket taker or work the concession stand "selling" candy and lemonade.

Movie-Themed Party Games

• Movie Quote Game
• Movie Bingo
• Movie Trivia

📿7. Crafting Party

Many girls love crafts.

There are many ideas or party themes within a theme, like a slime party you could go with.

Pinterest is filled with ideas for each of these crafts.

• Slime
• Tie-dye like the photo below
• Mini-fairy gardens
• Unicorns
• Origami
• T-shirt designs with a Cricut Easy Press
• Make your own jewelry
• Beading
• Paracord
• Resin crafts
• Paint sample card crafts
• Friendship Bracelets and other beading, jewelry, like the party shown above
• Make your own crystals
• Make candles
• String art
• Scrapbooking - have them bring photos from home, or have on-demand photos to use
• Washi tape crafts
• Make your own beauty products

Related Posts:

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Craft Themed Food, Decor, and Games

Many of the ideas listed for the art-themed party would work well for this party. It would also depend on the type of crafts you might be offering.

Use this post to find a quote to create a unique piece of wall art for strong girls or these affirmations to make your own self-esteem-boosting cards like the ones below.

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Need more ideas for crafts your tweens can do for a party?

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• 75 Awesome Ideas for Barbie Friendship Bracelets

🧁8. Cupcake Wars Birthday Party

My daughter just suggested this birthday theme idea.

While it does sound like quite a bit of work and could be messy, it really does sound like a great time.

Rather than go into great detail on this one, Laura over at Make Life Lovely has a perfect post about this type of party.

From her explanation to her ideas, I couldn't have said it any better.

She even includes free printables to make party awards, logos for aprons to wear for the party, and more.

Here's the link to this amazing party.

For variations of this party, it could also be done with competitions for cookies or gingerbread houses.

🎤9. Karaoke Party

What tween girl doesn't like to sing? You can use a karaoke machine or this super cool microphone that works with an app on your phone, using YouTube videos or Spotify. Some cable companies even offer karaoke options.

🪩Unleashing the Ultimate Taylor Swift Party: A Guide to Celebrating in Style

Karaoke Party Food

Foods can be things like rock candy or Pop Rocks. Taking it another direction would be as if it were a concert and having a concession stand for foods like hot dogs, popcorn, pizza, and nachos.

Cupcakes made in small ice cream cones can look like microphones.

Karaoke Decorations

• Invitations on lanyards to look like VIP backstage passes
• Make-up station decorated like a dressing room, complete with a personalized star on each chair

Karaoke Games

• Singing contest
• Lip Sync Battle
• Mystery Singer - blindfold a guest and try to guess the singer
• Name that Lyric - match the lyric to the song
• Music Trivia - Guests have to name the artist and song. The guest with the most correct answers wins

Similar to this is a TikTok-inspired theme, like this amazing party.

🎉Just Make It a Fun Birthday Party

Birthday parties for tweens don't have to be expensive to be fun...I know Pinterest and Facebook make it seem that all the birthday parties are over-the-top perfect, but they really don't have to be.

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I hope one of these ideas can inspire you to create a party your tween girl will love.

🥳More Birthday Party Ideas for Tween Girls

Other cool party ideas for tweens... tacos, emojis, sharks, llamas, flamingos, scavenger hunt, laser tag, pool party, escape room, and glow-in-the-dark.

🎈Party themes for girls

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A quick idea on party favors...

Don't want to use the birthday theme and send the kids home with more junk?

I love this unique idea from Cas at Get Your Holiday On.

So easy, and the best part is it's usable.

🎁Gift Ideas for Girls

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Now it's your turn. What are the best birthday party themes for tween girls you've done?

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