Are you looking for memorable ways to celebrate your ten-year-olds birthday? Then you’ve come to the right spot! These fun & entertaining 10 year old birthday party ideas will be a blast for both boys and girls.
Get inspired to throw a party at home or local places near you with these cool birthday party games, themes, and activities. Easy ways to make it a special day for your child with family and friends. Use these fun ideas to create a party that the birthday boy or birthday girl will have a great time at and is simple for you to host.
Take a look through all the birthday ideas and games below to find a birthday theme that will be perfect to celebrate your child turning double digits.
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10-Year-Old Birthday Party Ideas To Celebrate the Special Day
It’s so much fun at this age to host birthday parties. The kids are more independent and there are so many more options for games and activities. It’s also a great age when they are still just as excited to celebrate with family as they are with friends.
I like to mix in a few meaningful birthday traditions to do at home with the family and then have a birthday party with their friends. This helps give you a mix of quality time with your child and the big party they’ll love. Both will create great memories for your kid’s birthday bash.
With this huge list of 10 year old birthday party ideas, you’re sure to find a party theme that fits your child’s personality. Your goal is to pick a birthday theme your kids will enjoy and will entertain all the party guests.
The list of fun ideas is not in a certain order so make sure to go through all the creative ways to celebrate and find the best party games & themes for your child’s 10th birthday.
After you read this find even more birthday party games you can add to your party theme to complete your big birthday event.
Party Planning
I know planning a party can seem overwhelming with our busy lives but don’t worry you can do it! Grab our free printable birthday party checklist to help you get started. It has all the tasks and things to do to plan a party in an easy-to-follow 8-week checklist.
But don’t worry if you’re planning a last-minute party there are tons of ideas below that you can throw together like Escape room games you can print out and play that day, Minute to Win It games with items in your home, easy movie nights, printable scavenger hunts and more.
First Step
Plan your guest list. This will help you decide how big or small the party will be and which activites will work for the size of your party.
Second Step
Decide if you want to host the party at home or at a great place in your local community.
Third Step
Read through the 10-year-old birthday party ideas below and get inspired for your child’s birthday party theme and party games to play.
Let’s get started planning and make this the best birthday party ever for 10-year-old kids!
Video Games Truck
Kids this age really love video games so why not host a Video game party at your house with a Game Truck?
These huge trucks will pull up to your house and have multiple gaming consoles to allow lots of kids to play at once. After the truck time is done set up tables on your driveway to have pizza and birthday cake. Your house stays clean and you were able to host the party at home. It’s a winner!
Another Idea is to have the kids bring their Nintendo switch to the party so multiple kids can play games like Minecraft or Fortnite at the same time.
You could also create a gaming tournament with a game your child really likes. Have kids play one-on-one games and have the winner move on to play the next kid. See which kid makes it to the end winning the most games.
Scavenger Hunt
The kids will love a fun scavenger hunt around your house or in your neighborhood. Break the kids up into small groups and give each a scavenger hunt list of items to search.
This is a great free printable neighborhood or backyard scavenger hunt to print out and use.
When you’re ready to play pair up each team with an adult to search the neighborhood for the items on the list. Set up some basic rules such as a time limit for when they need to return to the house and the area they can search.
The winning team will have the most items checked off their list when they return.
Pool Party
Kids love to swim so why not host an awesome pool party? Many local recreation centers will host birthday parties at their swimming pool. They will usually provide you the pool time and a private party room for pizza and birthday cake after the swim time.
If you don’t have a public pool nearby check if any of the swim schools in your area host swim parties.
Water Park
Add some thrills to your pool day by taking the kids to the local Waterpark for the birthday party. The slides, wave pools, and water activities will keep them busy for hours.
Slumber Party
Have a fabulous birthday party sleepover for your kid. At this party, I would have your child pick out a few of their closest friends to invite over for the night.
Some 10-year-old birthday party ideas to entertain the kids are to play board games, host a spa night, movie night, or gaming night.
Don’t forget to plan a yummy menu of food like a dessert bar, popcorn bar, make-your-own pizza station, or pancake station in the morning. The food will take it from a regular sleepover to an extra special birthday sleepover.
Find tons of Things to Do at a Sleepover to keep the kids busy all night long.
Laser Tag
10 year olds will love a great game of Laser Tag. Head to your local laser tag location to play a few rounds of the game. Kids will have a blast teaming up against their friends to see who has the best shot and which team wins.
Nerf Wars Party
Plan an Epic Nerf wars party in your own backyard. I’ve done this several times and it has been so much fun and way easier to host than you think.
You can make easy DIY bases to hide behind with cardboard boxes for a Nerf war. Then create cool Nerf Gun games and targets for the kids to play in your backyard.
After the nerf targets have the kids play a game of Capture the Flag for their Nerf War. Ask the kids to bring their own Nerf guns or give them out as party favors.
To play Capture the Flag split the kids up into two teams. Each team will try and find the hidden flag without getting hit by nerf darts from the other team. The first team to find the flag wins the game.
Get tons of ideas in How to Throw the Ultimate Nerf Wars Birthday Party.
Trampoline Park
Kids love to jump and play dodgeball at Trampoline Parks. Find one in your area that hosts parties and let them handle all the details. This is a super easy party to host and a great option for large parties!!
Board Game Party
Hosting a board game party is a great idea when you have a smaller party. The kids can play a classic game like Sorry or more collaborative board games where they have to work together to solve a problem.
If your child likes more humorous games try one of these funny group games –
Escape Room Party
Escape rooms are great 10-year-old birthday party ideas. Kids will love the challenge of a thrilling escape room birthday party. You can go to an escape room location or do a DIY escape room party at home.
The fun of an escape room game is having the kids work together to solve a series of challenges and riddles to “escape the room” which makes it a great group game.
You can create an easy DIY escape room party with printable escape room game kits. Make sure to pick one that is for the 10-year-old age group. Each kit has everything you need to set up the game for your party at home.
There are tons of fun options in our Thrilling Printable Escape Room Games for Kids listed out by age group.
Magic Show
A fun theme for this age is hosting a magic show. There are a few ways you can host a magic party. You can hire a magician in your local area to come to the party and perform. Or you can have the kids try and perform their own magic tricks.
A fun DIY magic party can be done by purchasing two Magic Kits filled with tricks. Break the kids up into two teams and give each a magic kit. Then give the kids 30 minutes to learn some tricks and create a magic show to perform for the other group. They’ll love watching their friends try and be magicians.
You could also add a Harry Potter theme and have the kids dress up like Harry Potter while doing their magic tricks.
Spa Party
Let the kids relax and feel a little grown up with a spa party. Start out by giving each girl a spa robe to wear. Then they can paint their nails and do face masks.
Finish off with some yummy fun finger foods and small dessert plates just like you’d get at a spa. To drink have lemon water or another fruit-infused water option.
Minute to Win It Party
Get the kids excited with these fun & silly Minute to Win It Games that will have everyone laughing and cheering. These games are the perfect 10 year old birthday party ideas because they’re easy to create and fast to play.
The games are quick one-minute challenges that have kids competing against each other to see who can beat the clock.
Play games like Junk in the Trunk, Stack the Cups, Mummy Warp, Noodle Pick up, and more.
Use a poster board to create a chart with the names of the games on top and kids’ names down the side. Mark off the winner of each game and give a prize to the kid who wins the most games.
Find tons of game ideas in our 20 Favorite Mintue to Win it Games for Kids.
If you don’t have time to make games grab this Super Skills Games Kit with 120 challenges for kids already created. The kids can still compete to see who wins the most challenges.
Rock Climbing Party
Keep up with the thrills by hosting a rock climbing party at your local climbing wall. You can find these at recreation centers or gyms in your area. See if they have a party package to let the kids try climbing a few times and that provides a private party room for afterward.
Cooking Class
If your child likes to cook have the kids all take a cooking class together. See if a local restaurant or park district will host a cooking party for kids.
They will love learning a new recipe and seeing how it tastes when you’re done.
Dance Party
Have the kids break out their dance moves with an awesome dance party. Let your child pick out their favorite songs to play and create an open space in your house for a dance floor.
If your party is at night host a glow-in-the-dark dance party with glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces. They’ll love dancing around all crazy in the dark.
Karaoke
Let the kid belt out their favorite songs with a Karaoke Machine. They can take turns singing songs individually and then sing a few songs as a group.
Add some extra fun to the party by having the kids dress like their favorite musicians.
Tip: Give your child the Karaoke machine as a birthday gift.
Game Night
Plan a huge game night party by picking out several games the kids will have a blast playing together. It can be a mix of board games, cooperative games, thrilling escape room games, or fun kid’s birthday party games.
Make it a contest by tracking which child wins the most games during the party. Give a prize to the winner. Or just play for fun and don’t worry about who wins the games.
Find tons of game ideas in our 30 Birthday Party Games for Kids or have a blast in the backyard with Best Outdoor Birthday Party Games for Kids.
Superhero Party
Superhero parties are awesome 10-year-old birthday party ideas. Who doesn’t love a superhero character?
For the party have all the kids dress up as their favorite superheroes. At the party have a relay race or obstacle course for the kids to run through in their costumes. See which Superhero can win the race.
An easy obstacle course is to tie helium balloons to a weight on the ground. Pretend the balloons are the bad guys and kids have to weave through the balloons to get to the other end. They can even bop the balloons as the kids run by.
Watch a superhero movie after the games. Some movie ideas are – Bad Guys, The Incredibles, Marel Movies, Star Wars, Superman, Spiderman, We Can Be Heros, or Superpets.
Find more Super Hero themed birthday party ideas by character in our Best Birthday Party Ideas for Boys.
Sports Party in Your Local Park
If you want more active 10-year-old birthday party ideas plan a fun sports-themed party in your local park or your own backyard. Pick out sports to play that are your child’s favorite. Here are a couple sports themed ideas.
Tip: If plan to use a local park see if you can get a permit for the space to make sure no one else is using the park when you’re hosting the party. After the game have birthday cake on the park’s picnic benches.
Basketball Shoot Out
Host a basketball shoot-out, the game knock-out, or play a game of basketball at a basketball court in your local park. It would be fun to have a 3 on 3 basketball tournament too. Then have basketball medals for the winning team.
Soccer Shoot Out
Utilize all the large soccer nets in your local park for a fun soccer shoot-out. Pick one kid to be the goalie and have the other kids line up to try and shoot the soccer ball into the net without the goalie getting it.
You can rotate through the kids to let everyone who wants to play goalie. Give the kid who scores the most a prize.
Flag Football
Play a competitive game of flag football in a local park or your backyard if you have room.
All you need is a flag football kit with flags and cones. Then just bring a football and your set. Make sure it’s a smaller size football so all the kids can catch it.
Tea Party
Plan a sweet tea party for a tenth birthday. Have all the kids dress up for the occasion as if they’re going to a Sunday tea. You can provide big-brim hats, scarves, and fun sunglasses to help the kids dress up.
Serve finger food, tea sandwiches, and small desserts. Tea could be fruit-infused water or a fun mocktail too.
Kids can play card games at the table while eating and drinking their “tea”.
Card Game Ideas:
Ice Skating Party
Host an ice skating party at the local indoor ice skating rink. Find a party package that includes skate rentals, ice time, and a private party room. Let the kids skate and then have a pizza and birthday cake party in the room.
Arts & Crafts Party
Plan some fun arts and crafts projects to do at home with the kids. Here are some ideas: create beaded necklaces or bracelets, paint blank picture frames, make slime, paint small wooden jewelry boxes, or paint pictures on canvas.
Find tons of craft ideas for 10 year olds on Pinterest.
Outdoor Movie Night
The kids will love watching a movie under the stars in your backyard. Set up an outdoor movie projector that can hook up to your phone for easy access to your streaming services.
Pick out your kid’s favorite movie to show all the kids. Then set up blankets, chairs, and outdoor cushions for the kids to sit on while watching the movie. Add a fun popcorn bar and your movie party is planned.
Popcorn Bar Ideas – Different flavored popcorn, chopped-up candy bars, M&Ms, cinnamon, sprinkles, chocolate chips, caramel, chocolate sauce, salt, and butter.
Backyard Camping
Go camping in your backyard with the kids. Set up tents for the kids in the backyard to sleep in. Have the kids roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories around the backyard campfire.
For entertainment, the kids play ghost in the graveyard or glow-in-the-dark tag. Before it’s dark you can put out some yard games like ladder ball or corn hole just like you’d play on a real campout.
Get More Outdoor Birthday Party Games you can play in your backyard.
Obstacle Course
Set up an awesome obstacle course in your backyard. We created one with dollar tree items the kids loved. But really you can use anything you have at home from hula hoops to jump through to a log to race over and cones to weave between. If you have a swing set add that to the course.
Once the course is set up let the kids go through it one by one while you’re timing them. See who can run through the fastest. After the race is done let the kids get creative and make their own obstacle course by rearranging the items you set out.
Garden Party
Give each child a small planting pot to paint. While the paint is drying enjoy a picnic lunch or tea party outdoors.
Afterward, have the kids plant flowers in their pots. Add some soil and then add flowers or succulents. The kids can take their pots and plants home as their party favors.
Ice Cream Bar
Create an Epic Ice Cream Bar to add to any of these birthday party themes. Set out different flavors of ice cream and bowls with a variety of toppings to let the kids create their own sundaes.
Ice Cream Topping Ideas: chocolate sauce, camel sauce, hot fudge, gummy worms, M&Ms, chocolate chips, crushed toffee, cut-up candy bars, sprinkles, crushed Andes candies, whip cream, crushed Oreos, cherries.
Tip: Double-check if any kids have allergies before creating your ice cream bar.
Balloon Party Games
You’ll love these cheap and fun balloon party games they’re the perfect 10-year-old birthday party ideas. All you need is a bag of balloons and you can entertain the kids for the whole party.
Here are a few games to play –
- Balloon relay game with a balloon between the kid’s knees as they run.
- Balloon keep it up with kids having 1 minute to keep 3 balloons up in the air
- Balloon Stomp – Fill a room with two colors of balloons. Break the kids up into two teams and tell them which color balloon will be their team color. When you say go they have one minute to pop the most balloons in their color. The team that has the least amount of balloons left in their color wins.
Get more ideas for Balloon Games for Kids’ Parties.
American Ninja Warrior Party
Kids love this show so why not turn it into your birthday party theme? Make your backyard into a Ninja course with an easy-to-assemble Ninja Course kit. We put this up in our backyard between two trees and it worked great.
Have the kids line up on one end of the ninja course and time them going through the course to see who can finish it the fastest.
Science Party
Plan some fun experiments to do with the kids at a science party. We love to do this Volcano experiment with a really cool explosion and Rain Cloud in a Jar experiment that looks awesome. These are both pretty simple experiments you can easily do at home.
Find more science experiments for kids on Pinterest.
Fear Factor Party
If your son or daughter likes to be scared plan a cool fear factor party.
Scary Mystery Boxes – Have kids reach their hands into scary sensory boxes like these Halloween boxes filled with fake spiders, zombie fingers, and brains.
Food-tasting game – Have one child wear a mask covering their eyes so they can’t see. Then spoon-feed the taster food with different weird textures and have them guess what they’re eating.
Eating Bugs – Buy dried crickets (made for human consumption) and see if the kids will eat them. We bought a bag at our local zoo and our kids thought it was hilarious.
Ice Hold – Give each child a block of ice to put in their fist. See who can hold the ice cube the longest.
Worm Pie – Lastly, do a huge pie-eating contest with whip cream and gummy worms. Fill a pie tin with whip cream and gummy worms and place one in front of each kid. All the kids will put their hands behind their backs. When you say go they need to use their teeth to find the gummy worm and take it out of the pie. The kid who finds the most gummy worms before 1 minute is up wins.
Star Wars Party
Have all the kids dress up as their favorite Star Wars Characters. Host a lightsaber battle using pool noodles while the kids stand on a long plank. Then have the kids use the force and their lightsabers to keep balloons up in the air.
These inflatable lightsabers work great too if you don’t want to make the lightsabers. The best part is they won’t hurt when they inevitably hit each other.
After the games let the kids hit a star wars pinata and get all the candy.
For dessert serve cupcakes topped with Star Wars chocolates made with these cool star wars molds.
Outer Space Party
If your child loves space host a cool outer space theme. Hang cutout stars and planets from your ceiling with fishing wire and painter’s tape. Then let each child create their own spaceship out of large cardboard boxes.
When you’re done let them all watch a space-themed movie in their DIY spaceships.
Space Movie Ideas: Wall-E, Space Chimps, Flight of the Navigator, Buzz Lightyear, Planet 51, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Space Jam.
Painting Party
Let the kids paint their own beautiful pictures to take home with them. Give each child a canvas and some paints. You could give them a theme to paint like flowers, a cityscape, animals, rainbows, or an idea the birthday kid likes.
Make sure to put down a throwaway tablecloth so you don’t get paint on your dining room table. If it’s summer host this party outdoors.
Another idea is to host a party at a local painting place that will teach all the kids how to draw the same picture together.
Pottery Party
Let the kids paint pottery at a local pottery shop. They can each pick out a small item to paint and bring it home as their party favor. Find out if the location has birthday party packages to host parties.
Tie Dye Party
Kids will love making tie-dye t-shirts at your child’s birthday party. Buy plain t-shirts for all the kids coming to the birthday party. The rest of the supplies you need are dye, rubber bands, buckets, water, stirrers, and metal tongs.
Use the rubber band to make different sections of the shirt. You can dip each section into a bucket with dye or have a squirt bottle with the dye in it to spread.
Learn how to make Tie Dye Shirts on Pinterest.
Treasure Hunt
Plan a fun treasure hunt for the kids to do at your house. They can follow the clues on a hunt throughout the house and finish with a prize at the end.
Find tons of free printable Treasure Hunt Clues on Pinterest.
Charades
Charades is a fun & easy 10-year-old birthday party ideas. All you need is a Charades Word List for kids and a bowl.
Kids will break up into teams to play this game. The first team will have one player pick a word out of the bowl and have 1 minute to act out the word for their teammates to guess.
If the team guesses correctly before the timer goes off they get 1 point. Make sure to play enough rounds so that every kid gets a chance to act out a word. The team with the most points at the end is the winning team.
Grab Your Free Printable Charades Word List for Kids.
Fashion Show Party
Have the kids create a fashion show during the party. Head to a Good Will to find a bunch of dress-up clothes for the kids to create their runway outfits. You can also provide fun hats and boas.
At the party let the kids go through the clothes and create their outfits to show off on the runway.
Roll out a red carpet and play fun runway music for the kids to walk to during the show.
Bowling Party
A bowling party is a great way to host a larger party. Find a bowling alley with a birthday party package to host your party.
Before you go decide which kids will bowl together in each lane for the first round. During the second round, they can switch so that everyone gets to play together.
Tip: Check to see if the bowling alley has bumper lanes for kids who need more help bowling.
Cookie Decorating
Kids will love creating their own dessert with a cookie decorating table. Give each child a Sugar Cookie to decorate and small bowls with toppings.
Cookie Decorating Toppings: Chocolate Icing, Vanilla Icing, Strawberry Icing, sprinkles, chocolate chips, gummy bears, M&Ms, crushed peanuts, crushed candy bars.
You could also offer a piping bag with icing to make it easier to create designs or write on their cookies.
Tip: Double-check to see if any kids have allergies before deciding on your toppings.
Cupcake Decorating
It would be fun to have a big cupcake station instead of a birthday cake. Give each child a chocolate or vanilla cupcake with no toppings. Then let the kids go crazy adding the toppings they like to their cupcakes.
Cupcake Toppings Ideas: chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, strawberries, blueberries, powdered sugar, sprinkles, shredded coconut, small chocolate chips, crushed candy bars, M&M’s, Reeses Pieces, Nutella, melted peanut butter.
Make Your Own Pizza Bar
Kids will be so excited to make their own pizza for dinner. Give each child a round piece of dough to roll out into a pizza shape. Move the pizza dough onto a cookie sheet. Then let the kids add the toppings they want to their own pizza.
Pizza Topping Bar Ideas: Pizza sauce, pesto sauce, olive oil & garlic sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, cooked sausage, pepperoni, sliced bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, shredded chicken.
Tug of War
Play the classic game of Tug of War in your backyard. All you need is a tug-of-war rope and two cones to play.
Split the kids up into two teams and have a team on each side of the rope. When you say go the kids will need to pull the rope toward their side of the cone. Whichever team gets the flag in the middle of the rope over their cone first wins.
Make sure to have a prize for the winning team!
Theme Park
Invite a small group of your child’s closest friends for a day out at a local theme park. They’ll have a blast riding the roller coasters, playing games, watching a show, and wandering the park.
Tip: Check if any kids have a season pass to the park before you go to save money. You can also save money by purchasing just snacks at the park and buying the kids a meal outside the park when you leave.
Hotel Party
Take a small group to stay overnight at a local hotel. Let the kids swim in the pool, have a pizza party in the room, and watch movies. The next day they can swim again before you checkout and have breakfast at the hotel.
Tip: Get an adjoining room so you can keep an eye on the kids in the room but still give them a little space.
Snow Tubing Party
In the winter months take a small group snow tubing. They’ll love whooshing down the hill and seeing who can go the fastest. When you’re finished take the group out to eat a meal or have hot chocolate and cookies.
Mini Golf Party
Take a group to a miniature golf course for a round of golf. Ask if the location has a party room or outdoor space you can use to have birthday cake after you’re done.
Are you ready now to throw an awesome 10-year-old birthday party? I hope you have found the perfect 10 year old birthday party ideas to make it a special day for your child. These parties are all pretty easy to host and should be a blast for all the party guests.
Make sure to grab your free printable birthday party checklist to make party planning easier and help you get organized!
More Birthday Party Ideas
Find tons of great 10-year-old birthday party ideas for kids on our Birthday Party Page and Party Games Page. Here are some reader’s favorite birthday ideas:
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Birthday Party Games & Activities
Need more 10 Year old Birthday party ideas and party games? Check out these ideas.
30 Birthday Party Games Kids Love – Fun indoor & outdoor games
Best Outdoor Party Games for Kids in Your Backyard – How to entertain kids outdoors at parties.
Meaningful Birthday Traditions to Start this Year – How to make birthdays special without a party.
Escape Room Birthday Parties – Thrilling Escape Room games & activities for birthdays.
Birthday Interviews – Free Printables for a yearly birthday interview – Remember what your kids were like each year with this quick interview for kids by age group.
Birthday Gift Ideas
Not sure what to get your child for their birthday this year? Check out our Gifts List page or these popular gift ideas.
45 Hottest Tween Girl Gift Ideas – Gifts even picky tweens will want
35 Cool Gift Ideas Boys Aged 10-12 Really Want – Gift Boys Love
Best Gifts for Fortnite Players and Gamers – What to get the kids who love to game.
Coolest Nerf Guns for Kids – Best Nerf Guns to give kids
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