From movie characters to lego kits, robots fascinate children of all ages! Our robot party guide includes ideas for creating a robots birthday party that will thrill your child! We have suggestions for robot decorations, food ideas, robot games and a lot more!

• Ask your child to draw a picture of a robot. Then write the invitation details above and below the drawing. Scan the drawing into your computer and print out enough copies for each invitation needed, or take it to a copy store and make color copies.
• Another option is to use standard invitations and deliver them inside a small home-made robot. Save empty containers such as tin cans, chip canisters, or cracker boxes. Remove the labels from the cans and wash them. Cover all the containers in aluminum foil, and glue a Styrofoam ball to the top as the robot’s head. Draw eyes and a smile on the head with a marker, and decorate the front with buttons to resemble a control panel. The open end of the container should be at the bottom. Place the invitation inside the container, gently rolling if needed to fit inside canisters or tin cans. Cover the opening with a small piece of aluminum foil. Use tape to attach the last piece of aluminum foil on boxes, and use a rubber band to hold the foil in place on cans.
• Seal the envelopes with robot stickers.

• Build a Robot Centerpiece using empty cans and string! You will need one large empty tin can (gallon paint can or 5lb coffee can), one medium can (quart paint can or 2lb coffee can), and ten smaller tin cans (vegetable or soup cans), string, black electrical tape, hammer and nail, spray-paint (optional).
  
  Remove the labels from all the cans and cover any sharp edges with the black electrical tape. You may spray-paint the cans bright colors; however, leaving them silver is just as “robotic” looking.
  
  Using the hammer and nail, punch a hole in the middle of the top of each can. Tie three of the small vegetable cans together by threading a string through each of the holes, then tying a knot at the end to hold them together. Leave at least 18 inches of extra string at the top of the three cans. Repeat this procedure until you have a total of two strings of three cans each (for the legs) and two strings of two cans each (for the arms).
  
  Using the large can as the body, thread the two strings from the top of the three-can chain (the legs), through the bottom of the can and through the nail hole and tie, creating a pair of movable legs. Using the nail and hammer, punch a hole in both sides of the large can where the arms will be attached. Attach a two-can string through each hole to make the arms. Tie the medium can to the top of the large can to make the head. Use a sharpie marker to draw a face on the robot if you wish. Place your creation on the main table as the centerpiece!



• Cover your front door in aluminum foil, and glue container lids to the foil to resemble a control panel.
• Choose purple, silver and black as the colors for decorations such as balloons and streamers.
• Use silver fabric as a tablecloth, with silver balloons tied to each chair.
• Create a life-sized robot from cardboard boxes to greet your guests! Stack two large boxes covered in aluminum foil to create the body. Add a shoe box on top for the head and a foil covered clothes hanger as antennae. Cut two pieces of flexible silver dryer vent as arms and attach to both sides. Finish decorating your robot with sink strainers for ears, and a variety of container lids on the front to create a control panel. If you wish, place a glove into each arm opening to complete the look, and put your robot in a prominent spot where guests are sure to see it. This will make a great prop for group photos during the party, too!
• Use any robot toys your child already owns as table decorations, or build robot shapes from lego blocks.
• Balloons always say “party” to children! Tie groups of helium balloons together and anchor them in place with balloon weights. For greater impact, combine silver star shaped balloons with colorful latex balloons. Tie a balloon to the back of each chair, and tie a group of five balloons to the birthday child’s chair!
• Set out a supply of Lego, Bionicle, or Tinker Toy pieces and let guests build their own robots as you wait for everyone to arrive.
• Consider a pull-string piñata if you would rather not have small children swinging a bat. We offer a selection of both traditional and pull-string pinatas, but any traditional pinata can be converted to a pull-string using our easy instructions.
• Make a banner that says “Welcome to (your child’s name) Robot Party!” and hang it near the party entrance.

• Use shiny aluminum foil pans as serving containers for the food.
• Make your own “Nuts and Bolts” snack mix from pretzels, cheese crackers, cereal, and M&M candies.
• Rename kid-friendly food choices with robot theme names, and pepperoni pizza can become Sprocket Pizza, potato chips can become Computer Chips, etc.
• Serve drinks with shaped silly straws.
• A robot birthday cake will delight all the guests! Here are two easy ways to create a robot cake yourself :
  1. Bake an 8” round cake and a 9”x13” cake in any flavor; cool and remove from the pans. Place the rectangle cake on a cake plate as the robot’s body and place the round cake above it as the head. Since this shape is larger than most cake plates, you may want to use a piece of plywood or heavy cardboard covered in aluminum foil to hold the cake. Add two Twinkie brand snacks for each arm, and three Twinkies for each leg. Cover the cakes and Twinkies with icing and decorate with various candy pieces to create a face and a control panel on the front of the body. Try using gummy rings for eyes, a sandwich cookie for each ear, Skittles for a mouth, and licorice wands for antennae. Add an outline of M&M’s as bolts across the top of the head, and lots of different shaped candy on the front of the body as lights and buttons.
  2. For a quicker version of a robot cake, start with a 9”x13” frosted cake. Use many small, colorful candy pieces to create a robot shape on top of the cake, and fill in the shape with more candy to create shiny buttons, lights, and a friendly face.