How do I host a bubble party for toddlers?

How a toddler bubble party works

A bubble party for toddlers works best as a few short choices rather than one organized game. Adults make the bubbles. Children watch, point, pop them, or hold a large wand with their grown-up if they want to. A child who would rather sit and look is still taking part.

The plan used on this page is an example: eight toddlers aged one to three, a shaded backyard and a morning from 9:30 to 11:00. There are three play areas (a wand table, foam scooping and giant bubbles), a dry blanket for breaks, and snacks and cake. If your group, space or time is different, change the numbers and drop any activity you can't supervise properly.

Before you copy the 9:30 to 11:00 time, check it against the birthday child's naps and meals and when caregivers can come. The same toddler mix of one main activity, an arrival activity and a quiet alternative still works at another time. You can find more help with planning a party for a baby or toddler.

Before you buy anything, count the children and the families. In the example, the eight toddlers are all the toddlers attending, so count the birthday child among them if they will be playing. List older siblings and staying adults separately, because they affect seating and food but not the wand-table count.

Gather supplies for eight toddlers

The wand table in this example has room for four toddlers at a time. The other children can watch bubbles or spend time on the dry blanket with their grown-ups. Use this table as a starting list and scale it to your guest count.

• Six chairs is a starting count, not a seat for every guest. Add seats for the grown-ups who need them.
• Keep a changing pad and a bin of spare clothes available in the house.
• If older siblings are coming, give them something they can enjoy without taking over the toddler space.

This only matters if older siblings are coming. Give them their own simple activity, and let them join the toddlers only if they want to. Don't make them helpers in place of an adult. If you are the only adult, keep activities simple. Our mixed-age party plan for toddlers through tweens covers how to staff each play area.

Mix the bubble solution the night before

Try a small amount with your chosen soap and wand before making the full batch. Stir slowly, cover the jug, leave it overnight and label it so a helper can refill the right tray.

If you'd rather use bought bubble solution, follow the directions on the product and test your wands with it.

Set up the three play areas

Arrange the play areas so caregivers can stay beside their children. Keep the food table and the dry blanket away from the wet equipment. Between activities, leave the solution jugs and the rope wand with the adults.

Wand table: put two trays on towels and share four large wands among up to four toddlers. An adult shows how to dip a wand and lift it slowly. A turn ends when the wand goes back beside the tray. Don't ask children to wait through a long round.

Foam scooping: whisk foam in a shallow pool (no deeper than two inches in this example) and offer cups and funnels for scooping and pouring. Keep an adult within arm's reach the whole time it's out, and never leave it unattended.

Giant bubbles: two adults hold the rope wand between them and walk a slow circle over about 10 feet of open lawn, while children watch or pop the bubbles that come near them. Those two adults can't also watch the foam pool. Put the foam away before the demonstration, or have a separate adult stay with it.

An example 90-minute bubble morning

This illustrative schedule runs from 9:30 to 11:00. The blocks add up to 10 + 20 + 20 + 10 + 20 + 10 = 90 minutes. A 20-minute block is time set aside for an activity. It doesn't mean any toddler has to stay with it for 20 minutes.

The day before, mix and cover the solution and test one wand. At 8:30 on party morning, set out the equipment, seats and towels. Pour solution into the trays closer to arrival time, and decide about the weather by 9:00.

Other bubble activities and ways to join in

These are optional switches, not extra stations to staff all morning. Catch a bubble: an adult wets their own hand with clean water and tries to catch one. The bubble may pop straight away, so present it as an experiment, not a task. Pop-the-bubble dance: play a familiar song while an adult makes bubbles, and stop after one or two songs. Bubble prints: an adult makes a mound of foam tinted with food coloring, and children press thick paper onto it. Any straws used to make the foam stay with the adults, and you'll need somewhere for wet pictures to dry.

For a dry version, draw bubbles as circles on paper together. It also works indoors.

Plan for the weather and tell families what to expect

Choose an indoor place before you send invitations. Shade helps, but it doesn't make every kind of weather suitable for the party. The indoor version uses the blanket, board books, the speaker and paper. Leave the wet equipment outside and put the solution away. The backup doesn't need to copy every outdoor activity.

Here is an example message. Add the date, address, start and finish times and the backup location before sending: "We're having a bubble birthday party in the yard, with snacks and cake. Please stay with your toddler during the party. Bring clothes you don't mind getting damp, a change of clothes and anything your child normally needs for comfort. Please let me know about food requirements or anything that would help your child join in. I'll confirm any weather-related change before the party."

Food, favors and cleanup

The example morning falls between meals, so it has snacks and cake rather than lunch. Tell families that's what you're serving. Ask about food requirements before choosing familiar foods, and have a different adult serve while the bubble equipment is put away. If your party runs over a mealtime, plan a meal instead.

Every caregiver stays at this party, so count the adults who will eat as well as the toddlers. Then choose snacks the adults can share too. If your party covers a mealtime, plan enough food for the adults. There's more on whether to provide food for adults who stay.

For favors, prepare one labeled jar and one wand per family. Families with siblings share a set, so you may need fewer than one per child. Pour the favor solution off before play, wipe the rims, check the lids, tape a recipe card to each one and hand the jars to grown-ups. Keep glass jars out of children's hands and away from wet play.

After play, rinse the pool and clean soap off any patio stones. Keep guests away from wet cleanup areas until the way out is clear.

Bubble party preparation checklist

Ticking these off records what you've prepared. It doesn't certify that the party is safe.

• Confirm the toddler count (including the birthday child if they're playing), the number of families and that caregivers will stay.
• Ask about food requirements and anything that would help a child join in.
• Test the recipe and a wand, then mix, cover and label the solution the night before.
• Walk the lawn for sprinkler heads, uneven ground and slippery spots. Keep wet play off smooth stones and away from the route to the food and the gate.
• Put towels under the trays and beside the pool, with dry spares ready.
• Put up shade over the seating and the wet play areas.
• Name who stays beside the water, who leads, who refills and who serves food, and who takes over each job.
• Set clean handwashing water apart from the rinse bucket.
• Set up the dry blanket, the indoor backup, the changing pad and the spare-clothes bin.
• Decide on the weather by your set time and tell families about any change.

Choose your weather decision time early enough to reach families before they leave home. Have the backup location message written in advance, and decide who will check replies and contact anyone who hasn't seen the change. See when to activate the rain plan for help choosing that deadline.

Sources and further reading

• A bubble birthday party for toddlers

Related questions

• How many activities should I plan for a party?
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• Which party games work in a backyard or outdoor space?
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