A fairy tale themed party can be a truly magical experience! Fairy tale themes have grown in popularity for sweet sixteens and adult parties because of movies, musicals and TV shows that create new spins on old fairy tales. Fans of Once Upon a Time, Wicked, Snow White and the Huntsman and Into the Woods know that bringing fairy tales to life can be spectacular and so much fun!

How Do I Throw A Fairy Tale Themed Party?

When planning a fairy tale themed party you should consider the structure of the party – do you want it to focus on a specific fairy tale, TV show, or movie, or just fairies in general? Another similar themed party would be one centered around  “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Looking for ideas based on Shakespeare’s play will give you some great ideas for a fairy themed party.

Fairies have their roots in pre-christianity and most notably Ireland, where they were believed to explain the unexplainable. A fairy is a mythical creature that generally was thought to be young and good natured with magical or mystical powers.

You’ll want to think about who you are going to invite, where you’ll have the party, and what type of decorations you’ll want to use. When entertaining, you always want to make sure you stimulate all of the senses: sight, sound, taste, smell and touch all play a big role in how people interact at your party.

The birthday invitation should include:

• Date
• Time
• Location
• RSVP Information (Either ask for everyone to send a response or “regrets only” to a phone number or email address)
• Color Scheme or Picture that conveys the theme so guests know what to expect and can get excited to attend!
• Optional: Expected Dress (Should your guests wear something specific to add to the overall effect?of the event?)

Fairy Tale Themed Party Favors and Decorations

Creating a fairy tale experience requires representing the elements of a fairy tale story: there is always a main character, hero/love interest, villain, and a kingdom or village. Greenery like trees, ferns, plants, and vines can be a great way to incorporate the woods, which most fairy tales always feature, and break up a large ballroom or hall into more manageable party spaces. Breaking up a large space into smaller spaces is a great way to create areas for guests to mingle and interact with different sections of your event – food, dancing, presents, arrivals, etc. Haze or fog machines can create the feeling of mystery and the unknown.  Use fairy berries and small vine branches or twigs in mason jars to create mystical glowing lanterns as center pieces.

Another way to decorate is to bring together elements from fairy tales. Making smaller vignettes of various fairy tales can be a unique way to convey an overall fairy tale theme without focusing on one in particular. Decorate with elements that make each fairy tale come to life at your party to create an environment full of fairy tales that everyone remembers.

In Ireland they take fairies very seriously and still believe in them to this day. Throughout the countryside there are small stone walls called fairy forts that were designed to contain the fairies and give them a place to live so they wouldn’t bother humans. Creating small fairy forts can be a way to bring this tradition to a fairy tale themed party.

Fairy trees also exist in Ireland. When people got sick, folks would tie pieces of colored ribbon to trees outside of their homes to distract the fairies and cure the person who was sick. It can be a cool decor item to take a sparse wooden tree and have guests choose a ribbon to tie on a branch, after signing their name. Guests could also write birthday messages on the ribbon for a great keepsake!

Fairy Tale Drinks & Barware

Fairy Tale Lighting

Fairy berries are one of the coolest ways to decorate for your fairy tale themed party. These small 3/4in balls have a light in them that slowly fades on and fades off like a firefly. Putting these in a room can completely transform the area into a shimmering space. Use them in flowers, hang them from the ceiling, in greenery or in trees. You can even put them in water!

Blisslights are another fantastic lighting element to create a fairy tale environment. Blisslights create a starry sky effect, and have a huge coverage area, enabling you to use one light to decorate an entire ceiling. These lights throw thousands of pin-point size green lights across the ceiling with a blue nebula effect behind it. Blisslights transform the ceiling of a drab space, or can create a mystical first impression of your party. Renting lights from us is a great way to add the essential element of lighting to your party!

Fairy Tale Party Decorations

Wrap columns with tule or use sheer pipe and drape with white christmas lights to create a fairy tale background for a head table area or along the walls of your party.

Castle features, or a gate/moat effect in the entryway can also be a great way to decorate the space. Theme lighting can immediately create the fairy tale atmosphere that you’re looking for, though, and if dancing is the main feature of the event, other decorations will be overlooked when the main lights are turned down for the party, anyway!

Final Tips and Ideas

Fairy tale themed parties can be a lot of fun – the only limit is your imagination! The more creative and off-the-wall ideas you can come up with, the more memorable the party will be for your guests. Remember that good food, music, and good friends are the keys to all successful parties!