If you follow me on social media, you know Little Roo is now three-years-old! For the occasion I planned a rainbow themed party for my rainbow loving girl. It was a huge hit with her and her little friends. Everything down to the food was rainbow themed. Here’s how I did it.

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Rainbow Themed Decorations

The decorations for this rainbow themed party were ridiculously easy but SO cute. First I hung crepe paper streamers everywhere. A wall, doorways, the mailbox and front porch…And of course balloons. It’s not a party without helium balloons!

Then we made a simple paper chain. For each color of the rainbow I used two strips so no matter what angle you saw it from, all the colors would be visible. These I draped on the ceiling.

For the “artsy” decorations, I hung some cleaned out paint buckets from hooks on the ceiling. Some long organza material I had leftover from another project was stuffed in and let “spill” over the side. Blank canvases were also displayed around the house. These were a tri-purpose item because they would also serve as an activity and a party favor.

Rainbow Themed Food

It was okay for the rainbow decorations to be minimal because the food was too adorable. And it followed the color pallet!

Rainbow Sugar Cookies

For the cookies, I rolled the three primary color dough out individually then rolled the first color (blue) into a log, rolled the log up in the next color (yellow), and finished by rolling the whole thing up with the last color (red).

CHILL THE DOUGH before the next step for at least 15 min. Cut the fat log into 1/4″ thick circles, then cut the circle in half.

TADA! Rainbows.

Frosting-dipped Marshmallows

Exactly as it sounds. The frosting needs to be melted in the microwave for about 10 seconds, then color it, then dip the marshmallows. Let it drip a little to make it artsy! I used primary colors plus green, but you could do each color of the rainbow if you wanted.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs

I skewered strawberries, cantaloupe, green grapes, blueberries, and red grapes. Super cute and not chocked full of sugar like the other treats!

The Cake

While the melted frosting from the marshmallows was still liquid, I poured the remainder over a cake that was already frosted with plain white frosting. This way the colors matched EXACTLY and I didn’t have to stress over re-coloring the frosting to the same shade.

Roo helped add sprinkles before I set a small rainbow topper I found in the dollar bin at Target! (but this one from Amazon is super cute! here)

She had picked out a “magic wand” star shaped sparkler candle to blow out.

Note: Don’t use sparkler candles for three-year-olds. Roo was so terrified, she refused to blow out the candles!

Rainbow Themed Activities

At this age, getting the kids to do any organized activity for long is asking a lot. My rainbow themed activity was to set up an obstacle course outside with a rainbow tunnel I made out of pool noodles and bamboo skewers. My husband decided to hand the kids water guns and they were content with that until it was cake time!

Rainbow Tunnel

Roo’s birthday was at the perfect time of year when everywhere is putting their pool supplies on sale. Some of the noodles I got as cheap as $0.50! But I had to search several different stores to find all the colors I needed. Yes, you could use just a few colors, or stick with primary colors…but I wanted to go all out!

Just stick the bamboo skewers into the ground and bend the noodle to slide over them. The closer the noodles sit together the better the tunnel will be.

Canvas Painting

Each child got their own canvas and I set out three colors of paint per “pallet” (I used paper plates, but these pallets from Amazon would have been perfect). To keep from getting the colors too muddy I chose two primary colors plus the color they create when mixed. The kids still shared pallets so we ended up with some muddy canvases, but they had fun!

In addition to the paint and brushes, I also set out foam letters. These could be used to spell out their name or a short message, then paint over them. Once the paint is dry, the stickers can be removed to reveal the words!

Bubble Pool

After all the cake and paint, the kids were pretty messy. I anticipated this and ended the afternoon with a bubble bath! A small kiddie pool was filled with soap. I ended up using 3/4 a bottle of Mr. Bubbles bubble bath, but we experimented with Dawn dish soap first. Honestly, the dish soap made more bubbles and they were a lot denser for playing with. But the bubble bath was good because it ended up in a lot of eyes and mouths. Dish soap would have burned…

Then I turned my hose sprayer to jet and filled it up. Another option would be to bring a hand mixer to the pool to mix the soap if you don’t have a sprayer with a jet-setting.

I intended this to be more of a sensory play, but the girls jumped into the pool and got soaked. To make this more rainbow themed I was going to add food coloring to the bubbles, but opted not to.

 

Rainbow Themed Favors

We made goodie bags with a small watercolor set, a few rainbow cookies, and a special Tshirt. Instead of waiting for the end, we gave these out at the same time Roo opened her gifts. It gave them something to do and have, and they would need the shirts for the painting later!

T-shirt Smocks

Roo helped with this project. I knew that painting and playing in the water would get messy, so I wanted to be sure to protect the kids’ clothes.

I laid out white t-shirts and used painter’s tape to make the first letter of each attendee’s name. Roo’s was a little more special since she was the birthday girl. If you don’t know who will or will not attend, you can always put “happy birthday so-and-so” or something to that effect.

 

We used to fabric paint to paint around the letter, then with the remaining paint, we squirted and dripped everywhere! (Under the shirts was a plain white sheet that I later used as a table cloth for the table, and a backdrop for her three-year photos)

Wait for the paint to dry over night before pulling the tape off to reveal the words.

The BEST Rainbow Themed Party EVER! (according to Roo)

Rainbows are everywhere lately, it seems kids of all ages love them! Next time you’re planning a party, why not try a rainbow themed one? If you do, tag me in your social media pictures, I’d love to see your ideas and work!