As a professional balloon artist in the Des Moines Metro for over 20 years, I've been to a lot of parties! I also had a childhood full of magic and fun with amazing parties planned and designed by my parents. My mom would research and plan and create and my dad would help bring her vision to life. From April Fools parties to Birthday parties, how you put everything together makes all the difference-- not just to the magical outcome, but to your stress levels! Follow along as I explain how we recently did our Scare Four birthday party!

So....Planning the perfect themed party is an art—and when it’s for twins turning four, the stakes are even higher! For Hadley and Harper’s big day, we went all-in with a Monsters Inc.-inspired Scare Four celebration. From choosing the theme to creating custom decorations and party favors, here’s how to make every detail count for an unforgettable birthday bash.

1. Choosing the Perfect Theme

Start by considering what excites the birthday child (or children!). Since Hadley and Harper love Monsters Inc., it was a no-brainer to bring Monstropolis to life! When selecting a theme here are a few questions to workshop ideas:

• What is the child’s favorite movie, character, or activity?

• Will it be easy to find decorations and supplies for this theme?

• Can you put your own creative twist (see what I did there?) on it?

• Bonus Points: You can do a pun on the age they are turning! i.e. “Welcome to the Scare FOUR !”

2. Creating an Idea List & Sourcing Inspiration

Once the theme is set, start gathering ideas. Pinterest, party blogs, Tik-Tok, and themed birthday hashtags on Instagram are great sources of inspiration. Make a list of must-haves and extras to elevate the party. For our Scare Four, this included:

• Custom character cutouts

• Themed balloon sculptures

• A Monsters Inc.-themed coloring book custom to our kids

• Fun party favors and custom treat boxes

• A custom birthday banner

  
  

In our Notes app, we made a note for their party and shared it so that we could update eachother in real time. We included:

RSVPS—as each RSVP came in we added the kid with their parent’s names in parenthesis so that we could have an easier time at the party! With mostly daycare friends at the party, we really don’t know the other parents so this helped us out! Each name also had a check box that we use for different reasons throughout the process—checked off when we sent reminder texts, cleared and checked again as we write thank-you notes! (we also wrote the presents received next to the names so that we can be a bit more personal in the thank-yous)

Food—Pizza, Cake (topper, candle, lighter, as subheadings), Cookies (Reminder pickup at 10:30 am 2/15). Plates, Napkins, silverware (Included at Playground for Kids but we bought some of our own too!).

Décor—Balloon Garland, Chiara Stand, Cut-out Characters, banner, neon, etc..

Treat Boxes—Checked off each item as we shopped them and then cleared and again checked them off when we put them in the treat box.

Day of Party—Checklist to bring like empty tubs, ziplocks, wet wipes, hair brush, extra socks (in case someone forgot!), etc..

3. Selecting Colors & Decor Style

To stay on theme, we chose a color palette inspired by Sulley and Mike:

• Turquoise for Sulley

• Green for Mike Wazowski

• Purple for Boo’s outfit and Randall’s scales

  
  

For the balloon garland, we used a mix of these colors with various textures and added themed details like scream canisters and horns. The twisted balloon sculpture of Sulley made a statement piece waving and welcoming our guests!

Party favors we kept to these colors as best as we could too! We found blue and green squishy toys, green eyeball glasses, purple and blue slime, etc..

4. Custom Decorations & Printables

Balloon Art & Twisted Sculptures

Obviously, we had balloon art sorted out! When planning a party theme, reach out to me and I can help generate ideas and deliver the magic on the day! Remember, I’ve been to more parties than most people!

• I knew that I wanted a large backdrop to showcase some ideas for future clients! So I ordered a 7’ and 6’ chiara stand and purchased a turquoise and purple cover for them.

  • I thought about Sully-fying the turquoise cover by adding purple spots but thought it would be too much

    
    

• I’m obsessed with neon lights for a party so I found a “Happy Birthday” sign that I loved at a great price. If you are looking for custom neons—make sure you check out Handcrafted Iowa 

  
  

• Next I knew that I wanted to display the awesome treat boxes we found and used my treat display board for this!

  
  

• For the balloon garland, I wanted it to have spikes (monsters, duh!) and scream canisters (I used posters attached to cardboard but could have also twisted some up). I also wanted it to be flowing and interesting so I opted for mini garlands attached to it as well!

  
  

• I wanted to make some sort of photo opportunity so I added a Milestone Marquee with the 4! To tie it in, I added purple spots and horns to the 4 and used the same colors for the base.

  
  

• Finally I knew that I wanted to have something more interesting and inviting than just a balloon garland. A Sully toy gave me the inspiration with him waving and a giant scream canister would help break up all the green, blue, and purple and tie in the add-ins to the garland!

Custom Character Cutouts

Using foam board and printed graphics, we created large cutouts of Mike, Sulley, and Boo to place around the party space. These added to the immersive experience and served as great photo ops!

1. Find your image file—we went to Etsy and found a download in the style we liked for under $3.

   
   

2. We have the premium version of Canva, other products would work well too!

   1. Head to CVS or Walgreen photo (wherever has the best deal) and look at options for the same-day (I’m not paying for shipping!) repositionable poster. 11” x 17” for example.

   2. Create a new document in Canva and size it to your poster.

   3. Import your image and make sure that the scale is locked, increase the size to fill the poster

   4. Download as a PNG or JPEG and head back to your photo printer site and upload it!

   5. Using large pieces of cardboard or $1.25 foam board from the Dollar store, apply your repositionable poster.

      1. You can pre-cut the poster, I liked leaving a small border of white!

         
         

3. Using a sharp exacto knife, carefully cut out the design.

   1. Use left over pieces and some hot glue to make a stand on the back if you want!

   2. Clean up the edges with a knife or sandpaper and you are all set!

      
      
      

      

      

      
      
      

If you want a large cut-out like Sully, use an app (like Image Splitter in Canva) to create a perfect split and then position each on a 24 x 36 document. Send both to the printer and carefully line it up when you are sticking them down!

DIY Coloring Book for Party Favors

A party favor that doubles as an activity? Yes, please! We designed a custom Monsters Inc. coloring book featuring their names and their favorite characters. The pages included:

• “Help Sulley Find Boo” maze

• “Mike has his Eye on the Birthday Twins” coloring page

• “Roz Needs a New Hairdo” silly activity

• Spot-the-difference puzzles

  
  

We used canva again and the images that we purchased from Etsy. I used Canva AI to remove the color of the images and then arranged them so that the 8.5” x 11” page was divided into 4 boxes (go to settings and add in your guides to make this easy!).  I created 4 pages (16 total coloring pages) and printed them double sided. Cut in half horizontally and fold the pages over. Staple in the middle and you have a great booklet! Purchase crayons in bulk and 4.5x6.5” sealable cellophane bags. You can create a custom topper as well to staple on for a more complete look!

5. Creating the Perfect Invitations & RSVP System

We designed a digital and printed invitation using this custom Monsters Inc. font. To simplify RSVP management we may use Apple’s new “Invites” app next time!

We included a Bit.ly QR code link to the venue’s waiver form, making check-in easy on party day!

To create the invitation, we could have bought one for $10 on Etsy, but decided to make our own using once again… Canva! ( I should get a free month for promoting them! Yeesh!)

6. Sourcing Party Favors & Treat Boxes

Each guest received a themed treat box featuring Monsters Inc. character faces. Inside, we included:

• Mini monster toys

• Stickers, tattoos, and themed goodies (like blue and purple (Sully!) galaxy slime)

• A copy of the custom coloring book with a thank-you on the back!

(We found adorable boxes online, but you can also DIY them using printed character faces and small paper bags!)

7. Custom Themed Cookies & Cake

Themed desserts are a must! We collaborated with Madison at The Cookie Jar to create Monsters Inc.-inspired cookies, including Mike, Sulley, Boo’s door, and scream canisters. The birthday cake kept it simple yet fun with themed toppers and a bold number four candle (Costco cake is always a hit, parents passed on pizza and went all in on cake!).

8. Choosing the Venue & Setting Up

Hosting at an interactive venue like The Playground for Kids made setup easy and ensured the kids had a blast.

Pro tip: when booking a venue, ask about their setup and cleanup policy to avoid last-minute stress. Playground for Kids has party helpers that help setup and cleanup. HOW EASY!

9. Sending a Helpful Reminder to Guests

A couple of days before the party, we sent out a text reminder to parents:

10. Adding Extra Fun Details

Small touches make a party truly memorable. For our Scare Four theme, we added:

• 2319 SOCKS! Fans of Monsters Inc. will get the reference—we had tube socks labeled “2319” as part of our tablescape décor

• Hard Hats: Using repositionable posters, we copy and pasted the Monsters Inc logo and then cut it out using a circle cutter, peeled of the back and slapped onto our hard hats! Kids loved wearing them!

• Custom Party Banner – Made using a Cricut, twine, and cardstock to feature the party theme “Welcome to the Scare Floor”. We bought 12x12” cardstock in different colors and textures to create our banner. The letters were set to 4” tall, cut, glue dot, poke a hole, and string! Easy!

• Photo Areas – Featuring character cutouts, décor, balloon photo ops and more! Don’t make the background of your photos boring!

Wrapping Up: A Screaming Success!

From start to finish, Hadley and Harper’s Scare Four was packed with creativity and personal touches. Whether you’re planning a small at-home party or a venue celebration, the key to a stress-free, unforgettable event is organization, creativity, and fun details that bring the theme to life!

Need help bringing your vision to life? Creations with a Twist can create custom balloon decor, themed party elements, and more. Contact us to make your next celebration unforgettable!