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How to Host Your Own Paint Party At Home

When it comes to kid’s birthday parties, the possibilities are just about endless. From invitations to decorations, locations to cakes, guest lists to entertainment, it can be overwhelming (not to mention themes and party favors)! If you’ve planned a birthday party in the last decade, you get it. Parties are getting more entertaining (and more expensive) all the time. How can you create a party that your kids will remember, without breaking the bank (or losing your sanity)?

Most kids like to be creative and want to try something different. Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist, I have cost-effective and easy-to-implement solutions for you! You CAN host a paint party at home. Let’s get started!

Paint Party at Home Smocks

Step 1: Choose A Painting Party Location

I know the combination of art and kids in your home can feel chaotic and stressful. Rest assured, there are ways to lessen any potential mess while pulling off a professional-looking party. Once you decide to have the party at home, think about the best location. Do you have a backyard with some shade or a basement? What about your garage? If you take the cars out, is there room to set up 1-2 folding tables? A shaded driveway will also work. If it’s the middle of winter, do you have a neighborhood clubhouse? Those folding tables are also useful on top of a disposable plastic table cover on tile or a hard floor.

Most people have at least one place to set up tables inside or outside. If all you have is a dining room table on carpet, we can work with that too! Use a few disposable table covers for the floor and another one for the table. Pay attention to any spills and clean them up right away so they aren’t tracked around the rest of your house. Kids who are done painting can wash up and move on to eating a snack or playing with some toys in the next room. Suggest to parents that they stay during the painting time if they want to drop off their kids.

In my art party business, I have done parties in each of these locations. Each party is different, but the setup and thoughtful planning are always the same. I tell my clients that all I need from them is a trash can and access to a sink. It takes about 10 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to clean up. Time is really spent in preparation which we will talk about in the following steps to hosting your own art party at home.

Living Room Painting Party

Step 2: Decide On A Paint Party Theme

While an art party is a theme in itself, exactly what are the kids going to paint? Giving kids a blank canvas and some paint usually doesn’t work very well in a party setting. It’s much better to coordinate something for them to paint ahead of time so they aren’t struggling to come up with a picture themselves or feeling lost and getting discouraged. Remember that you are planning a party, not an art class!

A theme can be anything that the birthday boy or girl likes (or even the first initial of each child’s name). Sometimes it’s easy to find decorations first and then come up with a design for your painting. If the stores are completely out of unicorn supplies, then maybe a princess theme with tiaras and scepters will work. You can even choose a theme based on food like ice cream or animals like butterflies or dinosaurs. If they really want a specific movie character, then run with that for the decorations and pick an aspect of that character to paint. Spiderman might be all they are interested in, but you can have them paint rectangular buildings and a spider web. Pre-drawing the outline of the design is a major part of planning the party that we will talk about in step 4.

Mermaid Theme Paint Party Kit

Step 3: Art Party Supplies

Let’s talk art supplies! Again, there are lots of possibilities here. In my experience, back stapled cotton canvases make a great impression and give your party guests something to take home for an all-in-one party favor. They also have a great spot on the back for writing names and dates and can easily be hung on a wall with only one nail. I use 10″ x 10″ canvases because they are just the right size for painting on tables and small enough to carry home. You can usually find these in value packs of 8 or 12 at art supply stores.

Paint choices on canvas really come down to tempera or acrylic and there are pros and cons to both. Tempera paint is washable, but I find it to be chalky and not as vibrant as acrylic paint. You may not be able to find as many colors with tempera and mixing paint can be a huge waste of time (and paint if you don’t get the colors right). It can also be very thin and doesn’t coat the canvas as well. As you can tell, my only pro for tempera paint is washability.

Acrylic paint is washable when wet, but may be permanent once it dries. The number one solution to this for clothes is to provide your guests with smocks or make sure parents know to dress kids in clothes that may get paint on them. You can also suggest that they bring an adult extra-large old shirt with them to the party to put on over their clothes while they are painting (or buy a pack of those to have on hand. They might even be cheaper than buying artist smocks).

Acrylic paint is also easy to find and comes in a wide variety of colors. Some acrylic paint like gold, silver, or copper has some shimmer to it which is great for adding shine without the mess of glitter. I have also used colors like metallic teal. These are always crowd pleasers!

Other supplies you will need include paintbrushes, disposable table covers like we talked about in step 1, small paper plates, paper towels, pencils, Sharpie markers, and disposable cups for water. Paintbrushes can be assorted in size and sometimes come in packs of 25 or 50. I offer two sizes to each child; a larger paintbrush for the background and a smaller one for details. I use the paper plates as palettes. You won’t be able to save the paint, so the plates can easily be thrown away. If you are feeling ambitious, you can get some plastic palettes. Just know that these are time-consuming to wash. You could also use empty yogurt containers or other plastic containers for water cups and save the disposable cups for drinking.

DIY Paint Party Supplies

Step 4: Pre-Drawn Canvas Designs

Once you select a theme and have your supplies, you’re ready to start preparing the canvases for the day of the party. It’s important to know how many guests you are expecting and prepare one extra canvas in case a sibling of one of your guests shows up unannounced or a canvas accidentally gets ruined.

Take your party theme and decide on a design. You can search the internet for ideas or come up with something as simple as a heart or cupcake. Using a blank piece of printer paper, draw or trace your design. Outline it in black Sharpie marker and then cut around it leaving a border around the marker outline. This will be your template.

Find a strong light source and place the paper template on the back side of the canvas. You may want to gently tape the template to the back of the canvas so it doesn’t shift while you are tracing it. You could buy a light tracing board or box, but the free option is to use a window or the top of a table lamp. By holding the canvas up to the window or the lamp over the lightbulb, you should be able to easily see your template and trace it with a pencil or Sharpie onto the canvas. A pencil is an ok option if you’re afraid to make a mistake and you can trace it again with a Sharpie or just use the Sharpie by itself. The black marker really makes the design pop and creates an easy outline for kids to paint. This is just giving them a guide so they know where to paint. Painting over the lines is fine and you can tell parents to retrace the lines with a Sharpie at home once the paint is completely dry.

By adding the black and white design outline to each canvas, you are on your way to creating a professional-looking party with a little bit of extra preparation time. This step alone will go a long way in making the party day run more smoothly.

Dinosaur Paint at Home Kit

Step 5: Setting Up Your DIY Paint Party

On the day of the party, clear the place for your tables and cover the tables and/or floor with disposable table covers. Arrange the canvases flat on the table with the image facing up. If possible, allow about 12″ between each canvas. You can also choose to buy medium-sized table easels. Of course, this adds to your party expense and isn’t necessary. They take up about the same amount of space on the tables so think of easels more like decorations.

Set 2 paintbrushes on top of a paper towel next to each canvas. Fill the water cups or containers 3/4 of the way full with water and put them towards the center of the table. If you don’t have enough for each kid to have their own water cup, 2 kids can share one cup.

Add a small drop of each paint color to the paper plates. Again, you can use one plate per child, or 2 kids can share a plate. You can easily add more paint if they need more during the party. Make sure the paint is not in direct sunlight. You may even want to do this after all the kids arrive just to make sure none of the paint starts to dry out before the kids start painting.

Before painting, have the kids turn the canvas over and write their names on the back where the canvas covers one of the wooden stretcher bars by the staples (not in the center of the canvas). Use a pencil or marker. This step is important in case someone forgets which painting is theirs when it is time to take them home!

Let the kids know that acrylic or tempera paint is best used with a dry brush. If too much water is added, the paint will become runny and transparent. In order to keep the colors as vibrant as possible, show them how to wash their brushes in the water cup each time they want to use a new color. “Scrubbing” the brush gently on the bottom of the cup is the best way to get a majority of the paint out. Just dipping the paintbrush into the water isn’t going to do anything except start a watery mess. Paying attention to how each kid uses the paint and water will be a big help in managing the mess. Instruct them to dry their paintbrush on the paper towel as much as possible before using the brush with a new color.

Encourage kids to paint the sides of the canvas and cover all of the front with paint. Leaving white spots can attract dust and dirt once they are dry. Let the kids be creative with where to use each color. The paintings don’t all have to look the same even though the kids are painting the same design! Again, remind them that it’s ok to paint over the lines because a parent can help them to re-draw them in a day or two when the paint is completely dry.

Painting Party at Home Table Setup

Step 6: Clean Up

I have found that parties tend to last about 2 hours. Have the painting supplies and tables ready so you can paint as soon as all the guests show up. This will allow for as much drying time as possible before the kids take their paintings home. When it looks like all the kids are done painting, you can start to quickly clean up and move on to the next party activity. A general timeline is to paint for 30-45 minutes. Some kids will only be interested in painting for about 10 minutes which is why snacks can be helpful. I still try to encourage the kids to take their time and offer little suggestions for those who finish quickly (for example, ask them if they would like help painting the sides of the canvas or try to get them to come up with another place they could add some more paint).

When they are done, they can leave their supplies on the table and wash their hands and any paint off their arms in the bathroom. Then, I pull out the trash can and get to work. All the paper plates with paint and paper towels can go in the trash and the paintbrushes can be consolidated into one or two water cups. You can leave them bristle side down in the water cup to clean after the party is over. Dump out the rest of the water from the other cups and stack the cups to clean later.

Since paint dries quickly (depending on the thickness, of course), find a sunny spot outside or under a window to lay the paintings to dry for the duration of the party. Use a new disposable table cover or transport the one from the table onto the floor or outside on a patio or deck. If you put the paintings outside, remember to secure the sides of the table cover with rocks or something else heavy so the plastic doesn’t blow over on top of the paintings and get stuck to the wet paint.

Now you can use a fresh table cover to repurpose your tables for eating or opening presents. Use the rest of the party time to play games, have a dance party, swim, or eat! When it’s time for your guests to leave, use a piece of cardboard or a plastic grocery bag to lay the canvas on top for transportation home. Remind the parents that parts of the paint may still be wet, but they can also put it out in the sunlight to dry more once they get home. Tell them about the option to retrace the black marker outline in a day or two after everything is dry.

Art Party Clean Up

Wrapping Up Your At-Home Art Party

I hope you found these tips helpful for creating your own art party at home. I have facilitated hundreds of parties and I am always met with enthusiastic children who can’t believe the painting designs were “hand-drawn”. I love to encourage kids that they can use art supplies just like adults can to create something they are proud to take home. Art parties don’t have to be intimidating. Just have FUN!

Also remember that while painting is a big part of the party, it doesn’t have to take up the entire party time. If you’re still hesitant to host the party at home, consider renting a park pavilion, neighborhood clubhouse, or even a room in a restaurant. If you plan ahead, the steps above will work no matter where you decide to have the party. Kids love parties and will remember painting with their friends and having a crazy dance party above anything else. If you can relax and have fun with it, they will too. Happy planning!

Create Your Own Painting Party
Robin Winningham

Robin Winningham

Robin is the founder and owner of It's an Art Party.