The most inspired Beauty and the Beast party ideas: Treats, activities, decor + more

With the much hyped Beauty and the Beast movie coming out today, we have the feeling more than a few kids will be raring for a Beauty and the Beast themed birthday party this year. And have we got ideas!

We scoured the web for the very coolest, most fun, most enchanting inspiration for invites, decor, games and activities, and a whole lot of treats, all sure to capture the imaginations of revelers of any age.

Are you ready? Go on… be our guest.

(Ha, sorry. Couldn’t resist.) -Caroline + Liz

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Top image: Beast cake tutorial from Zoe’s Fancy Cakes

Beauty and the Beast Party Ideas: Invitations

If you want to be a little more subtle and sophisticated than your average Disney character on an invitation, go with a red rose theme. We created these Be Our Guest red rose invitations using a Kate Spade designed template on Paperless Post. You can send them digitally and manage the RSVPs and guest list so easily.

Kids will love getting to hold onto their own Beauty and the Beast movie ticket party invitation from Annie Paper Shop. Great idea whether you’re bringing guests to the actual movie or just making your own living room the site of the red carpet event.

When you’ve got a birthday girl who dreams of transforming into Belle for the day, this Beauty and the Beast party invitation from Panda Funk Creations is customizable and downloadable to save you some cash. Very pretty for princess-loving kids.

If a Beauty and the Beast tea party feels more up your alley, we’re smitten with these custom tea party invitations from Bushel and Peck Paper on Etsy. Personalize them with your guest of honor’s name and favorite color.

Beauty and the Beast Party Ideas: Decorations

This DIY Be Our Guest printable artwork from Inspire 4 You on Etsy is such an inviting message to hang on the front door. It’s a great deal at just $4 a download, especially since you can use it long after the party — or, print a whole bunch, tie with a ribbon, and send them home with your guests as favors.

Belle’s love of reading is always center stage in the movie — and one of the reasons even the more princesss-skeptical parents can justify a Beauty and the Beast party. So I love the idea of including some pretty vintage books like this DIY Old Fashioned Book Set at Cherished Bliss as a centerpiece on the table.

Of course, you can also just put out a few stacks of your own books — best if they’re leather or cloth-bound volumes, and not dog-eared paperbacks, of course!

Sometimes beautifully arranged flowers is all you need — especially in the case of a Beauty and the Beast party. We love this floral party centerpiece by Crowning Details (and all of their other inspiring photos!) but if the overflowing gold vase feels a little precious for a kids’ party, even single roses in paper cups (weigh them down with marbles or vase filler rocks) will look great. (h/t Catch My Party)

Ohhh, this gold glittery DIY Cutlery Chandelier is just one of the many imaginative ideas from the Be Our Guest Tea Party thrown by Sweetly Chic Events and Design. Of course if constructing an entire chandelier out of cutlery feels a bit ambitious, you can still add some sparkle to your tea party just by using sparkly gold tableware like the set we spotted at Target.

Want to get fancy? How cool are these bottle cap DIY bottlecap French macaron ornaments from Dwell Beautiful? Perfect way to celebrate the traditional French culinary fare from the movie. Pop them into a bowl or hang them from clothespins like a garland — then send each guest home with one at the end of the festivities.

And of course, there’s always balloons and streamers, right? Gold and blue are the Beauty and the Beast signature colors, so consider trimmings as simple as two-toned balloon bunches. The Oh Happy Day party shop has balloons in every possible shade.

Beauty and the Beast Birthday Party Ideas: Fun Activities

Beauty and the Beast Photo Booth
Beauty and the Beast is all about transformation, so a fantastic photo booth is a must. I love these Beauty and the Beast party photo booth props at Let’s Get Decorative which are stunning, but they are definitely spendy.

LeStudio Rose offers a 5-piece set that’s more basic, but more affordable; and, depending on how crafty you are and what your time is worth, either may be a better bet than DIYing. But that’s up to you.

Color Your Own Castle

We’ve covered so many cardboard castle playhouses over the years, but a new favorite comes from PopUp Play, which we featured in our roundup of the coolest indoor playhouses. What makes this one special is you get to design it yourself using their app. Customize it with the birthday boy or girl’s name, imagery that feels Beauty and the Beast specific…you name it!

Beauty and the Beast Coloring Pages
We’re always big fans of coloring pages, especially for a birthday party activity to keep younger guests busy as the others trickle in. Tons of free Beauty and the Beast printable coloring pages from Disney can be downloaded from this Zip file that they provided to bloggers they work with.

Enchanted Kitchen Utensil Craft

How enchanted are we with this enchanted spoons & spatulas craft from Disney Family? You can make them as simple or as advanced as you’d like — even some wooden spoons and colorful markers would be fun for a lot of kids.

Karaoke!
A karaoke contest (or just…karaoke, no contest) is a great way to pass time, especially for kids who know all the words. Find karaoke versions of Beauty and the Beast songs on YouTube, then stream to any smart TV.

Origami Rose Making
While actual origami roses are a bit advanced, we found a site with tons of origami flower tutorials. Just use lots of red origami paper and call them roses. Hint: The peach blossom and dahlia look pretty easy. You could conduct a craft session by demonstrating at the head of the table, or hang up the visual step-by-step instructions from the site and let older kids try their hand at origami on their own.

Party Games, with a Beauty and the Beast twist

If it’s nice out and you’re having a backyard party, think about adapting traditional party games with a twist:

Capture the Flag can become Capture the Red Rose. Have a gold and blue balloon toss. Or stage a relay race with kids balancing classic library books on their heads to complete each lap.

Even a regular soccer game, hurdles, or a long jump competition can get the Beauty and the Beast party theme treatment with yellow and blue jerseys or cheap pinnies.

We’re also happy to find this fantastic post on Beauty and the Beast party activity ideas at The Spruce, from a serving tray relay race, to musical dining chairs, to a grumpy beast freeze dance. (Maybe so-named because kids who get tagged out get grumpy?) Definitely click over for inspiration!

Photo: sproutfundon Flickr, cc license

Gaston Tavern Games
Even though you probably don’t want to have a Gaston Tavern set-up (unless your guests are all 21+, of course) you can consider setting up a wall of Gaston Tavern Games. Just get a an affordable, kid-safe magnetic darts (just $8.99 at Amazon!) and you’re set. Foosball or a kid-sized pool table would be a bonus.

Maurice’s Inventor Station
The townspeople may have misunderstood poor Maurice, but I’m personally a big fan of Belle’s inventor dad and his fashion-forward goggles. So go beyond tea party activities and get inspired with something like this Tinkering Table from Kiwi Teacher.

Skip the saw (yikes!) and try putting out a ton of pipe cleaners, googly eyes, modeling clay, or whatever you’d like.

For older kids, you could set up a station at the party with an actual Electric Motors Kit. Or hey, just put out a whole ton of LEGO bricks and let the kids go to town.

Beauty and the Beast Party Ideas: Cakes + Treats

We featured some awesome dress cakes to represent the Schuyler sisters in our Hamilton Birthday Party roundup. So we’re borrowing from that idea with this Princess Belle Cake with a recipe from Wilton. You will need the Wilton Cake Mold for a doll dress cake which runs about $19.99 on their site.

Why should Belle get all the love? Beast cakes are rad. Not like most of us could ever pull this one off the way she does, but just for fun, you have to check out this YouTube tutorial for a Beast cake from Zoe’s Fancy Cakes. Whoa. Someone hire her!

The best of both worlds: Semi-homemade. Check out these adorable fondant Beauty and the Beast cupcake toppers from Stephanie Rivera of NerdBytes on Etsy. Wow! Plus, she takes custom orders, so if you don’t want the kids fighting over tops and bottoms, get just those cute faces.

You can keep it simple by topping regular cupcakes with a lemon frosting and a ready-made sugar rose. But if you want to get creative, try the Beauty and the Beast party teacup cupcakes on Disney’s site. Make them ahead of time or if you dare, let kids decorate their own as a party activity.

To get a wee bit healthier, learn how to make a strawberry rose from Jane Sweeney at Cool Mom Eats and let the kids snack on those. It also makes a pretty cool drink garnish, to top off lemonade, juice, or a sparkling punch.

Another fun alternative to traditional cakes and cupcakes: Ice cream floats! Cool Mom Eats rounded up 9 irresistible recipe ideas, and we think this Shirley Temple Ice Cream Float at Coupon Clipping Cook is exquisite for your party.

Really want to blow it out? How about setting up a DIY Ice Cream Float Bar like this one from Julie Banner, also found at Cool Mom Eats, complete with fizzy, fruity sodas for mixing. Set out yellow and red roses and they’ll be slurping in Princess Belle style.

Anyone who recalls Lumière’s classic, “Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious!” will get a kick out of the Grey Stuff Brownie recipe at Olivia’s Cuisine. So clever! Another alternative: these Grey Stuff cookies from Disney Family. Mmmm.

I know what you’re thinking, and no, these DIY Beauty and the Beast Cookies aren’t quite as hard as they look (hint, they use Oreos). Check out the full tutorial at Pumpkin and a Princess and prepare to delight your guests.

If you’re still in cake pop mode (as if we ever left it), your kid will love the Red Rose Cake Pops recipe at Flour Arrangements. How clever is this, with flat-bottomed wafer cones as flower pots?

Beauty and the Beast Birthday Party Ideas: Take-Home Favors

We’re crazy about Cory Jensen’s pop culture paper dolls around here and since he has made pretty much every Disney character, no surprise he has a printable Belle Paper Doll too. Roll one up and tie with a ribbon for a sweet, affordable take-home favor.

Encourage your kids to be bookish like Belle. Give each child a nominal gift card to Barnes & Noble or better, your local neighborhood bookstore.

To complete the favor, Mirkwood Scribes makes these lovely stained glass–style printable Beauty and the Beast bookmarks. Just $5 lets you print as many as you’d like. Laminating them is up to you.

We also love these Beauty and the Beast pencils at Made Market Co. Drop one of them (or a whole set!) in guests’ favor bags.

Rose temporary tattoos from Tattly are always a hit for our kids’ goodie bags. You could also use them in a rose tattoo station for another cool party activity. (Psst…they have scented floral tattoos too!)

One of the Williams Sonoma Tea Set Cookie Cutters would make a nifty little gift all on its own; or put them to use. If you’re not sugar-ed out, bet your birthday kiddo’s guests would love to take home a polka-dot teapot cookie by Cake 5 Sweet Designs that we found over at Hostess with the Mostess. Click over to see this party — so many awesome ideas for a Beauty and the Beast themed dessert table on her site, but these are a winner.