15 Tie Dye Birthday Party Ideas
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Need a great birthday party idea for this summer? If you’re looking to add a vibrant splash to your celebration, have a tie dye birthday party! It will be day of colorful fun, creativity, and unique designs that tweens and teenagers would love. I will share 15+ amazing Tie Dye Birthday Party Ideas that will make for the best party ever! Plus, download FREE printable tie dye instructions for your party guests to take home with their colorful creations!
Tie Dye Birthday Party
If you have creative kids like my friends and I do, they will LOVE a tie dye party for their birthday this year. You can create a party that is not just about tie dye as an activity, but can include tie dye in decorations, party food, birthday cake or cupcakes, and every other aspect of the party.
That said, kids and adults love to tie dye shirts or other clothing, so you will want to prep supplies and an area for them to unleash their creativity!
MORE AWESOME BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS: Summer Birthday Theme Ideas for Girls
I have several blog posts dedicated to tie dye projects, so make sure you check these out to get ideas for your awesome tie dye party!
Our Favorite
Tie Dye Pattern Tutorials
One of my favorite things about throwing a tie dye party is that party favors are covered! Every kid can take home their dyed shirts.
Tie Dye Birthday Party Supplies to Buy
Tie Dye Kits
Brands like Tulip have great tie dye kit options for tie dying with a group of kids. Here are a few options from Amazon:
- Tulip One-Step Tie Dye Party (18 bottles)
- Tulip Tie Dye Party for 5 People
- Tulip Tie Dye Kit for 6 People
Tie Dye Supplies
If you are going to be tie dyeing during the birthday party, you will need pick up some additional supplies to keep the mess contained. If you’ve already picked up a tie dye kit, then things like bottles and dyes are handled. It may include gloves or rubber bands, but I would buy additional. Kids tend to throw stuff around and use up supplies quickly.
I would buy:
- white cotton t shirts (or any other cotton fabric item)
- rubber bands
- plastic tablecloth
- baking racks and/or disposable baking sheets to contain dye
- plastic gloves
- plastic aprons
- paper towels
- resealable bags
- soda ash, if needed (it is not needed for tulip tie dye kits)
What to Prep for a Tie Dye Birthday Party
The most important thing that you need to prep for your party is the clothing that your guests will be dyeing. Depending on the kind of tie dye kit that you purchased, follow all of the instructions for tie dye prep in advance of guest arrival. This will likely include prewashing the shirts, soaking the shirts in water and/or soda ash, and prepping the dye powder in bottles.
Have it all prepared and set out on your covered party table, and you’ll be ready to go.
Sometimes tie dye kits come with soda ash pre mixed into the powder, which is why you may only have to soak your fabric in water.
For younger kids, you can pre fold the tie dye pattern and secure the fabric with rubber bands. If the guests are teenagers or older kids, you can let them complete this step.
Tips for Throwing a Tie Dye Birthday Party
- Set up multiple tie dye stations with different patterns and colors. Provide t-shirts, rubber bands, and a variety of dyes at each station. Also have ziploc bags and paper towels set up in easily accessible places.
If the kids will be folding their own shirts, teach them a simple pattern like a spiral tie dye! It comes out great every time and every kid can manage it.
Decide if you will be washing out the dye, or you will be sending the dyed shirt home with the guest. You can let the dye set and wash after the party, or provide instructions for the parents to wash the dye out at home. In addition, check out 2-minute tie dye kits! You can pop the clothing in the microwave to set the dye and send each kid home with a finished shirt.
Kids love to create! Consider purchasing extra items for kids to tie dye, because they won’t want to stop at just one.
Related to that, make sure you have enough tie dye for everyone. Kids tend to create a big mess with tie dye and use a lot of dye. You want to make sure that no kids are sad because all of their favorite colors are gone. Purchase extra kits, in case you need them. You can always use them later with your kids!
Tell the party guest that are tie dying to wear old clothing. Tie dye is fun and super easy, but very messy. You don’t want guests to ruin nice clothing.
Use high quality dye. Now is not the time to make DIY dye for your tie dye projects. Get brand name dye that won’t wash out of the clothing or fade after being washed a few times.
Throw the party OUTSIDE. Just trust me, you don’t want tie dye all over your house.
Tie Dye Party Ideas
In addition to dyeing your own shirts, there are a ton of things that you can do to make the party special!
Tie Dye Cake
Take the tie dye theme to the dessert table with a stunning tie dye cake. Use vibrant icing colors like pink, yellow, and orange, and decorate it with edible tie dye patterns. This rolled cake is a fun twist on a traditional birthday cake!
I love that you can make the INSIDE of a regular cake tie dye with food coloring and a simple technique.
Tie Dye Party Decorations
Amazon has an awesome selection of tie dye party decorations. Create a dessert table backdrop, a photo booth, or pair this rainbow fringe with a balloon garland.
Speaking of a balloon garland, I would definitely add these into a rainbow balloon garland for a fun metallic effect!
Even a plain birthday cake will pair well with these tie dye birthday plates and napkins. Any tie dye loving kid would love these added to their birthday party.
Tie Dye Party Recipes
You can use any color dye to make the icing on these sugar cookies tie dye!
The secret to these tie dye treats is Fruity Pebbles – it’s a genius idea!
Making rainbow icing doesn’t have to be hard. Make rainbow cupcakes and icing with this simple tutorial from Poppy + Grace.
We used to call these “playdoh cookies” as kids and I love the idea of using them for a tie dye party!
Tie Dye S’mores?! Yes, they’re a thing, and you need them.
Tie Dye Parties
Although it’s messy, how COOL is this family tie dye fight with water guns? Let your party guests do this and they’ll make fun memories while making unique t shirts!
I love this take on a tie dye party: it’s perfect for older kids or even a pool party. It’s mature and colorful, while still being fun. And I love all of the flowers!
Tie Dye Party Crafts
If you want to throw a unique tie dye party, pamper your guests with a tie dye spa day. The images showcase tie-dyed bathrobes, tie-dye face masks, and tie-dye-inspired spa treatments. You can make these bath bombs for an easy take-home gift.
This tote doubles as a bag your guests can carry home with their party goods. It’s a good option if you want to make something in addition to shirts.
My kids would be ecstatic if I let them and their friends tie dye shoes for a birthday party. You can find inexpensive shoes for everyone, or just make these before the party for the birthday kid!
Free Printable Tie Dye Washing Instructions
FREE – You can download Printable Tie Dye Washing Instructions to send home with each of your guests!
Printable is 4 designs on an 8.5×11″ sheet. Print borderless or don’t worry if your printer shrinks the image a little bit.
This file is DOWNLOAD #279 in my FREE DOWNLOADS LIBRARY.
Get the password below! (If you have the password, head over to the library to download the file.
You will NOT be sent an email with the file. Free printables available for download are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. PDF and JPG files are included.
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
Happy party planning!
ABOUT CHARYNN
Hi, y’all! I’m Charynn, the owner and designer of Pineapple Paper Co. I’m a mom of four kids (two girls and two boys) living in Pittsburgh. I love hand lettering, anything southern, cocktails, and of course, pineapples! I am excited to share my SVG files, printables, and craft projects with you! The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality, and I welcome y’all to my little corner of the internet. Read more…