Yo Gabba Gabba! - Birthday Party!

Funky and fresh, a Yo Gabba Gabba! birthday party will be AWESOME for your preschooler. Here are some ideas for decorations, food, and games:

Yo Gabba Gabba! Birthday Party Decorations:

The Yo Gabba Gabba! website has a ton of great printables to use for parties, and the Yo Gabba Gabba! color scheme makes it easy to find bright and lively decorations at a party store.

• Decorate using the retro colors from the show: orange, blue, green, pink, yellow and red. Use balloons, streamers, and anything else that is vibrant and funky.
• In the beginning sequence of every Yo Gabba Gabba! show, confetti falls from the sky as DJ Lance brings out the toys. Confetti can be purchased at party stores or online. You can cover the party area floor with painter's tarp. It is plastic that comes in a large roll and is available at Home Depot or Lowe's. Spread the plastic over the floor and sprinkle the confetti all around. Clean-up is a snap -- you just roll up the tarp and throw it away or shake it over the trash and save it for next year. No need to worry about spilled red punch!
• If your preschooler has an absolute favorite character from Yo Gabba Gabba!, you can decorate your party area to look like the land the character comes from (or replicate all of the lands together, just like on the show). The backdrops could be created fairly easily from butcher paper or colored paper from a large roll:
  • Brobee comes from Fall Tree Land. His land is full of trees, most of which sway toward the center, in colors of tans, pinks, oranges and gold. If you look closely at the trees, they are made to look hand drawn, making it easy to copy the look on paper from a large paper roll.
  • Foofa comes from Spring Flower Land. Her land consists of rolling hills in shades of green, all topped with bunches of white flowers (which look just like the flower on her head) that have yellow, orange, purple or pink centers. The flowers can be made using construction paper.
  • Muno comes from Summer Volcano Land. His land contains mountains and rock formations in shades of purple, blue, hot pink, and black. Cover small chairs, ottomans or bean bags with fabric or blankets in like colors to look like rocks for seating.
  • Toodee comes from Winter Ice Land. Her land is full of icy peaked mountains in white and shades of blue.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Food:

NickJr.com has recipes and instructions for Yo Gabba Gabba! birthday cakes. My personal favorite is the DJ Lance Cake, which looks just like him, sporting an orange coconut hat and black licorice glasses! The cakes would pair perfectly with confetti or birthday cake ice cream.

If you want more snacks or treats, use brightly colored candies like M&Ms or Skittles. For a healthy choice, make a rainbow tray using colorful fruits or veggies.

Place the cake and/or other food on a table to display as part of the decorations. Make a sign to hang near or above the table that says, "Party in my tummy!"

Yo Gabba Gabba! Music:

• The Yo Gabba Gabba! CD is available from Amazon. Or, get the Dancey Dance Bunch DVD (Compare prices) and other Yo Gabba Gabba! DVDs which contain episodes full of music and fun.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Icebreakers:

Icebreakers are a life saver when you are trying to get a party started and waiting for all the guests to arrive. Giving kids something fun to do as they arrive will help to control the chaos:

• Decorate: As kids arrive, give them confetti to sprinkle over the floor (covered with painter's tarp, see above). Kids will have a blast helping to decorate by throwing confetti around.
• Puppet Show: The Yo Gabba Gabba! puppet theater is also a great ice breaker activity. Kids can get creative as they wait for other guests to arrive.
• Craft Time: Set up a small craft area, and get kids started with making a Yo Gabba Gabba! hair bobble or Plex bracelet as they wait for the party to get started.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Birthday Party Games:

• "Dancey Dance" Circle: On Yo Gabba Gabba!, a special guest often comes to teach everyone a funky new dance move. Turn on some groovin' music, get in a big circle, and let the kids take center stage one-by-one to teach everyone their favorite step. As they dance in the center, have the other kids copy the step and cheer them on. You can offer prizes for each dancer: "most creative," "silliest," "most difficult"...
• Retro Relay: Stack up two piles of brightly colored, silly, retro looking clothing and accessories. Divide the kids into two teams, and have a relay race. Each kid has to run to the pile of clothes and don a hat, shirt, pants or skirt, shoes, and whatever crazy jewelry or accessories you come up with; then pose for a picture; take the clothes back off and run to tag the next team member.
• Cake Dance: On the floor, place numbered Foofa flowers (made with construction paper) or brightly colored polka dots. Start the music and have the kids start groovin'. When the music stops, every child has to find a flower to stand on. Call out a number, and the child standing on that flower gets a cupcake or other prize to take home.
• Who Stole DJ Lance's Hat?: One child stands in the middle of the circle, with eyes closed, as music plays. The other kids pass around an orange hat until the music stops. The child holding the hat then hides it behind them, and the child in the center gets three guesses to figure out who has the hat. After the third guess, the game is played again. When the child in the middle guesses correctly, the one holding the hat takes the place as DJ Lance in the center of the circle.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Goody Bags:

Don't forget to give the kids their goodies as you say good-bye! You can print out the materials to make Yo Gabba Goody Bags on the Nick Jr. website. Fill with goodies -- preschoolers especially love candy, bubbles, noisemakers, and party blow-outs.