70 Of The Best 2nd Birthday Party Ideas For Boys & Girls

Kara’s Party Ideas takes the birthday celebration back to the ‘80s in a totally tubular 1980s bash. Use plenty of purple, hot pink, glitter, and glitz to make this party fabulous, and play some music hits your adult guests will enjoy remembering. You can do so many things, like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” rock and roll, or take it into a whole other decoration and go with a surfing and beach theme.

SHOP: 80’s Birthday Decorations

If you’re looking for a charming and dainty way to celebrate your little girl’s big day, check out this precious party from Bits of Bri. It’s a pink and gold tea party featuring the epitome of posh, Miss Minnie Mouse. Set up a complete tea party spread with finger sandwiches, cheese, and fruit on tiered serving trays, teapots full of pink lemonade, and lots of cute cupcakes. Add a costume trunk full of fancy hats, feather boas, pearls, and long gloves for everyone to dress up for tea.

SHOP: Tea For Two Birthday Decorations

This is an adorable party idea, especially if the birthday girl loves horses. She’s Kinda Crafty jazzes things up with a turquoise and pink theme, but you can go with any colors that work for your little one. Use pony silhouettes and banner flags to decorate, along with balloons and colorful confetti. Encourage guests to wear their fanciest hats, just like they would if they were attending a race at Churchill Downs.

SHOP: Horse Birthday Decorations

Little girls adore unicorns, rainbows, and anything that sparkles, so why not put them all together like Stuff Moms Like? A glittery gold flying unicorn silhouette is a showstopping centerpiece on a beautiful rainbow backdrop. The multi-colored ruffled table skirt is stunning, and you can go as big or as simple as you like. Use cotton batting in your backdrop for 3D clouds, pass out unicorn headbands, and use lots of sprinkles on cupcakes and treats. We absolutely love this unicorn birthday!

SHOP: Unicorn Birthday Decorations

This popular phrase became even more beloved by parents everywhere with the 1994 children’s book, Guess How Much I Love You? You can draw inspiration from the book’s characters, two loving hares, or go with a soft and sweet space theme. Choose a subtle color palette and hints of silver, moons, and stars, and a stunning cake topper like this one from Etsy. If you want to go a bit bolder, then go all-in with the outer space idea, adding rockets, astronauts, and some quirky aliens.

SHOP: Two The Moon And Back Birthday Decorations

Is your little girl a true wild child? Then what better way to celebrate than with a jungle-themed adventure birthday like Brie Bemis Rearick? Take your guests on a wild safari full of cute animals, bright colors, and festive decorations. Use lots of greens and golds along with pops of animal print for the perfect accents. Animal-shaped balloons are tons of fun, and colorful tassels add a playful twist to the overall look.

SHOP: Two Wild Birthday Decorations

Break out the tutus (or should we say Two-Twos)? It’s time for a ballerina birthday bash full of tulle, roses, and ballet shoes everywhere. The Party Darling chooses white and pink, but you can opt for the colors of your choice and decide to keep things soft or go more vibrant. Carry your colors throughout your decorations, treats, and even your drinks to achieve a classic and sophisticated look. Make sure to have tutus for little dancers to try on and have a ballet session during the party.

SHOP: Ballerina Birthday Decorations

Here’s a party theme you can really sink your teeth into, especially your sweet tooth. Sierra L Miller goes all out with a sprinkle theme, adding the festive dessert topping to the cake and cupcakes and using the idea on tableware and decorations. If you’re looking for a super colorful birthday, this one is for you. It’s a perfect theme for decorating cookies and sweets or creating little take-home decorating kits as your party favors.

SHOP: Two Sweet Birthday Decorations

This theme will work inside, but if your party takes place during a lovely time of year, consider bringing things outdoors. You can create an enchanted garden setting with lots of greenery and flowers, or if you’re lucky, use a greenhouse like Lone Star Looking Glass. Depending on your surroundings, the environment might be the perfect backdrop. But you can always recreate the look with a greenery wall and lots of colorful plants and flowers.

SHOP: Fairy Birthday Decorations

Anna and Elsa are some of the most famous princesses around, so your little girl will likely love having a Frozen-themed birthday. You can highlight her favorite character or use them all, with lots of blues, lavenders, and silvers as your colors. Josefina Flores sets up an artificial white Christmas tree as part of the décor, along with a character backdrop and lots of balloons. Large snowflakes add to the look and make this party a magical winter wonderland.

SHOP: Frozen Birthday Decorations

A barnyard or farm theme is a popular idea for young children’s birthday parties. You can recreate a farm scene, set up hayrides using small wagons, or even do pony rides. Party Doll Manila goes with a pink barn instead of the classic red for a little girl’s birthday, with a fun rhyming theme. Set up blocks of hay and have animal accessories to make a fun photo booth. You can also play classic party games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Duck, Duck, Goose.

SHOP: Farm Theme Birthday Decorations

Butterflies are the perfect theme for a little girl’s party because they’re sweet and colorful and a little magical too. So you can create a beautiful setup that everyone is sure to remember, just like Crowning Details does, with vivid colors and lots of butterfly shapes. You don’t need to get too complicated with the theme. All of the different colors coming together are enough to make a big impact.

SHOP: Butterfly Birthday Decorations

The Trolls movies are a family favorite for all ages and make an excellent setting for a festive birthday. Thanks to their colorful personalities and fluffy hair, you can choose any color you want or go with them all. Celebrate with all the trolls or focus your efforts on one star, like The Keeper of the Cheerios, LLC does with Queen Poppy. Multi-colored tassels, streamers, artificial flowers, and tulle all come together to create a vibrant and bright birthday backdrop.

SHOP: Trolls Birthday Decorations

This one is a super fun birthday theme idea, especially for a summertime party. Catch My Party shows off a super bright version with tons of fruit shapes and colorful treats spread across the main table. Serve lots of fresh fruit, add fruit-shaped cookies, rainbow sherbet, and much more. Play pin the banana on the banana tree or any other version you can think of, and don’t forget to play Little Richard’s famous song.

SHOP: TWO-tti Frutti Birthday Decorations

If you’re a parent of a toddler, then just reading the words Bubble Guppies is enough to start the theme song playing in your head. It’s a great kid’s show and makes an even better birthday theme. Mimi’s Dollhouse shows off the main characters along with some under the sea décor. Crank up a bubble machine to add to the ocean atmosphere. You can use colors inspired by the show and characters or find Bubble Guppy party supplies on Amazon or at a party supply store.

SHOP: Bubble Guppies Birthday Decorations

Are you planning a pool party or an outside spring or summer bash for your little one’s birthday? Hostess with the Mostess decides to have some refreshing fun with popsicles for her two-cool theme. Cardboard tubes become an easy and instant popsicle streamer, and you can decorate with tons of different colors. Don’t want to deal with a pool? No problem, set up a splash pad or sprinkler, or mimic the idea with a kiddie pool ball pit.

SHOP: Popsicle Birthday Decorations

Another great idea for warm weather birthdays is ice cream. You know what they say, you scream, I scream…you get the idea. Everyone loves ice cream, and this birthday can be two scoops of fun for your little one. Cristin Cooper uses a confetti print on her decorations and pastel colors, reminding you of a quaint ice cream shop. Other options for this theme are, Here’s the Scoop; She’s Turning Two or Two Scoops Are Better Than One.

SHOP: Ice Cream Birthday Decorations

There’s something special about Peppa Pig because kids are obsessed with the show and characters. So if your little girl is one of the many that adore this precious pink piglet, then take some inspo from Ashley Brooke Nicholas for a Peppa Pig birthday celebration. You can get character-themed tableware and décor, pass out pig noses, make pink cupcakes, or anything else your heart desires. Rainbows make a fun, colorful addition to the primarily pink palette.

SHOP: Peppa Pig Birthday Decorations

You can do a few things with this Guess Who theme. Bless this Mess makes it an owl-themed birthday, using brightly colored owls and lots of fun owl-themed treats and forest décor. But you can also go in a different direction and play detective. Let guests solve a little mystery or go on a kid-friendly scavenger hunt. Use magnifying glasses and question marks as decorations, or go vintage with some Sherlock Holmes-inspired memorabilia. It’s a perfect theme for mystery lovers.

SHOP: Guess Who Birthday Decorations

Princess parties will be a contender for many years when it comes to birthday theme ideas for young kids. But, the excellent part is you can do so many different versions of a princess party. Choose your favorite royal or celebrate with a bunch like Our Blessed Life. Or go with a general princess theme and center your decorations around a unique color palette. Create a castle backdrop, set up a princess dress-up zone, and have a dancing area for a mini ball.

SHOP: Princess Birthday Decorations

Any activity that allows kids to burn up some energy is a must-have at a toddler birthday party. But you want to keep the rules simple so you can start the fun right away. Freeze Dance fits the bill, with only one rule — dance until the music stops. You can choose music that goes along with your party theme or just play some of your kid’s favorite tunes.

If you’re having an outdoor party, then this activity can be lots of fun for everyone. Place out a few buckets of sidewalk chalk and have guests draw and create a collection of masterpieces. Make sure to make it clear ahead of time if there are any chalk-free areas. Or, to help little ones remember, use tape to outline the drawing area.

Let kids channel their inner performers and their natural desire to play with a game of animal charades. You can play different versions, one where kids act out the animal and one where they can only make the sound. Another version could be having an adult make the animal sound and have the kids try to guess.

Here’s a cute activity for a pirate-themed birthday from The Podunk Librarian builds balance and is lots of fun. You can also simply set up a balance bar on a blue tarp to represent the ocean. If you have older kids at the party wanting more of a challenge, use an elevated bar for them.

Turn on a bubble machine and watch the fun begin. Tell kids to try and pop all of the bubbles before they touch the ground. If you have a lot of kids at the party, get two machines and divide everyone into two groups. You can also have older kids blow bubbles for the younger kids.

If you have some music that fits well with your theme, play the songs and host a sing-a-long. If not, choose any kid favorites that most of your young guests will know. You can pass out prop microphones for fun and even put on a pretend concert.

This activity is lots of fun (and yes, a little messy — but worth it). It’s easy to clean up, though — just place a disposable tablecloth on the floor under a long table and another on top. Let kids go to town with canned frosting, sprinkles, etc., and then just wrap up the remains in the table cloth when you’re done.

Let kids gather around a toy parachute and play some of the classics like keep the ball on the parachute, or bounce the balls. Children will squeal with delight as the plastic balls go flying everywhere. You can call out names to signal which kids must chase after the runaway balls.

Here’s a classic that everyone knows. You can keep the name the same or change it up to match your theme. For example, taco, taco, burrito for a Taco TWO-sday party or Sven, Sven, Olaf for a Frozen theme. If you’re worried about little kids getting upset if they have to go in the middle, have that person be in charge of holding something special.

A piñata is a popular party activity with which kids of all ages can have fun. Make sure to fill it with some age-appropriate goodies. Amazon has all sorts of piñatas, so you can find one that fits your theme. You can let the little ones try to whack it, but if not, opt for one with a pull-string option just in case.

Asking a kid if they want a donut is like asking a parent if they need a break. Donut holes are an excellent option for a toddler party since they keep the serving size small. You can buy them in tons of flavors from your favorite donut shop. Or make your own classic cinnamon and sugar donuts like these from Kid BAM.

Cheese is a hit with pretty much everyone on the planet. It’s also a staple at most parties and a classic toddler snack. Therefore, it’s no surprise that it would make its way onto this list. You can do cheese cubes, cheese slices, and cheese squares, then serve it solo or with crackers.

Little kids love fruit (it’s like they don’t realize it’s healthy yet). Especially strawberries, blueberries, oranges, bananas, and other easy to eat sweet bites. You can cut up some favorites on a tray or have a big bowl of fruit salad. My Fussy Eater makes it even more fun to eat fruit with these cute cones.

You might not think two-year-olds and vegetables go together. But serve them up in a cute way like Eating Richly does with this lion veggie tray, and you might think differently.  Talk about a fun way to encourage toddlers to eat their veggies. Plus, the cuts are just right for little mouths to nibble.

A go-to for all kinds of parties is undoubtedly finger sandwiches. They’re easy to eat while you mingle and move about and you can choose from tons of options. Some must-haves for a kid’s party are peanut butter and jelly, cheese, and turkey. You can serve the classic crustless triangles or use cookie cutters to make different shapes.

What kid doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? It’s a classic dish that most adults gravitate to as well. But this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie makes it super easy for little ones to serve themselves. You can leave each mac ‘n cheese cupcake in its own cupcake sleeve to keep it mess-free.

Pizza is a staple at every kid’s party, but for little ones, why not go with little pizzas to match tiny fingers? Make mini pizzas using English muffins or large crackers. If you’re extra daring, you can even let kids make their own (with supervision) in a preset pizza zone.

When serving little guests, finding age-appropriate foods that are also healthy is a bonus. Plays Well with Butter makes tasty frozen yogurt drops that are kid-approved, but the grownups will like as well. You can also simply freeze some yogurt in an ice cube tray for a quick, frozen treat.

Kids and juice pouches go hand in hand. They’re just easy and certainly limit spills when you’re hosting several children. You can buy some in bulk from places like Amazon if you think you’ll need a large amount. Toss a whole bunch in a tub of ice for guests to grab as needed.

Water might not sound like the most exciting thing on the beverage table, but it’s a must at any party. For little kids, though, big waters are a waste. Opt for the small 8-ounce bottles instead, and give them a personal touch like All Things Dear. You can always serve some larger ones too for your adult guests.

A tried and true party favor is a bag full of treats. Get some goody bags that match your theme on Amazon or a party supply store and fill them up with some kid-friendly favorites. You can add candy, crayons, costume jewelry, activity books, or anything else that suits your style.

Sidewalk chalk makes a great favor for springtime and summer birthdays. It gives kids something they can actually use that inspires creativity and imagination too. Mighty Girl dresses up her chalk like candy to match the party theme. But you can also simply wrap a few pieces up in a ribbon with a cute thank you.

Little kids love playing dress-up, so a costume accessory makes a great party favor. You can also hand them out at the start of the party to snag some fun photos. You can find a bunch of options on Amazon or at party stores, including masks, sunglasses, hats, capes, magic wands, swords, and more.

You don’t have to look too hard to find pop-its these days; they’re the definite kid favorite. Even adults enjoy the stress-relieving qualities these toys deliver. Amazon has all sorts of styles, colors, and sizes, so you can choose a shape that works well with your party.

You can’t go wrong with an edible party favor. Kids and adults love something yummy to take on the road after the festivities. Midget Momma whips up yummy pretzels with blue and white chocolate to go perfectly with a Frozen birthday. But you change up the colors and patterns to match the theme of your choice.

Create some art sets or give out coloring books and crayons like DoubleTrouble. You can match the books to your theme, go with a hodgepodge, or get mini activity books. You could also print out a few coloring sheets and roll them up with a set of crayons for a more budget-friendly option.

You don’t have to go over the top or spend a ton of money on party favors. Sometimes, the simplest ideas can be the most exciting for kids. Jessica Valarezo fills themed plastic cups with an assortment of candy and trinkets for guests. But you can do the same with disposable cups if you’re working on a tighter budget.

The dollar store is a great place to find lots of favor ideas, including bubbles. Attach a special note that matches your theme to a thing of bubbles like GinaNFallon for an easy and fun party favor. Kids love bubbles, and they’re an especially great favor for springtime or summer birthdays.

Give your young guests something they’ll enjoy over and over again as a thank you for coming to the party. COVET by Tricia hands out small containers of Play-Doh with a special sticker note on top. They also look super vibrant on your table, making them a great favor for a colorful theme.

Themed cookies are a popular favorite for party favors because they’re tasty, and parents love that they don’t add to the clutter. You can find character cookies like these awesome Paw Patrol beauties from Martina Encheva Cakes Decor or any other designs that match your party.