17 Birthday Decorations You Can Easily Personalize

Birthday party planning calls for a list of things: a hand-signed card, mailed invitations, wrapped gifts, and a delicious cake topped with candles. Also on that list? Handmade birthday party decorations, which offer something that store-bought ones cannot: infinite imagination and tailored-just-to-you personalization.

What makes for good birthday party décor? Choose your theme or color palette for the birthday party and design elements that correspond to that theme. For example, if the theme is carnival, then kid-friendly crafts that like our gumball machine party favors or paper hot air balloons will delight young guests in attendance. Tissue-paper pom-poms and luminarias—coordinated in warm hues—give a soft glow to the tablescape. Cake toppers and cupcake toppers add a personalized touch to any desserts' presentation while singing the "Happy Birthday" song. Banners, balloons, and sprinkling confetti are classic ideas for any birthday party. And why not add photographs of the birthday boy or girl to the balloons, the centerpiece, or the tableware itself? Small touches like these can add personalization to your party theme, and the occasion will be memorable for many years to come.

Even a socially-distanced party—whether hosted virtually or in a drive-by—calls for an attention to detail that takes time to put together. A birthday party hosted outdoors or over a Zoom call could include colorful signs or banners that spell out a greeting to invited guests waving from afar. Browse some of our ideas—these do-it-yourself decorations transform a space and let everyone know it's time to party.

Echo the metallic decorations on the table and around the room with these silvery flower- and star-shaped bases for the birthday-cake candles. Punch out flower and star shapes from foil paper. Use a screw punch to make a hole in center of each shape. Slide shapes down candles, leaving a one-inch space at bottom.

Shop Now: Hygloss Foil Paper, $10.52 for 24 sheets, amazon.com; Recollections Star Lever Punch, $11.99, michaels.com; Japanese Screw Punch Tool, $7.99, dickblick.com.

Add letter-perfect elegance to a party with glittery shapes. Choose a font from your computer, and print a letter in desired size. Cut out, and trace onto mat or illustration board. Cut out the form using a craft knife. Place the letter on kraft paper, and coat it with spray adhesive. Sprinkle with glitter.

Shop Now: Crescent Art & Illustration Board, $14.23, amazon.com; Martha Stewart Craft Knife, $9.95, amazon.com; Martha Stewart Fine Glitter, $15.99, amazon.com.

Combining color and a design element—such as these stripes of streamers—gives decorations a powerful punch. Cover the table with white poster paper, and unroll streamers along its length, affixing them at intervals with double-sided tape. Top with glassine. For candleholders, use double-sided tape to attach streamers around glass holders.

Shop Now: Celebrate It Crepe Paper Streamers, $1.99 each, michaels.com.

Paper ice cream cups and clear dome lids transform into retro gumball machines that are sure to be a hit at the birthday party. Each kid gets their own mini gumball machine.

Colorful cardstock become 3D hot air balloons on the wall. Then make clouds to surround the balloons using white cardstock and cotton.

Letter-perfect party décor is easy with a garland made using our clip-art alphabet. Here, a birthday greeting in warm tones hangs above a serving table done up in similar shades of pink and orange. No matter the occasion, you won't be at a loss for words.

Go for it: Pick especially silly or endearing photos—choose a few—for these personalized takes on the classic party hat. It's all about silly and cute—with a silver bow on top.  

All you need is tissue paper, floral wire, and scissors to make these whimsical dahlia-like flowers. Hang them from the ceiling above the table or tie them to napkins at each place setting for a festive touch.

A high-flying tribute: Use spray adhesive to attach photos (use photo-editing software for round, white borders) to Mylar balloons.

Shop Now: Party City Silver Balloons, $2 each, partycity.com.

Combine a favorite image and a nifty computer program (called Rasterbator) to create a tiled decoration that can fill a wall or outsource the project to another similar artist on Etsy.

Shop Now: Office Depot Standard Photo Paper, $19.69 for 100 sheets, officedepot.com.

Document a life and make a big, bold visual statement at the same time. It's a snap to do—and inexpensive, too. Include shots from all eras, with lots of friends and family. Unify the images—and give them classic vintage appeal—by printing them in black-and-white. Lay them on the floor in the shape of the birthday number to determine your arrangement. Then tape them to a wall.

Shop Now: Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Camera, $59.99, target.com; Scotch Double-Sided Tape, $3.29, staples.com. 

As depicted upper left: Make a letter from battery-powered LED lighting, sold by the yard with its own adhesive backing. (Cover cord ends with white gaffer's tape.) Wrap glass candleholders with punched tissue paper. These tissue-wrapped candleholders can be made to suit any party palette.

Shop Now: Deerport Decor Daylight Integrated LED Micro String Light, $6.44, homedepot.com; Pottery Barn Floating Glass Votive Holder, starting at $14.50, potterybarn.com.

The gleam of gold, silver, copper, or bronze makes any event sparkle. Use one, or mix metals. For the votive candle above, wrap a glass holder in copper or silver metal tape.

It's hard to improve on a cupcake, except perhaps with a bright pom-pom topper. Simply punch out cornflowers from kraft paper using a craft punch. Use the pointed end of skewers to pierce center of cornflowers. Dab hot glue at each cornflower center, and affix one pom-pom to each cornflower and skewer. Slide cornflower skewers into cupcake tops.

Shop Now: Martha Stewart Cornflower Punch, $29.99, amazon.com; Creatology Neon Pom-Poms, $3.99 for 100, michaels.com.

Use your Cricut to design a paper garland suited to your theme. Here, we used a tropical pineapple in our printable project. (Plus, an extra party-planning tip: The same motif can be used as gift tags on the presents.)

Serve up old memories as you make a new one: Line the exterior bottom of an acrylic tray with a snapshot, enlarged and cut to fit. Attach the picture with spray adhesive.

Shop Now: CB2 Elton Polished Stainless Steel Tank Tray, $24.95, cb2.com; Elmer's Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive, $8.49, michaels.com.

Let the party take flight with these decorative lanterns—they're adorned with dozens of pretty paper butterflies, and made easy using the Cricut machine.