Kids' parties can get expensive quickly. But a lot of what makes a party feel special — the decorations, the games, the little details — can be printed at home for next to nothing. Here's a practical list of what's worth printing, where to find free templates, and a few tips for getting the best results on the day.
Most of the templates mentioned here are available free from either HP Printables or Canon Creative Park — both offer a wide range of party and celebration designs you can download, customise, and print straight from home.
Party Invitations
Printed invitations make a party feel more considered than a WhatsApp message or group chat, and they're something children enjoy receiving. Designing and printing your own means you can match the theme exactly — whether that's dinosaurs, space, unicorns, or a favourite character — and include all the details clearly without relying on a template from an expensive stationery site.
Canon Creative Park has a good selection of celebration invitation templates in different styles. Print on standard paper or, for a more premium feel, on a slightly heavier card stock — most home inkjet printers handle 160–200gsm card without any issues. A genuine ink cartridge makes a real difference here: invitation designs often include blocks of colour and fine detail that benefit from accurate colour reproduction and sharp edges.
Party Banners and Decorations
A printed banner or set of bunting transforms a room quickly and costs a fraction of what shop-bought party decorations charge. Printable banners can be sized to fit your space, themed to match the party, and assembled in ten minutes with string and tape.
Worth printing for decorations: birthday banners spelling out the child's name or age, themed bunting triangles, welcome signs for the front door, and table centrepiece flags. HP Printables includes party banner templates and celebration designs that work well for this. Print on plain paper for bunting and thicker card for anything that needs to stand up or hold its shape.
Games and Activity Sheets
Printed games are one of the most useful things you can have at a kids' party — they fill time between food and cake, work across a wide age range, and cost nothing beyond the paper and ink. A few well-chosen activity sheets can keep a room of children occupied for a surprisingly long time.
Things worth printing for party games include treasure hunt clues (print a set for each team), party bingo cards with themed images instead of numbers, colouring sheets tied to the party theme, spot the difference puzzles, and word searches. Canon Creative Park has a strong selection of printable games and activity sheets across different themes. Print enough copies for all the children, plus a few spares.
Party Hats and Wearables
Printable party hats, crowns, and masks are easy to assemble and double as an activity in themselves — children enjoy decorating or customising them as part of the party. They're also a practical alternative to the flimsy flat-pack hats that come in party bags and immediately fall apart.
A simple printed crown template on card, cut out and secured with a staple or sticky tape, takes about two minutes per child to prepare in advance. Printed masks on a stick add a dressing-up element to a party without the cost of proper costumes. Both HP Printables and Canon Creative Park include hat and mask templates in various styles.
Cupcake Toppers and Food Labels
Small printed details on the food table make a big difference to how a party looks. Cupcake toppers with the birthday child's name or age, food labels identifying what's in each dish, and themed tent cards for the dessert table all tie the decorations together without much effort.
Print cupcake toppers on plain paper, cut them out, and attach to cocktail sticks. Food labels work well printed on card and folded in half as small tent cards. These are quick to make, cost almost nothing, and are the kind of detail that gets noticed and photographed.
Thank-You Cards
Printed thank-you cards after the party are a thoughtful touch and a good opportunity for children to practise writing their own messages. A simple template with space for a printed design at the top and lines below for a handwritten note is all you need.
Print a card for each guest while the party is fresh, sit down with the birthday child the following day to write the messages, and post or hand them out during the week. Canon Creative Park includes thank-you card templates in various designs. Printing on slightly heavier paper or folded card makes them feel more like a proper card than a printed sheet.
Certificates and Awards
Printable certificates are a fun way to end a party — every child goes home with something. A "best dancer" certificate, a "treasure hunt champion" award, or a personalised certificate for completing a craft activity gives children something tangible to take home and show their parents.
Print a template for each guest with their name filled in, or leave the name field blank and fill it in by hand on the day. HP Printables has certificate templates suitable for children's events. Presenting them at the end of the party with a small flourish — even just reading them out — adds to the occasion.
Party Bag Fillers and Labels
Printed labels on party bags — with each child's name and a small illustration matching the party theme — turn a plain paper bag into something that feels personalised. Pair them with a small colouring sheet or puzzle tucked inside and you have a party bag filler that costs almost nothing and is more original than the usual plastic toys.
Print bag labels on adhesive label sheets for a clean finish, or cut out printed labels and attach with a sticker or piece of tape. A simple design with the party theme, the child's name, and a "thank you for coming" message is all it needs.
Getting the Best Results
Party printables often involve blocks of colour, fine detail, and designs that are meant to impress — so print quality matters more here than it does for plain documents. A few things that help:
Use genuine ink cartridges. Colour accuracy and sharpness on designs with rich colours is significantly better with genuine HP or Canon ink than with compatibles, which can produce colours that look slightly off or fade quickly after printing. For anything you want to look its best — invitations, certificates, banners — this is worth getting right.
Choose the right paper. Plain 80gsm paper is fine for games and activity sheets. For invitations, certificates, and anything decorative, a heavier paper or card stock (120–200gsm) gives a noticeably better result. Most home inkjet printers handle this without any adjustments needed.
Print in standard or high quality mode for designs with colour. Draft mode saves ink but produces noticeably lighter output on colourful designs — switch back to standard for anything that needs to look good.
And when the cartridges are done after all that party printing, don't bin them. Every HP and Canon order from Crazy Kangaroo includes a free prepaid recycling bag, or you can download a free Freepost recycling label at any time.
