Find Birthday Party Hats That Are Fun to Wear!

Parents love for their children to wear birthday party hats on that special day! Some families love wearing hats so much that they have made a birthday tradition out of it.

Birthday Hat Tradition

When my oldest son turned one, we went with the traditional disposable birthday hat for his theme (Winnie the Pooh). He looked so cute in it!

As he got older and we started having more kids, we wanted something more.

One day when we were shopping at a toy store, we came across an adorable and fun hat. My husband and I both couldn't pass it up and purchased it. We immediately had the idea of using it year after year for our kids.

We thought it would be so fun to use it in this way and be able to look at pictures from year to year and see how our children had grown just by how this birthday party hat fit them. Little did we know that all of our children would get into this tradition so much and make us wear it on our birthdays as well. So much fun!

Once our daughter was born and her 1st birthday party rolled around, we just couldn't have her wear a sports hat. Off we went to find her a very special little princess party hat. We found the perfect one at the same store that we had purchased our other hat. Now all of the boys wear the original one and all of the girls wear this special princess one.

princess birthday party hats

There are many options for party hats out there. Let's look at each one.

Handmade Hats

If you are on a strict budget and/or just enjoy making things for your kids (like me), then why not hand make your very own party hat for your little one?

This can be fun and can even be done with your child. I am not an expert at this by any means, I just love the idea of giving my kids something that I have made with my own hands. This is such a wonderful expression of your love for them.

How To Make Your Own Birthday Party Hat

First, cut a piece of card stock (or any other heavy paper) into a perfect square. You can also use your favorite material and heavy interfacing for stiffness. If using material, make sure you serge the edges to ensure that nothing ravels in the process of making it. Gently fold the square into a cone shape.
Staple , glue, or sew the ends together making sure that one side overlaps the other. Most likely, the bottom of your hat will not be straight.
At this point, you need to trim the bottom so that it can sit flat on top of a table ensuring that it will sit flat on top of your child's head. If you are using card stock, you can glue a piece of scrapbook paper onto the it before folding. Using your favorite scrapbook paper is fun and sweet.
Staple one piece of elastic cord to the bottom of the hat to make a chin strap. If you are using material to make the hat, then you can also sew 3/8" ribbon to make ties on each side. Anything and everything goes when making birthday party hats.
When you are finished with the chin straps, you are then ready to decorate. Use fun craft items to glue onto the hat for decoration. It is a wise choice to use hot glue to keep all decorative items securely in place. Some decorative items to use on the hat include fringe trim, yarn, pom poms, stickers, sequins, beads, jewels, etc.
For an added touch, personalize all birthday party hats for your kids by monogramming them either with letter stickers or an embroidery machine.

For a great pattern to make a handmade birthday party hat for your little one, visit YouCanMakeThis.com.

Disposable Store Bought Birthday Party Hats

Disposable birthday party hats come in all themes and colors. This is a great alternative if you do not really want to do the birthday hat family tradition or you are short on time and money. These types of party hats are best found at your local discount store, at any party store, from numerous birthday party supply websites, and from ebay.

Family Tradition Store Bought Hat

When doing the birthday hat tradition at your house, it will be important to get a good quality hat that is durable, can be washed or at least spot cleaned, and will literally last a lifetime.

Who knows? This could be a tradition that is carried on by your grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We have had the best luck finding these hats at toy stores, but I know that there are places online that offer wonderful birthday party hats. The cute little pink princess party hat below is just like the lavender one we have at our house. It is from Shindigz, a great party store online. I have ordered many things from them with great success.

Whatever type of birthday party hat that you decide to use for your child's birthday is sure to be adorable and memorable. I would love to post some pictures of your little one in his/her own party hat. Please go to the contact page to submit your pictures or favorite birthday party story or idea.