11 Fun Non Food Classroom Birthday Ideas and Treats

If you teach or have a child in elementary school, you know birthday celebrations can be a big deal! But with food allergies at the top of everyone’s minds these days, celebrating student birthdays can be tricky. But no need to stress – you can still plan something special for your child’s birthday with these non food classroom birthday ideas and treats that the whole class and the teacher will love!

But before we get to that, if you’re a parent, I want to remind you to talk to your child’s teacher at the beginning of the year about school birthday parties. Most teachers have a certain way to handle them. Maybe there’s one class party each month for all the birthdays. Or maybe it can only happen at the end of the day on a Friday. Sometimes there’s even a school policy about parties that must be adhered to.

The point is – find out what’s allowed before your child’s special day rolls around.

Even if you’re allowed to bring in snacks, take a moment to decide if that’s the best option. Most schools only permit store-bought birthday treats, if they’re allowed at all. And of course, you have to buy enough for every kid. So think about the cost of 20+ store-bought birthday cupcakes, drinks, plates, and napkins. Non-food celebrations often turn out to be less expensive than sweet treats.

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Non Food Classroom Birthday Ideas

Here are some of my favorite easy classroom birthday ideas that don’t involve food. If it’s a combined, multi-student birthday party, other parents will be contributing, so you’ll just need one of these. If it’s a celebration for just your child, you may want to choose two or three to make it a party.

(Teachers, you can use these ideas too if you’re in charge of planning the birthdays in your classroom.)

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Temporary Tattoos

This is so easy and inexpensive. You can buy a huge pack of temporary tattoos on Amazon for about $5. They are fun and colorful, and younger kids LOVE them! You can set up a little station in the classroom and have the kids come back one-by-one to choose their tattoo and have it applied.

You can find tattoos that fit just about any theme like wild animals, pirates, monsters, race cars, unicorns, dinosaurs, sports, and even specific characters – or just buy a big multi-pack with a little bit of everything.

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Birthday Book Donation

Does your child have a favorite book? How about buying a copy to donate to the classroom library? You can put a note inside the front cover dedicating it in honor of your child’s birthday. Schedule a time with the teacher to come in a read it aloud to the whole class. 

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Craft Station

A lot of teachers have a designated time on Fridays for some kind of hands-on activity (Fun Friday). If you can plan one or two special crafts for your child’s birthday celebration, this will take something off the teacher’s plate and she will love you for it! 

A fun craft to do with kids is tissue paper flowers. Check youtube for lots of simple tutorials. If you aren’t crafty yourself, just bring in a bunch of craft supplies (popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, pieces of cardboard, glitter or sequins, etc.) and let the kids go to town making whatever they want. Just be sure to stay and clean up afterward. Don’t make more work for the teacher please!

Coloring Books 

If you want something even simpler than crafts, hit up your local dollar store for this idea. Kids love to color, right? You can get a bunch of coloring books for next to nothing and have a fun birthday coloring event. This is fun for litte ones (think kindergarten to first graders). Put out all the books and coloring supplies (crayons, markers, etc.) and ask the teacher to put on some fun kids’ music. 

Outdoor Activity

A structured outdoor activity is also something the teacher will love. It can count as recess time and is one less thing she has to plan. Think a scavenger hunt, a game of kickball, Simon Says, sidewalk chalk drawings, or just blowing bubbles outside. 

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One of my favorite non food classroom birthday ideas for older students is a paper airplane contest. I had a parent come up with that one year and wow did the kids love it!

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We all sat outside and folded paper planes. Then everyone lined up and threw their plane to see which one went the furthest. It was so much fun! After the first throw, the kids had a chance to improve their planes before trying again. The parent even brought in a small prize for the winners (first, second, and third place).

It turned out the student’s dad was an airline pilot and the child was naturally interested in planes. So it was a perfect way to celebrate at school which included some learning too!

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Guest Speaker

So this might not seem like a great way to celebrate a birthday at school, but hear me out. Does your child have a special interest? Maybe manatees or weather or space? What if you found an expert on the subject to come talk to the class or give a demonstration? Imagine the local new meteorologist giving a talk about tornadoes in honor of your child who is fascinated by the weather.

Believe it or not, this isn’t actually that hard to set up. Many local businesses and organizations do talks like this for free. Work with your teacher and plan far enough ahead to get it booked.

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Birthday Bingo

Kids love bingo! I use it for fun math practice all the time. Print off some birthday bingo cards (find them free online) and presto – exciting birthday activity! A good idea is to ask the teacher if you can borrow some math manipulatives to use as card markers. Colored chips, two-sided markers, or unit blocks will all work perfectly.

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Balloon Animals 

If you happen to know how to make balloon animals, this is a super fun way to celebrate a classroom birthday! Kids of any age love this. All you need is a pack of balloons and a marker. Give the kids a list of different shapes you know how to make and let them choose. You can use the marker to draw a silly face on their balloon animals and ta-dah, you have some very happy children! If this is something you want to try, please plan it for an end-of-the-day celebration. No teacher wants to deal with balloons in the classroom all day.

Don’t know how to make balloon animals? You can actually learn pretty quickly. Here’s one that teaches the basics:

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She has a whole channel that demonstrates how to make different animals and shapes for beginners.

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Birthday Book

Another great option is to create a birthday book for your child to keep. All you need is a pack of paper and drawing supplies. Let each student design a page about your child with drawings and notes. Ask the teacher to write a special note inside the cover. Bind it all together in a birthday keepsake book.

If allowed, take a picture of the entire class together and add it to the book along with the school year, grade, and teacher’s name. Even 5th graders will appreciate being recognized in this special way.

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Birthday Goodie Bags

Sometimes a whole birthday event isn’t doable. If school policy or your schedule prevents any of these ideas, you can still send in birthday goodie bags to recognize your child’s day.

Just get a pack of birthday bags (a small plastic bag for each child will do) and fill them with little non-food items.

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You can get all kinds in the party section of Walmart, Target, Dollar Store, etc. Here are some ideas:

• fun pencils
• fidget spinners
• pencil toppers
• special stickers
• bubbles
• mini Play-doh
• little bouncy balls
• mini erasers
• glow sticks

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Birthday Star

This is another good idea if something structured isn’t an option. Maybe your child can wear a special crown, badge, or sash to school or bring in a stuffed animal to sit next to all day (please check with the teacher!).

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Something fun for older kids is to make up a trivia quiz about the birthday girl or boy. What is his favorite color? What is her favorite TV show? How many siblings does he have? What color is her bedroom painted? Your child will definitely feel like a star as the topic of conversation among his or her classmates!

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I hope this has given you some new and exciting non food classroom birthday ideas! No matter what activity or treat you choose for the birthday child, I suggest always including a big card that the entire class can sign. You can make this yourself out of construction paper or buy one. Either way, let each classmate sign the card so your child has something to remember this special day at school.