Knights in shining armor, beautiful unicorns and dragons are popular make-believe characters. Kids of all ages just love to have pretend sword fights and be heroes. Books about dragons are numerous, as well, and can be a big help when creating a party theme. So, if you wish to put on your creative hat, you can have a “Knights, Dragons, and Unicorns” theme for your child’s next birthday party. This is a great party theme when you have both boys and girls at the same party.

To start the festivities, why not play one of many versions of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”? “Pin the Helmet on the Knight”, “Pin the Fire on the Dragon”, or “Pin the Horn on the Unicorn” are all possibilities. Terrific pictures of knights, dragons and unicorns can be found in many picture books, or you can even try the encyclopedia. All you need to do is blow one of the pictures up at a local copy shop and then laminate it to keep it sturdy.

You can have your Knights create Shields for themselves out of cardboard and paint excellent designs on them with poster paint. Have the shields already cut out and help the kids put the handles on the back and choose a design and colors.

Next, the guests can sit in a circle and play “Knight, Knight, Dragon”! Played like the children’s game “Duck, Duck, Goose”, the dragon always does the chasing in this version. Then you can play musical chairs using the well known song “Puff, the Magic Dragon”.

Finally, you can move to a dragon piñata full of goodies, like stickers, bubbles and candy. Have the kids decorate a baggie or paper bag beforehand with a dragon coloring sheet and some crayons to keep their loot in.

After the games are all cleaned up, you can surprise the guests with pony rides! No knight is complete without his horse, so this activity fits the theme perfectly.

Another fun activity you can do when you have this theme is balloon swords. You’ve seen clowns make them numerous times, so why not leave the kids give it a try? All you need are some very long balloons and a balloon pump, which can be found at many party supply stores. Instructions for the twisting of the balloon can be found online. Allow the guests to decorate some large appliance boxes to resemble castles and they can have mock swordfights between them with their balloon swords.

Food for this theme can be unique and fun. Simple cakes and cookies can be provided and the guests can decorate them with fun frosting and sparkles. You can also let them try “Red Hots”, “Fireballs” or “Hot Tamales” to mimic the dragon’s fire. Knights in movies are often shown holding a whole turkey drumstick, so why not provide the kids with smaller chicken drumsticks instead.

Paper products for your party and decorations are easily found with unicorn prints. Check your local party supply store or online party outlets. Several have everything you’ll need from invitations and streamers to plates and thank you notes! (Tip: when ordering online, leave plenty of time for shipping!)

When your party is winding down, let your party guests sit back and relax in front of the cartoon “Dragon Tales”. Or have them gather around in a circle and read them a fairy tale all about knights, dragons and unicorns.