I love party planning. It’s so much fun, and I love getting creative. Every year, I try to think of something outside the box for my daughter’s birthday parties. Even if it’s a well-known theme, I try to put a unique spin on it.

For Lucy’s 8th birthday, I came up with a super fun idea with the help of my parents – a Travel the World Party! It would be fun and educational, and we have plenty of family and friends who have lived in, visited or are from other countries.

I got several friends and family members on board to help, and I knew it was going to turn out amazing. Each one of them had a country, and they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted – hopefully including some kind of activity for the kids to do. The countries we chose for our Travel the World Party were – US, Japan, Tawain, Israel, Mexico and France.

When the kids arrived, they had to check in. They left their luggage (presents) in the drop-off area and got their passports, which would be stamped in every country they visited.

One fun thing we did was to get a globe that the kids signed when they checked in. It’s such a fun keepsake for Lucy!

Once everyone had checked in, we divided them into groups, and each group went to a country. Then, they rotated around so that we didn’t have a ton of kids at one table at a time with other tables empty.

Taiwan

The first table was Taiwan. My brother and his family lived there for several years, so they had tons of things to bring. The kids had so much fun seeing everything, and they had little rice crisps for the kids to try.

Japan

After Taiwan, the kids moved to Japan. My Dad lived there as a kid, so he had a blast with this. He had so many things to show them, including how Japanese wear their sandals.

I loved the kimono and hat he wore. He really looked authentic, and he had so many neat items.

He made a bunch of origami and showed the kids how to make them. It was so neat!

Hawaii

After Japan, the kids traveled back to the United States and went to Hawaii. My mom’s family is from Hawaii, so she had plenty to bring, too. She dressed up in a Hawaiian dress and taught the kids how to do the hula! I remember how she would come to school when I was a kid and teach us how to do it.

I bought a bunch of floral leis, and the kids each got one. I tried to make sure we had something they could take home with them from each country.

The kids then moved on to Mexico! One of my best friends is from Mexico, and she brought chips with salsa and homemade guacamole. She also had Takis, which is one of my husband’s favorite snacks!

They also brought a dress from Mexico and a peso, which the kids loved seeing.

I had bought maracas, so the kids took those with them as a favor.

After Mexico, the kids went to France! My brother visited France and it’s one of his favorite countries. He had watercolor paintings for the kids to paint!

The final station was Israel. My in-laws have been to Israel, and they had beautiful picture books, a scroll and other things from that country. And, of course, delicious food!

Of course, we had on-board refreshments for the kids’ trip. I got little bags of peanuts and pretzels plus chips, juice and water so it was like the snacks you get (or used to get) on flights.

The cake was AMAZING. The woman who makes all our cakes blew me away with the suitcase cake. She even had a passport on top with Lucy’s picture on it! This was definitely my favorite cake out of all the ones she’s made, and I got SO many raves about it!

This Travel the World Party was such a fun birthday party, and the kids LOVED it. I wasn’t sure what they would think about it at first, but they said it was their favorite of Lucy’s parties. And, they learned so much! I hope you love the ideas I have here, and check out the other Party Planning Ideas I’ve posted as well!

Shop the party items here:

Leis – Oriental Trading

Maracas – Oriental Trading

Passports + Stickers – Oriental Trading

Inflatable Globes – Amazon

Globe for Kids to Sign – Amazon

Israel Stickers – Amazon

Table Signs – Etsy