The Far East is a lot closer than you think! We'll help you and you little karate lover "get kicking" with these karate party and Kung Fu Panda party ideas. These creative martial arts activities, recipes, crafts, and more will have all your guests working towards black belts!

Best for...

Girls and boys ages seven through 12 will enjoy a martial arts party!

Party Planning

For peace of mind, begin planning your karate birthday party six to eight weeks in advance. This will allow you time to gather all the supplies that you need, including karate party decorations, gifts, and menu items. Planning ahead also gives your guests time to RSVP and make travel plans, if needed. Don't panic if you find yourself short on time; you can still plan a great martial arts party! Planning ahead simply reduces the risk of conflicts with guests' plans and may increase your party’s attendance.

To simplify the rest of the party planning process, check out our Party Planning Timeline, and read the paragraphs below for information on selecting martial arts party supplies, karate party favors, karate party decorations and more for your child's party.

Simple Uniforms for Guests

In general, a beginner student in martial arts wears a white belt. As a student learns additional skills, he/she wears a new belt in a different color to reflect the new rank. The martial arts belt colors, in order, are white, yellow, green, blue, red, and black. Some schools use white, yellow, green, brown, and black; and some karate schools use white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, and black;

You can provide a simple martial arts uniform for each guest using large white adult undershirts as the “gi” and a roll of nylon webbing from a fabric store to make belts. While you’re there, look for fabric with an Asian design in red, white, and black. Purchase enough fabric to cut a headband for each guest, and purchase a roll of black nylon webbing (or another color to match your child’s current belt color) to cut a belt for each guest. You may even find dragon or tiger patches to iron onto the undershirts. When the children arrive on party day, provide each with a white shirt, a headband to wear around the forehead, and a belt.

Karate Party Invitations

Creative karate birthday party invitations build excitement and can increase attendance at your child's karate party. If you have time to make your own invitations, be sure to involve your child in choosing the design and filling in the details. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Use heavy white cardstock cut in half to make an invitation that looks like a “gi”, or uniform shirt. An 8 ½” by 11” sheet will make two invitations when cut in half across the middle. Cut out a V shape from the center of one short end to create the general shape of a uniform shirt. Then use a hole punch to make a small hole on both sides of the shirt about halfway down each side. These holes are the belt loops. Take a piece of black ribbon and thread it from the back through both of the holes, and tie in a knot on the front of the shirt to create a black belt. If your child takes classes and is wearing another belt color, use the same color ribbon to make the belt on the invitation. Then turn the card over and write the invitation details on the back side.
• Seal the envelopes with martial arts stickers.
• For a special touch, let us print personalized invitations for you! We’ll include your child’s name and all the party details with a background design that complements your martial arts party theme. You can also take a look at the blank invitations we offer. These are quick to fill in and mail, which is perfect when you want to send your invitations quickly. Check out all of our karate party invitations.

Martial Arts Party Supplies

If you plan to use paper tableware and karate party supplies, our Suggested Party Supply List may be quite helpful. Please note that you may not need everything on the list; it is intended only as a guide.

The typical colors for karate partyware are red and white, with a touch of black (for black belt, of course).

Karate Party Favors

Fill your martial arts birthday party goodie bags with karate party favors, such as karate stickers, mini-belts and miniature martial artists. Place these items inside clear or printed cellophane bags, and tie the bags closed with red, white or black ribbons.