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Up Party Planning Guide

Party Planning Checklist

Up Party

A step-by-step checklist for an Up birthday. Quantities are for 8 kids, plus a few grown-ups.

  • Guests: 8 kids
  • Length: 2 hours
  • Dessert: cupcakes
  • Colors: sky blue and a rainbow of balloons
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Kids posing in front of Up banners
3–4 weeks before

Invitations & guest list

  • Set the date, time and headcountA 2-hour party is the sweet spot for kids. Count the parents who'll stay too.
  • Send invitationsAsk parents to RSVP 1 week out and to note any food allergies.
  • Optional: dress codeKids can come as Wilderness Explorers in a scout shirt and a sash.
  • Pick the spaceA backyard is perfect for a balloon-filled sky. Indoors, tie balloon bunches to every chair.
Kids unboxing an Up party pack
3–4 weeks before

Order your party supplies

Close-up of an Up dinner plate
1–2 weeks before

Plan the food & drinks

  • Order or bake 12 cupcakesYou have 12 cupcake wrappers, so get cupcakes, not a cake. Rainbow sprinkles and balloon-colored frosting dots, like the balloons over Carl's house.
  • Buy 16 bottles of waterYou have 16 bottle labels, so that's 2 per kid. Standard 16.9 oz bottles are the easiest to wrap.
  • Plan the main courseA "Wilderness Explorer" picnic: hot dogs, mac and cheese and fruit.
  • SnacksTrail mix (check for nut allergies), grape soda candy and popcorn.
  • Plan the drinksMake Paradise Falls Punch (the recipe is after the store list), plus grape soda. Plan for 2–3 drinks per kid.
  • IceAbout 1 lb per person, so one 10 lb bag.
  • Check allergiesConfirm against your RSVPs.
Kids with Dug cupcakes
1–2 weeks before

Games & prizes

  • Buy prizes for every gameWinners pick from the prize basket (see the DIY games below). Plan on 20–30 small prizes so every kid wins something.
  • Pin-the-Tail: blindfold + tapeHang the poster at kid eye level with painter's tape. Blindfold with a bandana, spin twice, and the closest pin wins.
  • Photo boothSet up a photo spot under a big balloon bunch with the photo booth props Prime Party.
  • Wilderness Explorer badgesMake paper badges for every game a kid finishes, just like Russell.
  • TriviaPrint this guide and leave the trivia page on the table. It's at the end of this checklist.
Kids playing the Up pin game
1–2 weeks before

Bonus DIY games (free to make)

  • Number Scramble: make the numbersWrite one big number per guest (1–8) on half sheets of 8.5 × 11 paper and tape them to the floor around the house. Write the same numbers on slips of paper and put them in a bowl.
  • Number Scramble: how to playAbout every 15 minutes, ring a bell or play "Married Life" on a speaker. Everyone scrambles to stand on an open number. Draw a slip from the bowl, and whoever is standing on that number picks a prize. Set the winning slip aside so every kid gets a turn.
  • Lucky Plate: mark one plateBefore you set the table, draw a small balloon on the bottom of one dinner plate.
  • Lucky Plate: the revealHalfway through the meal, announce that everyone should check under their plate. Whoever finds the small balloon picks a prize.
  • Prize basketFill a basket with inexpensive prizes for winners to pick from: movie-theater candy boxes, balloon-shaped candy, mini compasses and stickers. Use it for every game. Buy more than you think you'll need. Leftover candy and toys make great thank-you prizes for your clean-up crew. 😉
Kids at an Up photo booth
1 week before

Favors

  • Buy favor fillers for 8A mini compass or flashlight, grape candy and a sticker.
  • Check for choking hazardsUse age-appropriate fillers if younger siblings are coming.
Up favor boxes with balloons
Day before

Prep & set up

  • Wrap the water bottlesPeel off the store labels, wrap with the Up labels and chill.
  • Fill the 8 favor boxes
  • Make the Number Scramble signs and slips; mark the lucky plateTape the numbers down on party day so they don't get kicked around.
  • Hang the banners and wall décorPut the wall piece behind the food or photo area, and drape the banner over a doorway or the food table.
  • Inflate balloonsMix red, yellow, orange, green and blue. Air-filled clusters last longer than helium. Hang the streamers and scatter the confetti on the table last.
  • Set out serving dishesFood goes in bowls and on platters, not on the printed plates, so the artwork stays visible.
Kids with Up bottle labels
Party day

Run of show

3 hrs before Pick up the cupcakes and order the food.
2 hrs before Table cover and 8 place settings.
1 hr before Fill the cooler, set up the games, and tape down the Number Scramble numbers.
Arrival Music on and drinks out while everyone arrives, photo booth open.
Every 15 min Ring the bell for a Number Scramble round.
+30 min Food. Lucky Plate reveal while they eat.
+1 hr Pin-the-Tail and Wilderness Explorer badges.
+1 hr 40 Cupcakes, candles and "Happy Birthday." Read trivia while they eat.
Goodbyes Hand out the favors at the door.
Up cake on dessert plates
Take this to the store

Your pick-up list

Everything here comes from the grocery or dollar store.

  • Food
  • 12 cupcakesfor the wrappers
  • Hot dogs + buns
  • Mac and cheese
  • Fruit + popcorn
  • Trail mixcheck nut allergies
  • Drinks
  • 16 bottles of waterfor the labels
  • Paradise punch ingredientssee the recipe below
  • Cupssky blue or red solids
  • Iceabout 10 lb
  • Games & favors
  • Prize basket: 20–30 small prizesget extra, since games go lots of rounds
  • Paper, tape + markerfor Number Scramble
  • Bell or speaker
  • Bandana or scarffor the blindfold
  • Favor fillers for 8
  • Supplies
  • Painter's tape + removable hooks
  • Balloon pump or helium + ribbon
  • Serving bowls & platters
  • Birthday candles + lighter
  • Cooler or tub
Signature drink (non-alcoholic)

Paradise Falls Punch

A tropical punch that tastes like an adventure. Alcohol-free and kid-approved. Makes about 12 cups, enough for 8 kids with refills. Time: 5 min.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups pineapple juice, chilled
  • 4 cups orange juice, chilled
  • 4 cups chilled lemon-lime soda
  • Splash of grenadine or cherry juice
  • Ice

Steps

  1. Mix the pineapple and orange juice in a punch bowl.
  2. Top with lemon-lime soda and ice.
  3. Add a splash of grenadine. It sinks like a waterfall.
  4. Serve in clear cups.

Tip: Grape soda was Ellie's favorite. Set out a few cans with a pin-on "Ellie badge" bottle cap.

Table talk

12 Up Trivia Questions

Leave this page at the table and read them out between bites. They make for fun conversations at the table, and kids love stumping the grown-ups.

  1. What is the name of the old man who flies his house?
    Show answer Carl Fredricksen
  2. What is the name of the young Wilderness Explorer?
    Show answer Russell
  3. What is the name of the talking dog?
    Show answer Dug
  4. What does Russell name the big colorful bird?
    Show answer Kevin
  5. Where does Carl want to take his house?
    Show answer Paradise Falls
  6. What lifts Carl's house into the sky?
    Show answer Thousands of balloons
  7. What is the name of Carl's wife?
    Show answer Ellie
  8. Which famous explorer turns out to be the villain?
    Show answer Charles Muntz
  9. Which badge does Russell need to earn?
    Show answer The Assisting the Elderly badge
  10. What group is Russell part of?
    Show answer The Wilderness Explorers
  11. What lets Dug talk?
    Show answer His special collar
  12. What year did Up come out?
    Show answer 2009
Answer key (fold this part under)
  1. Carl Fredricksen
  2. Russell
  3. Dug
  4. Kevin
  5. Paradise Falls
  6. Thousands of balloons
  7. Ellie
  8. Charles Muntz
  9. The Assisting the Elderly badge
  10. The Wilderness Explorers
  11. His special collar
  12. 2009
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The Sandlot

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Inside Out

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Fantastic 4

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Monsters Inc

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Monster Jam

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Ghostbusters

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Golden Girls

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Care Bears

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Chucky

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Halloween

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Yellowstone

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The Office

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Star Trek

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NASCAR

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Bob Ross

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Mandalorian

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Star Wars

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Cars 3

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Encanto

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Llama Llama

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Super Mario Brothers

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Paw Patrol

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Scooby Doo

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Sonic the Hedgehog

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Spider-Man

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Sponge Bob Square Pants

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Strawberry Shortcake

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Tinkerbell

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Toy Story

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It's a Girl!

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