Target Birthday Party

The Target craze is WILD – from kids to adults, and it’s only continuing to grow in popularity, and this birthday party seriously takes the cake! I surprised my 9-year-old with an epic Target in-store birthday party for his last single-digit birthday, and I am so excited to share all of the party details with you! 
 

 
Update: This Target birthday party is officially beginning to go viral and has been featured on Yahoo!, Parents Magazine, Insider, Bobby Bones Show (42:20 – 43:15) MSN, ABC 10, The Little Things, Business Insider, Her View From Home, Today Parents, The Fish Radio, etc.
 
Calling all of my Target obsessed girlfriends! I have been SO excited to tell you all about this Target birthday party! Remember the sneak peeks I shared on Instagram from Target alll the way back in July? I have been having the hardest time keeping this all to myself, until NOW! We recently celebrated Charlie’s FINAL single-digit birthday, and I knew I had to wrap it up with a BANG, so we threw Charlie the ultimate Target birthday party in an actual Target store. Currently, I have friends from Facebook asking if Target now throws parties like this in-store. ;) In short, they don’t, but that would seriously be “epic” as Charlie would say. I am so excited to give YOU all of the details to create something similar for your child too! Today, we’re co-publishing the experience live with Parents Magazine, and I am SO excited to share it with all of you!
 

 

How We Came up with the Idea of Throwing a Birthday Party at Target

 
A few months ago, Charlie made a joke while we were shopping at Target and said “What if I had my 9th birthday party at Target? Just kidding, I know that would never happen…” and that’s when the idea came to mind. This was the SAME exact Target I have been shopping at since I was 5 years old. I walked this exact Target days before becoming a first-time mom to push myself into labor. This is the same Target I worked at for 3 months when I was 16. Fast forward 17 years later, and this was the same Target I rushed to see the Target ad I was in last December’s Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I guess you could say this exact Target store location and I sort of go way back! 
 

 

How We Pulled Off Hosting a Birthday Party in an Actual Target Store

At first, I felt a little funny asking the store director if we could throw Charlie’s 9th birthday party at Target,  but he welcomed us with open arms and the rest was history. I was so so thankful to work with Store Director, Joe Forbes, who was totally on board with my wild idea from the very beginning. Joe and his awesome store team seriously helped make it all come to life at Target! We threw ideas around at a few team meetings and a plan was set in stone.  I NEVER could have pulled this level of fun off without them!
 

 

 

Watch the Target Birthday Party Video!

 
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How We Surprised Charlie

Icees, Starbucks, and Pizza – OH MY! On July 14, 2019, we managed to pull off a surprise party for Charlie at Target, and I still can’t believe it. To pull it off, I had my mom bring Charlie to Target that morning after we set everything up. She pretended they were just going shopping until they got to the section of the store we had the party set up. He was both puzzled and shocked! It took a few seconds for him to piece things together. All of his friends showed up wearing Target uniforms – red shirts and beige khakis. Joe had custom Target badges made for all the kids so they could be real Target team members for the day. I secretly wanted to go back to old times and work at Target again too! Once all of his friends showed up, it was time to party! 
 

Starbucks Coffee Bar for the Moms

 
I’ll be the first to say that Target trips and Starbucks sips are the best! They go hand in hand, so we set up Charlie’s Coffee Shop, complete with Frappuccinos for the moms. We used the leftover Vineyards Vines display stand from Target and converted it into a coffee bar.  The table was filled to the brim with caramel Frappuccinos (because I drank those all the time when I was pregnant), custom themed Target party hats, a hand-painted sign for Charlie’s birthday, a Target doormat, and all of the Target themed goodie bags we used later on during the party!  We even had a ring toss game set up with a Starbucks bottle theme. So so fun! 
 

 

 

 

Target Themed Dessert Table

 
We also set up a separate white cart that we rented from Konfections & Konfetti to use as a dessert table. The table was decked out with a red and white colored balloon garland, with loose balloons on the floor and a ‘9’ shaped balloon from Ready Set Confetti right next to it! The table had a tiered Target Birthday Party Cake displayed, and Charlie was amazed. I worked with Megan’s Bake Shop to customize the cake with little Target logos, a name tag for Charlie, and of course the Target dog!  August Root created customized Target birthday party hats. We also worked with Konfections & Konfetti to create custom Target themed cookies for the party. She made polka dot ‘9’ cookies and totally took our Icee Sips & Target Trips theme to the next level with Icee cookies and even Target dog cookies! I seriously could not get over the details!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Target Scavenger Hunt

The kids did a scavenger hunt through the whole Target store, and I think that was the highlight of their year! ;) We decked out a red cart for Charlie, and they got to try on their favorite sunglasses off the rack, make towers out of paper towels, have a dance party in electronics with the TVs decked out with Happy birthday Charlie signs, and hunt for toys down the aisles. They had SO much fun taking over the store! Tip: Add a tall balloon to your Target shopping cart so that you don’t lose the kids during the scavenger hunt. I can’t tell you how many times I was able to track down the kids by seeing that giant red balloon floating down the aisles.
 

 

 

In-Store Silly String Fight

 
Silly string clean-up on aisle 9! ;) That was craaazzzy! Hands down, I think the kid’s favorite part of the scavenger hunt was definitely the silly string fight in the store aisle! I cannot believe that was real life! Charlie is still talking about it 2 months later!
 

 

 

 

 

Visit from Bullseye the Target Dog

 
The last part of the scavenger hunt was to find Bullseye the dog before lunch, and the kids were obsessed! Target Store Director, Joe Forbes, coordinated with Target Corporate to send the official Bullseye costume all the way down from their headquarters, and one of their team members, Catherine, volunteered to wear it. She was so amazing! We later found out they add ice packs on the front and the back of the costume in order to keep things chill! The kids were SO excited about Bullseye’s visit. Some of the kids even took a nap on his feet. LOL! 
 

 

 

 

Target Snack Bar Party

 
For lunch, we knew we had to pull it off Target style! We set up plenty of red and blue Icees, bags of popcorn and pizzas for the kids. They loved getting all of their favorite snacks and party food from the Target snack bar for lunch!  Party tip: If you plan your own Target birthday party at home, you can order all of these items to go!
 

 

 

Charlie Playing Cashier

 
To finish off the day, all the kids got to pick an item from the dollar bin section for their goodie bags, and Charlie even got to play cashier by ringing up all of his friends! He was seriously grinning ear to ear, and I was so happy we could pull it off for him! Fast forward 2 months later and Charlie says this party was the #1 best memory from Summer 2019! It was one of the wildest ideas we’ve ever pulled off, but I am so so thankful we did to celebrate Charlie! Are you a Target obsessed mom like me? Do you have a Target obsessed child like Charlie? If so, you will have such a blast planning this party! 
 

 

 

 

How to Throw Your Own Target Party at Home

Can’t have your own Target party in-store? Here are a few quick tips to throw your own Target bash at home!

• Ask your guests to arrive for the party in a red shirt and khaki pants.
• Purchase or DIY Target name badges for each member of the party team. Etsy sells them.
• Ask a Target store manager for popcorn bags, and use them as treat bags for your party.
• Work with your local bakery to create a Target themed cake or cookies.
  
• Blow up red and white balloons and decor
• Find red and white decorations such as paper straws, plates, and napkins and incorporate them throughout your theme.
• Send someone out to bring Icees and Starbucks drinks back for all of your party guests. 

 

 
What are your plans for throwing a Target birthday party? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!