25 Glow In The Dark Party Ideas | All You Need to Know

When it comes to hosting a party, you want to make things as fun and memorable as you can for your guests. Assembling a playlist of cool tunes, offering up a nice buffet of food, and planning some fun games are a must. But if you really want to up the fun factor, you need to go a step further. And one of the ways you can accomplish this is by going the extra mile. So why not consider a glow in the dark party? Today, we will discuss plenty of glow in the dark party ideas to turn you into the absolute master of event planning and your party into a resounding success!

Whether your party is for kids or for adults, you can incorporate a glow in the dark theme to make your party the best place to be in town. A lot of these ideas are really inexpensive and will mostly require a bit of your time and some creativity. But it’ll all be worth it in the end. Read on for 25 glow in the dark party ideas that’ll certainly turn your event into a crowd-pleasing affair. Before we begin, let’s see what you need to know to organize the best ever glow in the dark party!

Can You Throw a Glow in the Dark Party at Home?

Yes, of course, you can! In fact, you might consider such an event one of the coolest things to do with the children at home, as they will have a blast helping you organize it and enjoying every minute of it! The best thing about a glow in the dark party is that you can throw it on any occasion: a celebration, a housewarming party idea, a birthday, an anniversary, a fun event to share with your friends to shake off the routines, etc.

What Do You Need for a Glow in the Dark Party?

Usually, the materials needed to throw a glow in the dark party include the following materials and supplies:

  • Glow stick decorations;
  • Black lights;
  • Neon decorations;
  • Glow in the dark balloons;
  • Neon/fluorescent paint, tape, paper, and other items from a party store or a stationery shop;
  • Fluorescent makeup, face paint, and clothes;
  • Floating glow balls;
  • Glowing barware, including glow ice cubes and neon accessories;
  • Fog, lasers, etc.

In case you are wondering how many black lights you need for a glow in the dark party, the answer depends on the size of the room. If you throw the party in a living room, a garage, or a patio, one black light kit should be enough. However, if the space is generous (think between 20×20 feet and 50×50 feet), you might need two blacklight kits to make sure you spread the magic in every corner of that space!

Can I Add Glow in the Dark Food as a Party Idea?

Yes, but make sure you use black light if you want your foods and drinks to glow as well. Here are some suggestions:

  • tonic water (it glows blue);
  • eggs;
  • pineapple;
  • honey;
  • energy drinks that contain vitamin B;
  • syrup;
  • vanilla ice cream;
  • clear soda drinks (such as 7Up or Mountain Dew).

What Clothes Are Best to Wear at a Glow in the Dark Party?

If you organize a glow in the dark party with black lights, some of the best clothes to wear are the glow party outfits and fabrics that are either fluorescent or white. As we all know, the more neon colors you wear, the more chances you have to glow in the dark. Your safest bets are fluorescent clothes in pink, yellow, and orange.

Now that we saw a few details on how to organize a glow in the dark party, let’s see the glow in the dark party ideas we prepared for you!

25 Glow in the Dark Party Ideas

Face Paint

With some face paint that glows in the dark, you and the people at your party can really have a wild time. Have everyone get really artistic and paint their faces with different colors. When the lights go off, the face paint on all of those faces will glow with creativity. Kids, in particular, love face painting and you will keep them happy for the entire length of the party! If you also want to engage your teens in a challenge, prompt them to paint each others’ faces or get creative with their younger brothers and sisters! Be sure to use paint that’s skin-friendly, and not paint that contains lead or any other harmful chemicals. While we don’t want to alarm you, we considered it necessary to tell you about this because many people have made this mistake in the past.

Balloon Volleyball

Now, this activity will definitely get the adrenaline rushing! First, you’ll need to string together some necklaces that glow in the dark to make the volleyball net. Then you’ll need to inflate a balloon that glows in the dark. You can either buy such a balloon or put some neon pain on a regular balloon. After that, you’ll need to create teams. Once the teams position themselves on their assigned sides of the net, activate the black light bulbs, and let the games begin! The rules are the same as the ones regarding classic volleyball so you won’t have to worry about learning a new type of game from scratch.

Glow in the Dark Hide and Seek

Ensure that everyone has on some sort of glow in the dark face paint or clothing, have everyone but the seeker hide and then, after the countdown is completed, have the seeker use a flashlight to seek out the hidden party goers. While this activity is most suited to children, adults who are children at heart will dig it as well. Of course, you’ll need a slightly bigger house than what most people have if you want this activity to be truly fun. Or, better yet, play this game outside during the night while using neon paint and a flashlight. We don’t recommend playing this in public areas, however. Play in a huge backyard or near a forest. Just be careful not to get caught by wild animals while you’re at it.

Balloon Truth or Dare

This is one of the better glow in the dark party ideas. You will need to get some glow in the dark balloons to get started. However, before you inflate them, you’ll need to fill each of the balloons with a note containing a silly or fun truth or dare challenge. Here are some hundreds of Truth or Dare questions and challenges that go on any occasion! When you’re ready to get the game underway, play some fun party music, and, while your guests are dancing and keeping one of the balloons airborne, stop the music at some point. Whoever was the last guest to make contact with the balloon after the music stops will need to pop the balloon and do the truth or dare challenge contained in the balloon. After doing this, you’ll start the process again by playing the music while a balloon is being knocked around in the air.

Hoops

For this fun activity, you will need a glow in the dark hoop. You can use either a hula hoop or string together some necklaces that glow in the dark. You will also need a lightweight ball with some glow in the dark paint or tape on it. With the lights off, have your guests take turns trying to get the ball through the hoop. You can have the boys versus the girls and keep score. This will definitely get everyone pumped!

Glow Sticks

A party isn’t a party without glow sticks. When you have a glow in the dark theme, then glow sticks are even more appropriate. Play some energetic techno or electronic music and have your guests dance up a sweat as they wave their glow sticks. Of course, you can use other genres of music if you know that your guests will be more into different music styles. If you ask us, just about any energetic genre works great with neon lights and glow sticks. Just be sure that everyone likes the specific genres you will be choosing for the party.

Wall Graffiti

Go to a craft store and get some black craft paper. Then find a wall in the room where your party will take place and cover the chosen wall or a portion of it with paper. When your guests come, you can shut off the lights and give them the supplies they need to contribute to your wall graffiti. With a wide range of glow in the dark paint and some creativity, you and your guests will have a lot of fun working creating a work of art.

Plates, Cups, and Utensils

If you use black lightbulbs, your neon plates, cups and utensils will glow in the dark. That will be a perfect complement to your glow in the dark party. Add some of the goodies we mentioned in this guide into the mix, and you’ll be sitting pretty. You can get neon plates, cups, and utensils at party supply stores. If you’re really talented, you can get some cardboard and cut it into several shapes and use it to decorate further. Here’s an idea: use cardboard cuttings as stars and planets and hang them from the ceiling. That way, your guests will have the impression that they’re in outer space. Really wicked, huh?

Invitation Cards

You don’t have to save all of your creative energy for the actual party. If you’re up to designing your own invitation cards, then add some originality with a bit of glow in the dark paint. Better yet, ensure that no two invitation cards are the same. The added uniqueness will have your guests anticipating your party.

Good Enough to Eat

Everyone loves cupcakes and other sweets. Add some neon-colored frosting, and your cupcakes, brownies, or other sugary edibles will be the perfect addition to your glow in the dark party. Again, black light bulbs will turn neon into an edible glow in the dark menu. It may look freaky, but you don’t need to worry. As long as the neon-colored frosting is 100% edible, none of your guests should have an allergic reaction or other nasty condition caused by it.

Egg Hunt

Whoever said that an egg hunt was only for Easter? Color some eggs with glow in the dark paint or neon paint, hide them strategically, and have your guests go on an egg hunt around the house! And don’t think that only kids or tweens will enjoy this sort of activity. People of all ages can have some fun and engage in an epic egg hunt. Alternatively, you can also organize this hunt in your backyard, just as you would do with an Easter egg hunt. Just be sure it’s dark enough outside so that the neon paint will be visible using a flashlight.

Glow in the Dark Bubbles

How do you make glow in the dark bubbles, you ask? It’s actually really easy. Head over to a party supplies store or even to a dollar store, and buy some glow sticks and some bubbles solution. When you get home, carefully cut the glow sticks open with a pair of scissors and pour the solution from the glow sticks into the container containing the bubbles solution. Close the bubbles solution, shake it well, open it up and blow from the bubbles-blower end…and you’ll have glow in the dark bubbles!

Gift Bags

If you really want high marks from your guests, you need to hand out gift bags before everyone leaves. Buy some bags from the dollar store and decorate them in a way that includes some glow in the dark paint. You can even adopt a theme such as animals so that every bag showcases a different member of the animal kingdom! The possibilities are limitless! Better yet, if you and your guests consider a Yankee Swap type of gifting game at the party, glow in the dark gift bags make everything even more special and exciting!

Ceiling Fan

You can really wow your guests by taping glow sticks to your ceiling fan. When you turn the fan on and shut off the lights, you and your guests will be in awe. It will look like a multi-colored swirl, which will be the perfect complement to your groovy party.

Strobe Light

When the music is blaring and the guests are dancing, nothing sets the atmosphere better than a multi-colored strobe light. It’ll definitely be a hit at your party.

Twister

You haven’t played twister until you’ve done so out on the lawn. Use neon spray paint to paint the various circles needed to play the popular lawn Twister game, and then have a blast. If you have enough space inside, you can spread a piece of tarp, for instance, and paint the different colored circles on the tarp.

Neon Dance Floor

If you have an area designated for dancing — and why wouldn’t you? — you can use neon duct tape to make the dance floor sparkle. Be sure to use black lightbulbs so that your neon tape will glow in the dark. As for the pattern, you can go with a traditional checkerboard look or simply use your creativity to do something more original. One thing’s for certain, your guests will really get into the vibe when the dance floor is so alive with living color!

Bowling

For this party idea, you’ll need a bit of space like a hallway or a part of a large basement or living room. Use empty water bottles that each have a glow stick inside. Line up the water bottles as though they were bowling pins, and get a small ball like a tennis ball or a soccer ball. Then let the games begin!

Ring Toss

For this fun activity, you will need a glow stick positioned so that it’s standing upright, and you need some glow in the dark bracelets. Whether inside or outside, you and your guests can have loads of fun trying to toss the bracelets in a way that lands right over the glow stick. Have a classing boys-versus-girls challenge and see who comes out on top! A game of Ring Toss is one of those cheap outdoor games you can play in your back yard, so check out this guide here and see what other lawn games you can adapt to become glow in the dark party ideas!

Sunglasses at Night

If you like to wear your sunglasses at night as did songwriter/singer Corey Hart, then glow in the dark sunglasses is just the thing you need for your party. You can get them at party supplies stores. In order to use a sunglasses-at-night theme, you’ll need to hand them out to guests as they arrive. Shut off the nights, and enjoy your sunglasses in the dark.

Tic Tac Toe

Did you enjoy playing tic tac toe as a kid? Well, incorporate this fun game at your party by taping some large sheets of paper to a wall and using UV reflective gaffers tape in order to create a grid. And you can use glow in the dark markers to mark your x’s and o’s.

Ping Pong Toss

Ping Pong Toss is a great party game. To make a Ping Pong Toss board, you’ll need a square or rectangular piece of cardboard, and you’ll need to glue a number of plastic cups on the board. For instance, you can make seven rows positioned horizontally and seven rows positioned vertically. Using neon glow cups will work great. When you’re done, position the board so that it rests on an angle against a wall. Then have your guests stand several feet behind the Ping Pong Toss board and take turns tossing glow in the dark golf balls to see how many balls they can throw into the cups.

Lightsaber Tourney

Chances are many of your guests will be fans of the Star Wars franchise. You can use that to your advantage by having a fun light saber challenge tournament. You can use glow in the dark pool noodles, which won’t cause any injuries. Have timed rounds and designate someone to be the referee. May the force be with you and your guests!

Glowing Ice Cubes

After your guests have worked up a sweat, they’ll want something to quench their thirst. As we said, you can enhance the party experience by using glow in the dark ice cubes. They’re actually quite easy to make. Combine regular water with tonic water, pour the solution into an ice cube tray and place the tray into the freezer until frozen. You can then use the ice cubes like you would any other type of ice cube. Under UV or black light, your ice cubes will be all aglow.

Musical Chairs

Musical chairs can really get the blood pumping. Play the music nice and loud while your guests go around a circle of chairs. When the music stops…well you know the drill. You can use glow in the dark paint to highlight the chairs.

Glow In The Dark Party Ideas: Final Thoughts

So there you have it – 25 glow in the dark party ideas that’ll make your next party a smashing success. Again, you don’t have to break the bank in order to afford any of these ideas, and the return on investment will be astronomical. Try some of them out and be prepared to amaze your guests. Who knows? Your party might be a candidate for the party of the year among your group of friends.

Featured Image via Pexels

2 replies
  1. Todd Stauffer
    Todd Stauffer says:

    I like how you suggested using glow in the dark paint to mark chairs in a game of musical chairs. We have a daughter who is going to be turning 16 soon and we are trying to think of good ideas to use for her party. Doing a blacked out party with glow in the dark stuff seems like a great idea. We’ll just have to make sure that we do it somewhere there isn’t stuff to fall and get hurt on!

    Reply

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