10 Awesome Emoji-Themed Party Ideas

Emojis may seem like a 2010s phenomenon, but they’ve actually been around in Japan since 1997. Silly and simple, kids love ‘em. And like anything loved by children, emojis have made their way to the world of birthday party themes, hence our emoji themed party ideas.

If they’re among your little one’s latest obsessions, chances are their friends are in on it too. So lean into their interests, even if it’s a little obnoxious. It’ll make for wonderfully dated photos in some future shoebox or photo album.

Here are 10 awesome emoji-themed party ideas your little one will love, accompanied by Peerspace venues that would make emoji party-perfect settings for your little one’s themed gathering. What’s Peerspace? Only the largest online marketplace for hourly venue rentals! With our platform, you can book a totally unique and well-equipped party venue in cities across the country and beyond.

1. Book a Peerspace

Not looking forward to hosting a gaggle of little kids in your home? Worry not, because Peerspace has you covered. With spacious locations across North America, Peerspace offers homes and event venues available to rent by the hour for parties just like this one.

Some of our favorite options include:

• This North Beach indoor/outdoor children’s party space in San Francisco, CA (pictured above) with optional bounce house add-ons
• This game room lounge in Brooklyn, NYC with a pool table, a ping pong table, a foosball table, shuffleboard, a dart board, and a speaker
• This beautiful event space in Smyrna, GA that serves as a blank slate for emoji decor, with a kitchen, tables and chairs, and a speaker

You get the idea! Whether you want to host the party in a perfectly manicured backyard with a pool or in a cozy home with plenty of seating, there are great options for you. Check out even more outstanding birthday party venues here!

2. Load up on emoji decorations

You can easily pick them up at party stores or online mega-retailers like Amazon. Balloons, noise-makers, stickers, banners, plates, napkins, the list goes on. They’re fairly inexpensive, so you can go all out and plaster the house. For even greater cost-savings, if you have an efficient printer, you can make many decorations at home like those found here. Just be ready for a lot of yellow.

3. Hedbanz: emoji edition

Hedbanz, for anyone unfamiliar, is a straightforward party game where one person puts on a headband with a card on it, and the other players have to help the person guess what’s on the card. In the emoji variation, simply replace the cards with printouts of emojis. The faces are the easiest, so be sure to mix in some oddballs like the Easter Island head or the floppy disk to keep things challenging.

Want to take advantage of the beautiful weather? Then check out these fun-filled pool party ideas for kids to add an outdoor element to your emoji party!

4. Dress up as your favorite emoji

This one is pretty straightforward. Invite the kids to dress up as their favorite emoji. It could be face painting, a mask, a custom-designed shirt, or even a full-body costume. Encourage their creativity as they think up the funniest or wackiest emojis to embrace. Once everyone has arrived, you can even hold a contest to see whose interpretation is the party favorite. Our vote is for the chef’s kiss hand.

5. Emoji-themed desserts

There are endless opportunities here. You could just order a sheet cake on the simple end of the spectrum and have them print an emoji picture on it. If you’re feeling more ambitious, though, you could make these customized emoji sugar cookies or these emoji cake pops.

However, if you’re low on time or energy, simple chocolate poop emoji cupcakes will be a hit too. This is one of the most crowd-pleasing emoji-themed party ideas we have to offer.

Make your baking event part of the party festivities and get the kids involved in the decorating. Be sure to book a Peerspace with a stylish kitchen so you have a party venue that’s both chic and well-equipped. For instance, kids and adults alike will adore spending time in this modern organic boho vibes home in Sacramento, CA.

6. Give away emoji party favors

Depending on what’s in stock, you can usually find a fair amount of small cheap emoji-themed trinkets at the dollar store. Things like sticker sheets, spinning tops, and snap bracelets are among the tiny things kids will lose their minds over. Tuck in a few small candies and wrap it all up in yellow party favor bags, and you’re good to go.

7. Emoji Pictionary

Emoji Pictionary — which is more akin to a Rebus puzzle than actual Pictionary since you don’t draw anything in this version — is a simple, fun game where you guess what word/phrase a string of emojis represents. Just do a quick Google search for “emoji Pictionary,” and you’ll find countless options with endless themes like classic movies or Christmas. Or you could create your own in a word processor at home.

8. Design your own

In addition to the costumes, another great way to tap into the kids’ creativity is to invite them to invent their own emojis. With just plain yellow paper plates and opaque markers, you’ve got everything you need to create a new face. For something with more depth, you could bust out the Playdough or even Sculpey if you want to bake it and keep the creations.

Is your child heading toward the double digits? Then you need to see these 10 great 10-year-old birthday party ideas!

9. Emoji piñata

While there’s always been something delightfully morbid about bashing your favorite cute little creature with all your childhood might, given that emojis aren’t modeled after living creatures, it’s a bit more inviting in this version. Emoji piñatas can be ordered online, from your local Hispanic grocery store, or made at home.

To make a pinata at home, blow up a balloon, cover it in Vaseline, papier-mâché over the balloon in a few layers, and paint it after it’s dry. This is especially easy for the face emojis since you don’t have to sculpt a complicated shape. This is one of our most fun emoji-themed party ideas because everyone loves the thrill of a piñata.

10. Watch the Emoji Movie

Okay, we’ve made it to the end of the article without mentioning the elephant in the room — the Emoji Movie. Widely ridiculed as an absurd concept and perhaps marking the beginning of the end of original thought in Hollywood, The Emoji Movie was peak 2017.

If you’re in the dismissive camp, you might be surprised to learn the movie was actually a box office success, grossing $217.8 million over its $50 million budget. So why not give it a shot? After all, it swept at the Razzies, and it gets a whopping 7% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Give the event more panache by screening the movie at a special Peerspace theater venue. For instance, this luxurious theater room in St. Petersburg, FL offers plush seating, accent lighting, a large screen, and space to set up catering. Even parents will be able to relax and enjoy the screening in a setting like this!

Emoji themed party ideas: conclusion

Kids’ interests can change by the hour, but emojis seem to have an enduring power in popular culture. Perhaps it’s the near-ubiquity of seeing them on our screens every day, or maybe it’s their charming simplicity. Whatever keeps us smiling when we see them, the little ones can’t seem to get enough.

So give your mini-me a party to remember with a fun, silly emoji theme. We’ve shown you DIY options as well as store-bought shortcuts to keep life simple. And with the perfect party venue rental through Peerspace, you’ll be able to check off a lot of your to-dos. We hope you’ve been inspired to put together a great birthday with these 10 emoji-themed party ideas!

Find unique birthday party venues on Peerspace