Trolls are the latest colorful sensation amongst our littles so it came as no surprise that Miss O wanted a Trolls themed party this year.  When I went looking for Troll themed stuff I was struck by 2 things; 1.) It was expensive, and 2.) It all looked rather commercial (no surprise there).  Plus, you guys know how I like things to be easy.  There’s enough motherly angst that goes along with a little one getting older, we don’t need to add to it!

I set out to create a beautiful party setting that was reasonably priced, looked like a Troll theme, and didn’t look like one big PR stunt for Dreamworks. I’ve put all the links to what I bought down below.

One of the best places to find Troll cake toppers is right on Amazon. In fact you can order all of your troll supplies directly from Amazon, without having to stress about making it to your local party store.

(By using the link above we may earn a small commission)

Limit the Troll character items to the cake

If you notice, the only Trolls characters at Miss O’s party were on the cake. Because the cake was a centerpiece of the decoration, those tiny little cake toppers were enough to let everyone know that the theme was Trolls.  The rest of the decor just played into that idea. This also makes like easier because you don’t have to worry about Little Suzy crying because she got a Branch plate when she wanted Poppy.

Choose a color scheme for your Troll birthday party

Many Trolls items are rainbow themed because of the colorful world the Trolls live in. I used rainbows on the food (cake, cupcakes, and pretzel sticks), but for the decor I went with a 2-colored pallet. Poppy is Miss O’s favorite, so hot pink was a no-brainer. The other color I chose was a lime green. It’s a great color against the pink, but also sort of represents the green of the Troll Village.

Get creative with accents

Again, instead of buying decorations with characters on them, which cost a lot more, I tried to recreate the Troll world. With the bright green tablecloths looking like the forest floor, all that was missing from the Troll Village was flowers and trees. I found an adorable Luau Party Kit that contained all the decoration I needed. Bonus: Everyone, including Miss O, wanted to help put the decorations up, meaning less for me to do.

Fun food

I decided to use the Trolls theme as inspiration for the cupcakes I sent in for Miss O’s class on her actual birthday, too, specifically the rainbows. I whipped up some Funfetti cupcakes and topped them with fresh whipped cream. I wanted the whipped cream to look like clouds, so I didn’t use a piping bag at all. I just took a spoonful and plopped it down, then placed a rainbow candy on top. Perfect! Make sure your school allows your child to bring in homemade cupcakes as many schools have recently changed their policy with allowing homemade desserts – in this case they may require you to buy directly from your local store.

I always go all out for Miss O’s birthday cake – it’s the one time a year I really release my inner artist – and you can see how I did it in this post.

For party favors we skipped bags full of junk toys and just made some simple chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. They were a big hit and I felt better not contributing to the overwhelming amount of kid crap parents have to deal with. You can see how I made those yummy treats in this post.

What I bought*:

* Some of these items may be found cheaper at some of your local stores… I’ve included links here in case you wanted the convenience of one-stop shopping. For those who are trying to create less stress in their life, then I highly suggest ordering all of your supplies online.

In the end we ended up with a party that fit the theme Miss O wanted without being over the top. The table actually looked quite pretty, even by my picky standards. And best of all, I saved money by not buying all sorts of licensed stuff! If you’re having you’re party at a facility – which I highly recommend – you can probably skip the cups, too, because they usually serve juice boxes and water bottles.