Batman has been enthralling children of all ages since the 1930's when he first burst onto the scene as the caped crusader.
From that point onwards people have been creating costumes so that they can pay homage to this daredevil for the forces of good.
Originally these costumes were handmade but nowadays, and thankfully for busy parents and party goers, there is an increasing array of ready made Superhero fancy dress costumes with new costume designs are being added to the list every time movie makers trawl the back catalogue of comics for the next major blockbuster movie release.
The task of putting together a Batman themed fancy dress party is therefore not as difficult as you might at first think as there are a great number of internet based fancy dress retailers who offer Batman costumes as part of their Superhero ranges.
There also exists an extensive range of Batman party supplies; invitations, tablewares, printed balloons etc which can also be easily found on the web.
To this you can add cakes either shaped and coloured like Batman himself or decorated with the iconic Batman insignia.
Now unless your idea for your party is to have EVERYONE dressed the same and for there to be umpteen Batman / Batmen(?) running around at the same time, a little forward planning will be required.
As we have already seen, Batman is just one of the increasing list of superheroes; and nowadays the girls get an equal look in with Batgirl being increasingly popular.
So to get balance into your superhero party, why not ask your guests to come as their own favourite superhero rather than just turn up as Batman.
You could even suggest a list of superheroes and ask them to identify who they will be coming as so that you can take some control over which superheroes you will need to cater for! If you're planning a birthday party for children, there are a number of activities that you can plan for that will help you fill the time; All children like to feel that they are the hero of the hour, and this will be especially so when they are dressed in their choice of superhero, so they will need an arched enemy to battle against.
Why not join in the fun by asking one of the parents or helpers to dress up as an evil super villain for the little ones to chase and beat.
Certainly a noisy game play but something guaranteed to burn off any excess energy.
For something as little quieter, why not sit them down at a table with some pre-cut mask shapes, made from either stiff paper or thin card, and let them design and colour their own new superhero mask.
If you are really brave you can use paints but we would suggest that if you do, you put lots of paper or play clothes down first.
Not only should this get the excitement level back to a more normal level but it will also allow you to include their results in their goody bag.
This is a useful activfity to do just before they sit and eat.
An alternative would be to pre-cut the card shapes into Batman and Robins' arch villains Joker, Penguin etc and let them colour these in.
This is probably better for older children who would have some idea what these villains look like.
If painting and colouring doesn't slow them down, how about making their own Batman utility belt and superhero weapons? This requires more planning and visits to your local charity or thrift store should allow you to find an assortment of the right sized belts.
Your local arts and craft outlet will be a great source of a variety of bits and pieces plus foam card, thinner card and tapes with which to make the various sized pockets for the belt itself.
Again if younger children will be around, it would be worth pre-making 2 or 3 pockets for each child or at least cutting out the pieces.
This way, you know you will not run out of materials and that everyone will have a similar belt.
You can also save household items for this game; think individual cereal packets which would only require a closing lid, or small cylinders.
This game also translates well during rainy days in school holidays.
Okay, they've had their tea and want more boisterous games.
What about find the villain? There are two main variants of the game, the thinking game or the 'rip your house and garden up' version.
Kids of all ages actually prefer the latter but we feel you may actually prefer the former! Taking them in reverse order, for the latter you only need hid a balloon or similar with one of Batman's arch-villain's face on it and sweets or little presents in it and let them go.
Ah, the fun you will have clearing up the mess and repairing all of your prized possessions.
The more controlled game again requires a little planning; My favourite is to include a clue on each invitation sent out; say find a letter clue - my letter is in xxxxxxxx but not in zzzzzzzz, or any other variant that you want to come up with.
When the child arrives, they need to give the answer to their clue and this is recorded on a board, which can be as elaborate as you have time for.
For those children who don't come, you will need to add these letters (so yes, it's important to keep a list of which child is bringing which letter or letters as appropriate).
The overall complexity of the game will depend on the age of the children.
You could have a simple word clue which identifies where the villain is hiding (e.
g.
bedroom), or you could have a multiple word sentence (e.
g.
behind the sofa).
The beauty of this is that the main game is played in front of your board and you could just send one guest to recover the prize.
Now if you are using a Piñata the game goes on! Batman themed parties are a great treat and can be a lot of fun as all children love the idea of dressing up as a superhero.
For the costume you have the option of making one, there are some costume patterns that can be adapted, or alternatively buying or renting one.
With the advent of mass production and global licensing deals, it is probably easier to buy than rent and the price differential is probably insignificant nowadays.
If you choose to buy a Batman costume then the options will be between visiting your local fancy dress store or shopping on-line through an internet based fancy dress costume site.
In either case, they should also be able to offer you a selection of masks, Batman props such as 'Batarangs', Batman Utility Belt (if you don't want to make one), Batman Gloves along with plenty of costumes of Batman's enemies.
Online retailers tend to lay their shops out so that it's easy to find the costume that you are looking for and a few will have an exceptional variety of fancy dress costume accessories.
And in the main, it is the careful selection of your costume accessories that really brings the whole costume together.