How to do a Glow in the Dark Party?

Most neon colors will glow in the dark underneath black lights. The most common colors to use are fluorescent orange, green, yellow and pink. White glows in a blueish looking color underneath black lights. There are some blue and purple colors that will glow but not always. Keep in mind that even though objects are neon colored not all materials will glow in the dark (fluoresce).

When decorating a glow in the dark party it is all about fluorescent color. The more fluorescent colored items in the room, the greater the effect under the black lights with more items glowing.

Here are some glow in the dark decoration ideas to help you with transforming your party space - 

• Surround the glow in the dark party in UV black lights.
• Hang fluorescent paper products around the walls - such as neon bunting, hanging garland, or happy birthday signs
• Make party posters using neon paints and highlighter pens.
• Use UV reacting fluorescent balloons, or light up LED balloons.
• Use neon tape to mark out an illuminated dance floor like back in the disco era. 
• Buy UV reacting cups and plates, or use neon sticker dots to decorate your normal cups and plates.
• Use fluorescent colored napkins and cutlery.
• Use rolls of neon fabric as table and chair coverings.
• Hand out lots of glow sticks, or use them to wrap around cups.
• And most fun of all - decorate your guests with neon powders, paints or highlighter pens!

Don't forget to add color to your glow party by decorating your furniture. The easiest way to do this is to buy rolls of different colored neon fabric. Cut the fabric into suitable sizes and use it as table cloths or to wrap your chairs. Be careful when buying plastic table cloths. We have often found that even though a table cloth may be white or neon colored (and you might assume it will glow) the plastic material will not absorb/reflect the black light the way neon fabric will. To avoid disappointment we recommend using cotton or polyester materials rather than plastic.

There are certain kinds of coloring books which are awesome for glow in the dark parties as the background of the images are black. This means that only the areas between the black lines will glow when you color them in. You can color these in quickly with some awesome colors without worrying too much about staying within the lines. Rip them out of the book and stick them all over the walls to show off your mad skills. You can also find images online to print and color in. Highlighters will work fine for coloring (green, yellow, pink and orange colors work best - often blue, purple or red highlighters don't glow, although depending on the ink, you may get lucky with some brands).

You can find and purchase special neon colored plates, cups and cutlery that are designed to glow underneath black lights. They look pretty awesome. Check the reviews to make sure they actually glow. There are many glow party plates with glow party designs on them that don't glow. If you cannot find items that are designed to glow under black lights a good idea is to buy neon colored stickers and stick them to the outside of your plastic cups and plates. We often purchase neon sticker dots from a stationary store and add a bunch of them in various colors on our table and drink ware.

Liven up your party with a few ridiculous glow in the dark party games. Games that involve color are usually a good idea as you can use neon colors. For a full list of these awesome black light glow in the dark party games, or see a quick snap shot of some fun ideas below. 

1. Beer Pong - using glowing cups and ping pong balls, you can also use drinks that glow.
2. Pictionary (use neon pens or highlighters and someone's body as the canvas!)
3. Glow in the dark charades (using a white or neon colored morph suit)
4. Glow in the dark parties are made for dancing. Why not try some of these hilarious -dance party games while you glow!

Making glow in the dark play-doh is a fantastic activity for kids.

If you are going to a glow in the dark party with black lights, don't forget about your makeup. There are lots of fluorescent make up products that look amazing underneath black lights such as UV reacting, eye shadow, lip gloss, nail polish, and hair sprays. Face paint also looks great so if you don't want to buy special makeup you can just use face paint. Click here for more glow in the dark make up ideas!

There are many lists of food items online that are meant to glow underneath black lights. We have tested a few of these and found fairly disappointing results (e.g. ketchup, bananas). We generally found that items that are naturally white tend to glow, such as vanilla ice cream or yogurt, white bread or white pasta e.g. pad thai. Some potato chips look good underneath black lights. We did some research into glow in the dark icing sugar, and while these products do exist and look awesome, they tend to be for display purposes only and are not edible (what's the point of an awesome looking cake if you can't eat it!).  One way to cheat a little in making glow in the dark foods is to add some Vitamin B. Vitamin B naturally glows underneath black lights in bright colors and looks amazing! You can get vitamin B tablets in a few different colors that can be broken down into a powder and mixed into the food. You could add vitamin B to things such as jello, or mix it in with your dips (only problem is everything will taste a bit like vitamin B). Alternatively if you want your snack table to look awesome but without the toxic additives, or vitamin B flavor just stick to awesome neon, glow in the dark cake toppers and glowing food labels.

When creating your glow in the dark party invitations remember that a glow in the dark party is all about the color! We recommend doing the invitations on a black background with lots of neon colors. Make sure to tell your guests if it is a glow in the dark party with or without black lights so they can wear the correct clothing. You could share our link on what to wear to a glow party to give them some ideas. If you have some extra money to spend you could send a small black light torch with each invitation. This way your guests can test to see which items of clothing will glow when choosing their glow in the dark party outfit. You could also write a secret note on the invitation in invisible ink. This is a special ink that is only revealed underneath a black light and is bound to wow your guests. 

A glow in the dark party can be a great fundraising idea for schools, churches and other non profit organizations. Click here to learn more about glow in the dark fundraisers and lots of other fun and unique fundraising ideas.