Party Themes (listed by popularity)

• Star Wars – 60+ StarWars figures, lots of ships and some custom buildings
• City / Town – a miniature LEGO city with buildings, cars, trucks and people
• Harry Potter – a large castle, several small buildings and dozens of characters from all the stories
• Pirates – big ships, small ships, treasure islands, an Imperial fort and dozens of pirates
• Space – an assortment of space ships and sci-fi creations, humans, aliens, robots and more
• Castle   – a large castle, a small village,  lots of people, orcs, skeletons, trolls, monsters, witches, and other creatures
• Atlantis – an underwater world of Sea-people, treasures, sea monsters, and of course, adventurous human explorers and their submarines and machines

 

Star Wars
Star Wars is always the most popular theme for boys.  It provides a chance to recreate a favourite moment from the films; and to have enough parts to do so is an opportunity that most boys are delighted by.  The Star Wars party contains 60+ figures, including a few Jedi, Sith, lots of Rebel and Imperial Ships and some custom buildings that I have created, like my Hoth Base.  While SW is the most popular theme, it is my least favourite theme to do, because of the violence inherent in the theme and the lack of imagination that I see in the play that happens. (see My Case Against SW for more)

If you are doing a boy/girl party, you are best to choose another theme.  In my experience, most girls don’t really enjoy Star Wars, likely because Lucas has not marketed the franchise to woman by only having one token woman per film.

While I am still happy to do Star Wars themed parties, I generally recommend that people choose another theme.  Incidentally, there is also a $10 StarWars fee, not intended as a deterrent, but to offset the higher store cost of SW LEGO, and the absurdly high replacement cost for lost and damaged pieces (which is fairly inevitable given that the bad guys have to get blown up).

City / Town

City is a great theme that works very well for all ages and with a boy/girl mix.  While some kids may not connect to a theme that is based on something specific, like Harry Potter, City is universal and very easy for any child to get into.  My City theme consists of a few large buildings, a few medium buildings and a few small buildings.  I bring about 20 road plates to shape out the city and lots of cars and people to populate it.  The basic set-up works great for about 10 or 11 children, and this theme has several add-ons to easily expand the size.

Theme Expansions

Race Track – add lots of cars and pit crews, a racing oval, and a crazy jump ramp
Airport – adds some planes and an airport
Batman – add a few heroes and a few villains, a Batcave, and a few other vehicles and buildings from the Batman series.  It also brings a level of action to the party that might otherwise not be there by setting the expectation of Bad Guys vs Good Guys and the need to blow things up.

Harry Potter

This theme is great for fans of the books and movies.  Like the StarWars theme, Harry Potter gives children a chance to recreate a favourite moment in the stories or to create a new scenario the way they imagined it.  This theme is also great for a boy/girl mix since it appeals equally to both.  This theme can be combined well with City to add a Muggle World into the picture.

Pirates

Set sail for a LEGO adventure with tall ships, small ships, Imperial Soldiers, Pirates and villagers!  This theme has a few large structures, including a large Imperial Fort and Skull Island and a few smaller islands, several ships and lots of mini figures.
The Train is always a bit lost in this theme, but can still be fun on it’s own in a corner.  This theme can work for a boy/girl mixed party, but the girls will likely try to build a village and the boys will try to plunder it and the dynamic can be tricky.

Space

The recent Space Police and Alien Conquest LEGO sets have given the LEGO Space theme new life.  Space had been on the back burner since 1999 when the StarWas line launched.  My Space theme is somewhat similar to StarWas in that it is ships and stations, humans and aliens, but it is a more flexible theme since it has no set story, and seems to invite greater imagination from kids.

Castle

I grew up playing with LEGO Castles, and it has always been my favourite LEGO theme.  Like Space, Castle sat on the back burner for many years when the Harry Potter Line was launched, but the recent Kingdoms and Fantasy sets have put Castle back in the spotlight.  LEGO Lord of the Rings sets may push Castle back into another dark age, but I will be a loyal fan regardless.
Just as in the Pirate theme, the Train is always a bit lost, but can still be fun on it’s own in a corner.  Also like Pirates, this theme can work for a boy/girl mixed party, but the girls will likely try to build a village and the boys will try to attack it which can be a tricky dynamic.

Atlantis

Based on the short lived LEGO Atlantis theme of 2010 and 2011, this party is a little strange and awkward.  The train really doesn’t fit in, children are not used to the theme and no recent films (that I can think of) have popularized undersea adventure.  Nevertheless, it is great when combined with Space or City for a big party.  The non-futuristic parts can also be combined very well with a Pirate theme to expand it.  This is likely not a theme that most girls would relate to, but I could be wrong.