Planning the color fight:
I decided that to get all the parents on board with this unorthodox activity, I would purchase white shirts for all the kids participating. Adults were welcome and encouraged to participate, but they were on their own for clothes. I scoured tons of thrift stores on 50% off days to get white shirts in the correct sizes. Here’s a before shot of most of the kids.
Here’s the party invitation I sent out for the color party. Go and visit the art party invitation post to read all about them and learn where you can get the template for yourself.
One of the most important aspects of the color fight is protective eyewear. You will notice the kids are wearing goggles in the pictures. We put in the invitation to either bring swim goggles or buy some protective eye-wear. Sunglasses would probably work just fine too. Kids are not happy campers with stuff in their eyes, so goggles were a really good idea!
Another important aspect of planning the color fight is deciding how you are going to dispense the color powder.
We tried all kinds of methods for dispensing the powder. I envisioned everyone being chased around with powder, so I was looking for an effective delivery method. The very best method was drilling one hole in the top of the paint bottle. It worked like a perfect squeeze bottle. The other most popular method involved picking up a fistful of powder and throwing it. You can see the paint bottle in the photo below.
We tried some water squirters. They worked well but the kids couldn’t refill them fast enough. After a while, they started to get jammed up a bit too. If this was an adult activity only, I might revisit the water squirters.
We set all the paint powder out in take-out containers and recycled food storage tubs. Free and easy, and it worked great. We made a perimeter of the tubs so everyone could run freely inside the circle to play and get dirty.
The time is here! Let’s make some color powder so you can get this paint party started! Jump to the next page for the color powder recipe.
That looks like so much fun! I am going to have to try this during the summer!
I think I might have to organize this as a play group activity when it gets warmer here (or maybe I’ll just steal it for my boys’ July birthday)!
I highly recommend you steal it! Someone actually using my ideas, makes me so happy.
Hahaha! Love that! I have never heard of such! Kind of like a paint ball fight, without the commitment!
Dawn
Thanks! I love that, ‘a paint ball fight without the commitment.’ Thanks for stopping by.
That was really brilliant! Love your pictures, everyone looked like they had a ball!
that looks like a REALLY fun way to play and get colored / dirty–you should think about marketing that! or opening a party place that has this as an option!! good luck
Eeeee! I am so doing this when it gets warmer out!
Was this done at a local park or at your home? I’m just wondering if I would be able to do this at the park without getting in trouble lol. I bet my son’s Kindergarten class would absolutely love this!
Great question! We did it in a local park. The mess was actually pretty minimal. That was one of the reasons for the rules about staying in the designated area. I wasn’t too worried about the grass. You can see in the some of the pictures, there is a ring of color around the containers we had on the ground. That was really the only mess you could see when we were all done and picked up.
What an amazing undertaking. So much fun!! I think it would be GREAT if the clothes stayed stained as a momento of the party! Great job!
We have 3 acres to play around in at our new house. This is totally gonna happen. Thanks for joining in at Teach Me Tuesday!
Thank you so much for the “color” recipe! I was thinking about doing a color run as a fundraiser and was wondering how. Did the powder wash away after it rained? And do you think it would stain pavement?
We were thinking of doing a charity 5k too, just worrying about color run and color me rad copyrights. Did you plan yours yet? Ashley, thanks o much for sharing this great recipe for fun!
How many bottles of Tempera Paint powder did you buy? And how many people participated? Thanks so much!!
I bought 12 lbs of the paint powder and we had about 20 people
participating, most of them children. We had more than enough paint powder to go around.
Thanks for posting!
Great idea for kids!!! Thanks for the recipe!!! At our color run last month, they used leaf blowers to get the excess powder off everyone. Another tip is to use lotion on skin before getting colored…makes it wash off even easier.
I am just wondering what is the purpose of the cornstarch? Is it just to make the paint go farther? And when I looked up Colorations Tempera Paint powder it said it was not fully washable from skin or fabric. I do not care about the fabric but didn’t it stain your kids skin? I really want to do this with my nieces and nephews but do not want a bunch of parents angry with me for staining their kids.
Yes, the cornstarch makes the paint go farther. We came home and took a bath right away and there were no long term stains from the paint. Make sure you let the parents know ahead of time what you are planning, with a thorough explanation, and I bet they will be understanding.
I would also would like to know how much paint was used per the number of participants. We will be doing this for my son’s birthday in a few weeks. Thanks!
I bought 12 lbs of the paint powder and we had about 20 people
participating, most of them children. We had more than enough paint powder to go around.
Thanks so much for the tutorial and info. I can’t wait to do this!!!!
I’m actually turning 16th this month and thought this was the coolest idea ever for a huge party! I am definitely doing this, Thank you : )
what an awesome idea! thanks so much for the paint recipe. oh and I find it very ironic that you bring all the paint and supplies for this very messy party in an All detergent box, lol
Did you get the coloration paint at wal mart?
I found the coloration paint online. Several different retailers carry it, including Amazon. http://bit.ly/TemperaPaint
Do you think flour would work just as well as corn starch? I’ve heard of others using flour. Love this idea!
Hi! I was just wondering where you got the paint powder. They don’t carry it at Walmart or Target (where I live, anyway).
I purchased the powder from Hobby Lobby and the Colorations brand was purchased online. Thanks for the question, I can’t believe I didn’t put that in the post.
Did the powder stay in the white clothes afterwards? i am going to do this for my birthday party and was hoping it would stay in, even after it gets washed.
Did the powder stay in the white clothes afterwards? i am going to do this for my birthday party and was hoping it would stay in, even after it gets washed.
spray it with vinegar afterwards and the color will stay (think tie-dye :))
From what I can tell, a lot of the colors look pastel… Are those just the colors you chose to use or did something happen to make them that way? I’m 16 and my friends and I are looking to try this with bright colors
Hi Laura,
Unless you buy Holi colors you aren’t going to get the bright colors like you see in the Color Run and other similar events. You can find those on Amazon as well: http://bit.ly/holi-colors
I have never used or purchased them though, so I can’t speak to how they work.
Hello! I want to use your recipe for a 5k Color Run. Do you suggest it for that? We’re looking for the cheapest way.
This is the cutest thing EVER! My kids would just adore this! This reminds me so much of the color run!
Hi!
If you could answer this ASAP that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
I’m on student council and I suggested this idea for an event and people loved it. If we were to do this event, we would have to do it on the grassy sportsfield. The only problem is that they are afraid that the colored corn starch will be hard to clean off the grass. So I was just wondering if you had a problem washing to corn starch off the grass. Please email adwyer@sacredheartma.com or amdwyer97@aol.com.
Thank you so much!!!
Avery
Loved this idea and will be using it with my youth group this week…just curious do you think cornstarch and food coloring would work just as well without having to get the powdered paint stuff?
This is really a cute idea for kids! I love all the colors available!
Do we have to wear goggles, will it hurt ?
I’m planning on doing this for my 15th birthday! But I am ordering powder paint, not making it. Where did you do it?
You can buy the safe color powder at HippiePowder.com and it 100% safe and made in the USA
Is the tempera paint actual liquid paint you mix with the flour and stuff or is it a powder
if you spray vinegar on the shirt afterwards, the color sets in and you have a tie-dyed shirt!
if you spray vinegar on the shirt afterwards, the color sets in and you have a tie-dyed shirt!
if you spray vinegar on the shirt afterwards, the color sets in and you have a tie-dyed shirt!
if you spray vinegar on the shirt afterwards, the color sets in and you have a tie-dyed shirt!
That’s awesome im doing a birthday party may10th “im going to have to buy some vinager now!
HOBBY LOBBY NO LONGER CARRIES THE PAINT POWDER! UGGG I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE I FOUND IT FINALLY AT A TEACHER SUPPLY STORE CALLED UTAH-IDAHO SUPPY! 3.89 for a 1lb bottle!
The tempera powder paint is a lot cheaper than the colorations powder paint does it still work??
You can just buy colored cornstarch that is especially designed for this: It’s called Hippie Powder and is made of 100% FDA safe ingredients.
hello everyone,
if you are reading this comment then please google HOLI…pronounced “holy”…!
it’s a request…for more details see wikipedia results…
thank you
(an INDIAN)
Hi, if you Want to make these colors at home, natural, good for skin and with some medicinal properties, then visit this link http://hinduism.about.com/od/holifestivalofcolors/a/naturalholi_2.htm . believe me, this is safe, colorful and is also good for the skin, every different color has a different good effect effect on the skin…. some make it glow, some make it smooth….
so now, you can have fun as well as health…
and a very good fact thing that these colors are made from FLOWERS…
Hi, we see that more and more people using holi color powders for special effects and events. At weddings, party for kids and runs you can see the color powders. As a professional worldwide supplier i would like to give some tips about using holi color powders. This way you can prevent allergic and irritation of the skin. Read more: http://www.holicolorpowders.com/blog/dry-wet-holi-powders-check-quality/
Love this had this idea and stumbled across your site. My sons are having a pool party, water gun battle and color fight. How did the clean up go?
Our fight was in the grass and there was no water involved so we just kicked the powder into the grass a bit and it was fine. I think it would get pretty mess if you combined the water with the color fight.
Keep any organic powders away from ignition sources:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/06/28/500-burned-many-seriously-injured-during-taiwan-rave-concert-at-water-park/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_explosion
Good web site you have got here.. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours these days.
I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Did you just use the paint mixed with water? I want to do this for a 40th birthday party. Anyone try it with just water? Was it dark enough?
Hey I was thinking of doing something like this. Where did you find a large enough space to hold the paint party?? I was thinking of doing it in a park but I’m not sure if that is illegal. Do you know if there are any rules that restrict paint parties?