Adult Encanto Party Hats: My DIY Disaster (and unexpected win!) for Luna’s 12th Birthday
Adult Encanto Party Hats: My DIY Disaster (and unexpected win!) for Luna’s 12th Birthday
Matteo's DIY Dilemma: Encanto Edition
Hey Ginyou fam! Matteo here from Charlotte, NC. You guys know me, always trying to keep things eco-friendly and budget-conscious with my four kids (Finn, Emma, Caleb, Luna) and our French bulldog, Lucy. Luna just turned 12, and she's totally obsessed with Encanto. Of course, she wanted an Encanto-themed party.
My wife, bless her heart, suggested we just buy some party hats. But you know me, I saw an opportunity to make something unique, and maybe save a few bucks, especially since I found some plain white cardstock at the Dollar Tree a while back. My thought was, "How hard can it be to make some cool encanto birthday hats for adults and the kids?" Famous last words, right?
I started with this grand vision of recreating the vibrant Casita on each hat, maybe even adding little butterflies. I pulled up some images on my phone, even looked at a few tutorials, but as usual, I ended up just winging it. Grabbed some paint from Emma's art supplies, a hot glue gun, and some leftover glitter from Caleb's science project. I figured I could make a bunch of different designs, so everyone could pick their favorite character.
The first few attempts? Let's just say they looked more like abstract art than anything from Encanto. Finn, my 5-year-old, came in and asked if I was making "monster hats." Luna, ever so diplomatic, said, "They're… interesting, Dad." The glitter was everywhere, the paint was smudged, and the hot glue strings were practically an accessory themselves. I was trying to get a good fit, but measuring everyone's head was proving to be a nightmare. I mean, even for the adults, finding a one-size-fits-all cone hat design that actually stayed on was a challenge. I probably spent a good three hours on just five hats, and they were, frankly, pretty tragic.
That's when my wife gently suggested, "Maybe we just need some fun party accessories for the grown-ups? Like, maybe just a cool headband or something less… cone-shaped for the adults." It got me thinking about different options. I remembered seeing some really unique ideas when I was looking up ideas for beach cone hats for adults a while back for a summer get-together. Totally different vibe, but the idea of adult-focused party headwear stuck with me.
I almost gave up. Then I remembered a thrift store score from last month: a box of plain fabric headbands, like 10 of them, for $3. Bingo! I pivoted. Instead of trying to make intricate encanto birthday hats for adults from scratch, I decided to decorate the headbands. I still used the Dollar Tree cardstock, but this time just cut out simple shapes: butterflies, flowers, even little cutouts of Mirabel's glasses. A bit of paint, some permanent markers (borrowed from Emma, again), and a tiny bit of glue, and suddenly, I had a collection of much more wearable, and dare I say, stylish, Encanto-themed headbands. The kids thought they were awesome, and even the grown-ups grabbed one. It was a massive save, both for my sanity and the party aesthetic! It definitely wasn't what I originally planned, but sometimes those unexpected pivots really work out.
So, what are your go-to budget-friendly party hat hacks? Especially for themes where the official merch is pricey?
Responses:
Matteo, oh my goodness, you are my spirit animal with the Dollar Tree finds! As an elementary teacher here in San Francisco, with Caleb (2), Noah (4), Miles (7), Meera (10), and Chloe (13) at home, I am constantly trying to make themed parties happen on a shoestring. My 5th graders always have these wild ideas, and then my own kids are no different. I totally get the DIY disaster. I once tried to make character masks for a superhero party, and they ended up looking like villain masks. Miles cried because his "Iron Man" looked like a sad alien. Learned my lesson there!
For birthday hats, especially for a theme like Encanto, I tend to over-prepare. Seriously, I have backup plans for my backup plans. For Chloe's last birthday, she wanted a Squishmallow party, and I was panicking about hats. I must have looked at every tutorial online. What saved me was honestly just grabbing plain party hats and having a decorating station. I bought a bunch of stickers, glitter glue, and some craft foam from, you guessed it, the Dollar Tree. The kids (and some of the parents!) had a blast decorating their own. It took the pressure off me to make them perfect. I even had some printable templates for eyes and mouths so they could make their hats look like their favorite Squishmallows.
My biggest tip for anyone trying to pull off themed party hats, especially encanto birthday hats for adults, is to simplify. Don't go for the elaborate, movie-accurate details unless you have hours and hours and a steady hand. I learned that the hard way. Think color palette and key motifs, not exact replicas. And honestly, sometimes just providing the materials and letting guests get creative is more fun for everyone. It also helps with the anti-waste mission, because people are more likely to take home something they decorated themselves. I always tell parents to check out resources like The Ultimate Guide To Birthday Party Hats Styles Tips And Buying Advice For 2025 if they're feeling stuck on ideas. It's got some surprisingly good pointers for DIY that I didn't even think of.
What I'd do differently next time? I’d pre-cut more shapes. My hands cramped up trying to cut out 20 tiny stars the night before the party. Always pre-cut, people! And probably just stick to one type of decorating medium, not glitter, paint, and markers all at once. The cleanup was… extensive.
Matteo, honey, your story about the monster hats made me laugh out loud! Sounds exactly like something I'd do. I'm Hailey, mom of five here in Boston—Arjun (2), Piper (4), Cole (6), Willow (7), and Emma (10). And yeah, we've got a French bulldog too, named Luna! Great minds, right?
Party planning around here is a beautiful, chaotic mess. I always over-buy supplies, thinking I need a thousand craft items, and then half of them just sit in a bin. My kids change their minds about themes faster than I can say "Encanto soundtrack." We just did a party for Emma, who turned 10, and it was a whole thing. She wanted a "Magical Woodland Fairy" vibe, which meant a lot of green and purple, and, of course, glitter. So much glitter. I swear, I’m still finding it in the strangest places, like inside the butter dish.
When it came to hats, I tried to keep it simple. I actually bought a pack of those basic cone hats, you know, the ones that come flat? I got a bunch from a party supply store for like $8 for 12. Then I set up a table with fake flowers I got from a craft store clearance bin (total steal, like $0.50 a stem!), some sheer ribbon, and a hot glue gun. The idea was for the girls to make their own flower crowns or decorate the hats. Well, Piper, my 4-year-old, decided her hat needed to be a "flower sandwich" and proceeded to glue about ten flowers, one on top of the other, directly to the very tip of the hat. It was so top-heavy it just kept falling off! I swear, her little head looked like a floral alien beacon. But she loved it, so what can you do?
I totally hear you on the specific details, too. For Cole's 6th birthday, he wanted a cowboy party. Not just any cowboy, a "rodeo cowboy." So I spent a week trying to find miniature cowboy hats for all the kids. Ended up finding some plastic ones at a dollar store, but they were definitely kid-sized. For the grown-ups, we just gave them bandanas. It’s hard to find proper themed headwear for adults sometimes, especially something unique like encanto birthday hats for adults that isn’t just a character face taped to a cone. I always tell myself I'm going to follow a TikTok recipe for party crafts, but then I get halfway through and realize I don't have the exact shade of turquoise or whatever, and I just start improvising. It usually works out, but it's never quite what the video promised.
One thing that worked really well for Emma's party, that might even work for an Encanto theme, was creating little "charm stations." I found a big bag of miscellaneous charms at a second-hand store – little butterflies, flowers, tiny animals. The kids could pick a few, and I’d help them hot glue them onto plain headbands or even just safety-pin them to their clothes. It was a hit, and it’s something they could take home. It reminded me a bit of how we did the Squishmallow Birthday Party Ideas How We Threw A Squish Squad Party For 10 Eight Year Olds 83 Total, where we made sure there were lots of little customizable takeaways. Keeps them busy and keeps the cost down. Those 11-pack Kids Birthday Party Hats are great for this too, just plain enough to customize.
Encanto Hats for Your Furry Family
Our chihuahua mix Pepita is 7 lbs. A proper dog crown with adjustable elastic stayed on for 12 minutes during photos. Check out a dog birthday hat for toy breeds. We keep dog birthday party supplies ready.
Be respectful and share genuine experiences. No links, promotions, or spam — replies are reviewed before publishing.
