There is something about turning ten that feels different. Double digits! An entire first decade! So when we started thinking about how to celebrate Emma’s 10th birthday, I wanted it to feel like a real milestone—but still completely her.
Instead of a traditional birthday party at home or a party venue, we turned a hotel stay into a colorful Squishmallows-themed birthday sleepover for Emma and a few of her girlfriends. And I think this may be one of my favorite birthday parties we’ve ever created.
The best part? A hotel room actually makes such a fun backdrop for a small birthday celebration. The beds become part of the décor, there’s an instant sleepover setup, and when you choose a resort with plenty for the girls to do, the activities are practically built into the weekend.
Here’s how I transformed our hotel room into a Squishmallows birthday party, including the decorations, favors, activities and little details that made Emma’s first decade feel extra special.
The Inspiration: A Colorful Squishmallows Birthday Party
Emma loves Squishmallows, so they were an easy starting point for the theme. Rather than using every color imaginable, though, I pulled together a more cohesive palette inspired by some of the softer Squishmallow colors: bubblegum pink, aqua blue, mint, lavender and pale yellow.
It gave us all the fun and whimsy of Squishmallows while still making the hotel room look coordinated.
I carried those colors through everything: the balloon garland, fringe garlands, favor bags, candy, slime, signage and, of course, the Squishmallows themselves.
One tip when planning a character-themed party for older elementary-aged kids: you don’t need to put the character on absolutely everything. A recognizable color palette plus a few strategic themed pieces can make the party feel much more special and pulled together.
Transforming the Hotel Room
The biggest décor moment was undoubtedly the oversized organic balloon garland.
We ran it across the wall above both beds, using different sizes of balloons in pink, lavender, yellow, aqua and mint. The different balloon sizes made it feel much more custom than a traditional same-size balloon arch.
Because we were decorating a hotel room rather than our house, I wanted one major statement installation instead of trying to decorate every surface.
And this did exactly that.
We added a pink fringe garland along the headboards underneath it, plus a Squishmallows character banner and glowing Happy Birthday sign in the center.
Suddenly, two ordinary hotel beds became the centerpiece of the party.
If you’re recreating this idea, I’d focus your decorating budget on one dramatic area like this. It gives you the biggest visual impact and also creates a perfect backdrop for photos.
Turning the Beds Into Part of the Party
This was probably my favorite part of the entire setup.
Instead of simply placing decorations around the room, I used Squishmallows as part of the décor itself.
I arranged a collection on each bed, mixing different sizes and characters. Some had birthday details, which made them especially perfect for the occasion.
Then I added colorful HAPPY BIRTHDAY letters across the foot of the beds.
It was adorable—but more importantly, the girls could actually interact with everything.
That’s one of my favorite tricks for kids’ parties: whenever possible, make the decorations double as activities, favors or gifts. Nothing feels too precious, and you don’t end up bringing home boxes of décor that served no purpose beyond looking cute for three hours.
“Adopt a Squishmallow”
One of the sweetest little details was our Adopt a Squishmallow station.
I made a colorful sign that coordinated with the party palette and featured Squishmallow-style characters, then displayed it in a simple acrylic frame on the nightstand.
Each girl could choose a Squishmallow to “adopt” and take home.
It was both an activity and a favor—and much more memorable than filling a favor bag with lots of little plastic trinkets.
For a Squishmallows birthday party, I think this is one of the easiest ideas to recreate. You could offer mini Squishmallows for a larger party or slightly larger ones if you’re hosting a small sleepover like we did.
A Squishmallows Candy + Slime Table
Since this was a hotel party, I didn’t want to haul in an elaborate dessert table. Instead, I turned the round table already in our room into a Squishmallows candy and activity station.
This ended up being such a fun explosion of color.
I covered the tabletop with a mixture of pink, white and Squishmallows character confetti, then layered in brightly colored candy and Squishmallows-themed goodies.
The centerpiece was a large Squishmallows slime kit, surrounded by individual containers of slime topped with little characters.
For a little height, I used a simple white cake stand and placed individual sprinkle-covered treats on top. All those tiny rainbow sprinkles tied in perfectly with the colorful theme.
The result looked like a full dessert display without requiring a huge table, linens or elaborate serving pieces—which makes this idea particularly easy for a hotel birthday party.
Squishmallow Fringe Favor Bags
The favor bags were one of those details that looked completely custom but were actually very simple.
I started with Meri Meri fringe paper gift bags and added lots of fun treats inside.
They coordinated perfectly with the balloon garland and gave the bags a piñata-like texture that felt fun and celebratory.
Inside, I tucked in a few small Squishmallow-themed goodies like custom lip balms, scrunchies, a squishy shaped like a Squishmallow. I added candy and other little treats for the girls.
And because the “Adopt a Squishmallow” activity gave everyone a more substantial favor, I didn’t feel like I needed to overfill these.
The Giant Birthday Balloon
Another easy detail that made the room feel special was an oversized lavender balloon with a long pink tassel tail.
I placed it next to a chair with another birthday Squishmallow and a little birthday-themed bag.
It created another sweet vignette without taking up much room—a huge consideration when you’re decorating a hotel room.
If you’re hosting a hotel birthday, balloons are especially useful because they fill a lot of visual space without taking up valuable tabletop or floor space.
Personalized Hotel Details
This is where the party really started to feel like an experience rather than just decorations in a hotel room.
I created a custom door hanger that read:
“Welcome to Emma’s 10th Birthday”
with colorful Squishmallow characters and rainbows.
It was such a tiny thing, but seeing it hanging on the hotel room door immediately told the girls: the party starts here.
These kinds of personalized paper details are inexpensive compared with larger decorations but make an event feel incredibly thoughtful.
You could easily recreate the idea in Canva with your child’s name, age and party theme, then print it on heavier cardstock.
Why a Hotel Is Such a Fun Place for a 10th Birthday
At ten, kids are starting to outgrow some of the traditional birthday-party activities, but they’re also not quite teenagers yet.
A hotel sleepover hits that sweet spot.
The room itself becomes their little home base, but the entire resort becomes part of the birthday experience.
For Emma’s celebration at Four Seasons Orlando, the girls could spend their time swimming, floating around the lazy river, going down the waterslides, hanging out in the game center, exploring the resort, completing the scavenger hunt for ice cream and then coming back to their decorated room.
We could go to dinner at Ravello, have birthday cake and then settle back into the room for the ultimate Squishmallows sleepover.
Instead of having to create two or three hours’ worth of organized party entertainment, the experience itself was the entertainment.
And that made the weekend feel so much more memorable.
My Tips for Throwing a Birthday Party in a Hotel Room
There are a few things I would absolutely do again if I were planning another hotel birthday.
First, keep the guest list small. A hotel sleepover feels special precisely because it’s intimate. You don’t need 15 kids to make it feel like a party.
Second, create one major décor moment. For us, it was the balloon garland over the beds. It immediately transformed the room and made every photo feel festive.
Third, use what’s already there. The beds became our Squishmallow displays, the room table became our candy and slime station, the nightstand held our adoption sign, and the chair became a birthday vignette.
Fourth, choose décor that packs easily. Paper banners, confetti, signs, favor bags and lightweight party supplies are ideal. If you’re coordinating a balloon installation, arrange those logistics ahead of time.
And finally, ask the hotel what they can help with. When you’re celebrating a special occasion, it’s worth contacting the concierge team before your stay to find out what birthday enhancements or in-room arrangements may be available and what decorating guidelines you’ll need to follow.
The Perfect Theme for Double Digits
What I loved most about this party was that it still felt wonderfully little girl while also marking this transition into something new.
Ten is such a funny age. They’re growing up unbelievably quickly, but they still light up over balloons and candy and slime and stuffed animals piled across a hotel bed.
And I am in absolutely no hurry to rush past that.
The Squishmallows theme gave us permission to make everything bright, soft, silly, colorful and happy—which feels pretty perfect for celebrating ten.
Emma got a weekend with her girlfriends, a room filled with her favorite things, plenty of swimming and games, birthday cake, ice cream and a pile of Squishmallows to cuddle up with at the end of the night.
For her first decade, I couldn’t have asked for anything sweeter.
Squishmallows Hotel Birthday Party Checklist
If you want to recreate the party, here’s the basic formula I used and here is a link to everything to recreate it:
- Oversized pastel balloon garland in pink, aqua, mint, lavender and yellow
- Pink fringe/tassel garland
- Squishmallows character banner
- Happy Birthday light/sign
- Assorted Squishmallows for the beds
- “Adopt a Squishmallow” station + sign
- Squishmallows-themed slime
- Colorful candy
- Sprinkle-covered birthday treats
- Character confetti
- White cake stand for height on the treat table
- DIY fringed favor bags
- Small favors and candy
- Giant balloon with tassel tail
- Personalized birthday door hanger
- Colorful HAPPY BIRTHDAY letters
- A small group of favorite friends
- And a hotel or resort with enough activities to turn the party into a full birthday adventure
The biggest takeaway: you really don’t need a ballroom, private party room or enormous amount of décor to create a memorable milestone birthday. With one hotel room, one big balloon installation and lots of personalized little details, you can create a birthday weekend that feels like its own little world.
And for a Squishmallows-loving newly minted ten-year-old? I can’t think of a much sweeter way to enter double digits. 💕
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