If you’re thinking about setting up a birthday classroom display for 2024, you’ve come to the right place! With a new school year comes a tonne of classroom prep, so we want to make it as stress-free as possible to set up a birthday wall or display that makes every student feel special this school year.
We’ve consulted the Teach Starter teacher squad and our wider teacher community to get their favourite classroom birthday display ideas, and we’re excited to share them with you. Our teacher team has created a list of display ideas with a few things in mind — we wanted them to work for different year levels (great if you have to move class in the future or have a composite class). We also wanted to create ideas that you could enlist students’ help with to save you time.
So, keep reading to find inspiration and prepare for the back-to-school season.
Awesome Birthday Classroom Display Ideas
Setting up a classroom display for birthdays has heaps of benefits that you may not be thinking of right now. Obviously, we know these are great ways for students to feel celebrated in your classroom, and that goes a long way when you’re building those important teacher-student relationships. Students want to feel treasured, and seeing their birthday listed on the wall beside their mates’ lets them know you see them.
From a slightly more selfish point of view, a birthday display is one you can set up at the beginning of term and keep for the rest of the year — what a relief!
Teach Starter Teacher Tip — Need printables for your birthday wall? Just click on the little blue links on the words to download!
If creating full birthday displays is a little too time-consuming for you, then scroll to the bottom of this post … we’ve got you covered with some ready-to-print birthday charts, birthday certificates and unique ways to celebrate your students in the classroom!
DIY Nature-Themed Birthday Mobile
If you’re feeling a bit crafty and would like to make your own birthday display, we love this idea for a birthday mobile you can hang from the ceiling.
Perth primary school teacher Miss Brescianini of @teachingrainorshine created her leafy birthday mobile from found and recycled materials. Here’s how she used it in her classroom:
“Our students all wrote their name and date of birth on a leaf using a permanent marker!” she explained. “We then coated the leaf with clear PVA glue and strung it up around the hoop. When it’s their birthday, we’ll take their leaf down, and they can decorate the back of it with paint and glitter before hanging it back up.”
Cupcake Birthday Display Idea
This supremely cute printable cupcake birthday display is one of the most popular in our collection of birthday-themed teacher resources! Like all the birthday board ideas we’ll be sharing, this fun birthday display is easy to create and can be reused year after year.
Thanks to Year 3 teacher Hayley Grace for this cupcake display photo from her classroom!
Supplies:
- A blank wall or display board
- Coloured wrapping paper to make a background
- Cupcakes Birthday Chart
Printing Tips
- This downloadable Cupcakes Birthday Display prints one cupcake per A4 page. When the candle pages are printed at full size, they are the correct proportions for the cupcakes.
- To make a smaller cupcake birthday wall, reduce both the cupcake pages and the candle pages by the same size.
The candles in this resource are editable, and you may like to hand them out to students so they can fill in their names and birthdates.
You may also like this cupcake birthday chart idea!
Under the Sea-Themed Birthday Wall
This Under the Sea-themed birthday wall idea is super fun! A twist on the teacher-favourite Sea Jelly Classroom Display, each month is displayed on the body of a sea jelly, and you can attach each of your students’ birthdays as a tentacle hanging below.
One of the benefits of this classroom wall idea is that you can remove a tentacle if a student moves or easily add one if you have a new student in your class!
Birthday Wall Supplies
- Aqua-coloured wrapping paper
- Sea jelly birthday display template (which includes sea jellies, a rainbow Happy Birthday bunting, and sea animal cut-out decorations)
- White and dark blue crepe paper streamers
- S ball of fancy wool
- Coloured cardboard to create the coral
- Yellow and green party decorations.
Printing Tips
The printable Sea Jelly Birthday Display template includes bunting flags that are sized one per A4 page. Depending on the size of your board, you may need to print the bunting at a different size.
- To create this portrait-orientated Under the Sea birthday display, we printed the bunting flags 6 pages per A4 page.
- For a landscape-orientated display, you may like to try printing the bunting flags 2-4 pages per A4 page.
To create sea jellies and cut out decorations the same size as our example, print the relevant pages at full size.
DIY Neutral Boho Birthday Display
We came across this easy idea yet brilliant from Year 2 Perth teacher Mrs G of @stepinsidemyclassroom and just had to share it! With the help of twine, mini pegs and photos of students, her DIY birthday display gives each student a chance to show off that birthday smile, and the setup is simple. We recommend gluing tacks to the back of your mini pegs to make them easy to hang on your bulletin board. This will also make it easy for you to move them around!
You can set up the display at the start of the year and take photos of each student when school begins, or you can wait to add students’ photos on their actual birthday. If you opt for the latter, why not take a photo of each student wearing their birthday crown to add to the display?
Ice Cream Birthday Wall
We all love a good birthday cupcake display. However, this sweet ice cream birthday wall idea takes celebratory dessert displays to the next level! Best of all, it’s a classroom display you can get students’ help with during the first day of school.
Every month of the year is printed out on a wafer cup, while students each get a blank ice cream scoop on which they can write their name and the date of their birthday (we love putting these in the cherries!) and then decorate.
To create this ice cream-themed birthday wall we used the printable Ice Cream Birthday Display Template (includes A4 Happy Birthday picture, waffle cup ‘months’ and ice cream scoop templates).
That’s it! The only things you need for this display is some space on a display board or wall, a pair of scissors, some sticky tac and this one printable file.
Rainbow Balloons Birthday Wall Idea
Hands up if you love rainbows!? Well, this super easy classroom birthday wall idea is for you. Sticking with an obvious birthday theme, this printable Balloon Birthday Chart is another fun classroom display.
To create this birthday display board, you can use:
- A black display board (you can also use black fabric or paper)
- Coloured string
- Balloon Birthday Chart Template
- Rainbow Happy Birthday Bunting
Printing Tips
To create this sample display, we printed all pages of the Balloon Birthday Template and the Rainbow Happy Birthday Bunting (two pages per A4 page).
- If you’d like to create a larger, landscape-orientated display, try printing the balloons at full size and hanging the bunting across one string.
- To create a smaller display, print both balloons at a reduced size so items are proportional.
Do you love the birthday balloons but don’t have room for a full wall? Print a simple balloon birthday chart!
Rainbow and Clouds Birthday Display
If your classroom is a little short on space, you can still have a beautiful and functional birthday chart.
Take a look at this bright and bold rainbow birthday display created by primary educator @the_quirkyteacher with a simple rainbow, listing out the months on clouds and the names of each student along the colourful strips of paper hanging from the rainbow. 
With a display like this, you could make the rainbow bigger or smaller, depending on how much space you have to play with.
Paint Chips Birthday Display
If you’re looking for something equally as beautiful but a little simpler in design, check out this birthday display by Assistant Principal Serena of @thewrightclassroom made of coloured card shapes – simply write your student’s birthdates and add them to your display.
Ever noticed those cardboard paint swatches at your local hardware or paint shop such as Bunnings? You could grab a bunch, block colour or monochromatic, and use them to DIY your own rainbow birthday display!
How Do You Wish a Student Happy Birthday?
The birthday display is something you do at the start of the term, but what about the actual birthday? How can you wish a student a happy birthday in a way that they will remember? Here are some of our teacher team’s favourite ideas for making the day itself memorable!
Create a Birthday Chair
Whether it’s simply decorating a chair with balloons or popping a pillowcase on the back to make it look a bit fancier, giving one special student a birthday chair to sit in on their big day is a big, big hit in a classroom.
Celebrate With a Birthday Crown
Birthday celebrations are a big deal to little kids, so why not make them feel extra special in the classroom with a birthday crown? Whether you feel like making your own from craft materials or downloading our Birthday Crown Template, students can feel like royalty on their birthday and take their crown home as a keepsake.
Award a Birthday Certificate
Don’t have room or time to create a huge classroom birthday board or chart? You can keep things simple and print out a birthday certificate to show your best birthday wishes for each student. This is a perfect way to ensure they have something to bring home to commemorate the day!
Build a Birthday Book Bag
Do you allow students to borrow books from your classroom library? Create a special book bag for the birthday child filled with birthday-themed books that they get to keep for a few days or even a full week! Some of our favourites include:
- Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry
- Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau by Andrea Beaty
- The Backwards Birthday Party by Tom Chapin and John Forster
- If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon by Joyce Lapin
Give (Small) Birthday Gifts
When you have 20 students or more, gifts can get quite costly, but you don’t have to do too much. Year 2 teacher Miss L prints Teach Starter’s superhero-themed happy birthday badges to use as pencil toppers for simple birthday gifts that are useful in the classroom!
Create a Class Birthday Card
Students will treasure a birthday card filled out by all their mates in the classroom! Print out several copies so you always have one at hand!
Hold a Show and Tell
Make a student’s birthday special by allowing them to bring something special from home on their big day for their very own show and tell in front of the class!
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