Kids nowadays are no strangers to video games. If you allow your kids time on the tablet for educational purposes, chances are they are also exposed to a variety of entertaining games. So it’s no surprise that they may pick up a game-themed celebration for their upcoming birthday party.
One of the most commonly requested game-themed trends in the past few years is a Minecraft-themed party. If you’re not familiar with Minecraft, it’s a game that allows your character to explore an infinite vast world where you can build things, hunt monsters, and mine for resources. The incredible amount of freedom given to the players and the huge possibility of what one can creatively do within the game are what made Minecraft such a huge hit.
Since its release in 2009, Minecraft has taken the world by storm, producing a massive following, inspiring wild parodies, merchandise, and a large community of gamers who appreciate the game for its genius simplicity. Just recently, it surpassed Tetris to become the game most sold in the whole history of gaming.
Although the pixel block game looks like it’s directed toward a 12-year-old market, the game is actually enjoyed by a demographic of both young and adult gamers.
So if your child wants a Minecraft-themed party, you can rest assured that you won’t have a hard time finding Minecraft-inspired party supplies to buy. However, if you’d rather take charge, then the following Minecraft party ideas are just what you need to throw that epic Minecraft birthday blast.
Put the Sign Up with a Minecraft-Themed Invitation
Let the other party players know they’re about to enter a real Minecraft miniverse with a creative invitation card that’s in complete Minecraft mode. A Minecraft sign-inspired invitation card will be their welcome pass into the block-world party.
To create your own “You’re invited” sign invitation, you can simply find the Minecraft sign image online (just make sure it’s high resolution), and overlay the “You are Invited” text on top. If you have very minimal photo-manipulation skills, you can try looking for free Minecraft printables instead.
Then, print them out on a special paper. If you want to save, you can instead opt to have them printed in typical office bond paper and glue them into square white cardboard cutouts.
You can either print out a single-page invitation with all the details at the bottom of the “You’re invited” text, or you can give out folded invitations with the details of the party on the second page.
Make the Entrance Memorable
Make a great first impression with a creative dramatic entrance. The portal into the netherworld will excite kids who are only too familiar with the Minecraft universe.
In the game, the nether portal is made of an obsidian frame, and the entrance is purple to give the player a sense of entering a different dimension.
Of course, there’s no need to paint your door frame to mimic the color of the portal, but you can cover it with black paper. Remember to not use an adhesive that will be hard to take out off your walls. If you don’t have any other option, then perhaps this trick on getting rid of adhesive marks will be helpful later.
To create the purple entrance, simply cut out vertical strips of crepe paper, and glue each of one ends to the top of your covered door frame. The result will somewhat resemble a curtain and give the venue a sense of secrecy to which only those who are invited are privy.
Make It Big with a Huge Pixel Wall Art
Nothing like a giant pixel art on the wall to set the mood for a Minecraft soiree. A giant wall creeper made of properly arranged square plates to mimic the pixel units does the trick. If you don’t want to spend that much money on a bunch of dollar-store plates, then make use of different-colored art papers, and get designing.
Choose any quirky character to make the humongous greeting. The creeper is a common favorite, but you can also design the venue walls with other characters like the witch, the zombies, and the skeletons, Steve, or perhaps even the blocky animals!
Let the Slimes Out!
In addition to your pixel wall art, pump air up some lime-colored dollar-store balloons, and use a marker to draw signature creeper features. You can use other colors too and draw the facial features of other Minecraft characters. Use brown balloons for Steve’s face, a green one for the zombie, white for the skeleton, and black for the Enderman.
The head features of these common characters are fairly easy to draw, so you don’t have to worry so much about getting it right as they become easily recognizable.
Eat on Dirt?
An awesome setup is a genius idea for a Minecraft party table. Imitating miles of green blocky plains, this setup only needs a plain brown table cloth to imitate the dirt, crepe paper for the paper straws to mimic the grass on top, and a conglomeration of green and brown paper plates to complete the setup.
If you don’t want to make paper straws because they’re time-intensive and may be uncomfortable to eat at, you can use a plain green tablecloth instead.
Feast like Steve
In the survival mode of the game, the player’s character, called Steve, has to eat periodically to remain alive and keep playing. Various food items are featured in the game, including cookies, melons, apples and carrots, steak, chicken, and many more.
You can find recipes that can be great party-friendly versions of these food items and display them with their corresponding Minecraft icon labels that the kids will easily recognize.
You simply need to find high-resolution images of the chosen food items on the web and print them out. You can even exhaust this trick and print out your own crafting table placemats. Because why not?
Blow Out a Minecraft Cake
Yes! There’s a pixel-made version of children’s real-world-pastry favorite in the Minecraft-verse, and if you want to stay true to your theme, then having a Minecraft-inspired cake for the birthday boy or girl will be the real highlight of the day.
Making your own Minecraft cake is easy to do if you’re already familiar with the basics of baking. Otherwise, don’t worry. This step-by-step video will show you how.
Of course, you can always have your own take of the Minecraft cake. You can also play with other designs that are not necessarily similar to the actual Minecraft cake.
An Exploding Game
A children’s party won’t be complete without the games. A great idea for your Minecraft-themed party would be the breaking of the TNT piñata. Like in the real world, the TNT is used to explode things. So why not fill a box with treats and let the kids do the exploding?
It’s a unique take on a game that has always been a universal party favorite.
Keep the Party Vibe Up with a Creeper Toss
You don’t need to splurge on game materials to make things interesting. A simple game with good mechanics is everything you need to maintain the high spirits in the party.
The Creeper Toss, for example, only needs a large green cardboard with the Creeper’s features cut out. Each of the eyes and the mouth are labeled with corresponding points. The game will then be played by trying to shoot small balls through the holes made on the cardboard. The child or team with the most points wins.
Simple and very doable.
Make Your Party Favors Explosive with TNT Party Favors
Say “Thank you for coming” in the most explosive way by giving a surprise party favor that will extend the party long after the guests leave the venue. This TNT party favor project doesn’t even need much to make.
You only need some cardboard tubes or old rolls of tissue paper, red tissue paper, some TNT label printables, and of course, a mix of treats and toys to let the kiddies know you appreciate their coming.
Here’s the step-by-step guide for this awesome DIY idea.
Wrapping Up
Themed parties are absolutely fun to plan for. With something that’s normally unfamiliar to the large non-gaming-parent population, research can be a real challenge, but it also gives you an opportunity to learn something new about the things your child enjoys.
You can even employ their help in doing the decorations. After all, who needs to do research when you have a walking Minecraft encyclopedia right at home? Both of you will surely enjoy the bonding, and they will absolutely love being a part of something big.
