Make a Memorable Minecraft Party
When it came time to talk about themes, it’s difficult for a 5-year-old to pinpoint one single theme, but my boy was dead set on Minecraft. I threw out some other ideas because we had done a Minecraft party for his older brother a few years prior and my nephew had one last year, but he declined and did not sway from what he decided.
So, Minecraft it was. Do you think I saved any of the decorations from any of the previous parties that would save me and make it a little easier to throw together? Of course not. So here I was, starting again. I knew I had to get creative.
I have a hard time with minimal decorations, because I LOVE to decorate, but I knew I couldn’t go overboard and spend a ton this year. So I of course did what I do best, DIY’d everything I could.
How Did We Get Here- My Family
Being a mom to three boys is the most rewarding job I’ve ever done, but I would be lying if I said I am not at the brink of losing my mind most days. They are wild, they are loud, they are almost always dirty, but they are so much fun.
Daily life can get a little hectic, the days fly by faster than I can blink, and I try not to let them get away from me, but sometimes, that’s easier said than done. Birthdays can tend to sneak up on you, and before you know it, you better get the invites out to make sure you give guests plenty of notice about your upcoming party. I like to try and give at least two weeks, and that sometimes means pushing the date a little ahead of their actual birthday.
Luckily, kids are pretty understanding and get excited that they get to celebrate their birthdays twice since you usually make their actual day a little special too.
January definitely snuck up on me and before I knew it, I had realized that I had not even talked to my middle son about what he wanted to do for his birthday. We had it at the local trampoline park last year, so I threw out a couple of similar ideas to him and included an option for a video game party at home.
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To my absolute surprise, my soon-to-be six-year-old chose a home party, instead of Chuck E Cheese or a facility full of bounce houses. I was shocked and panicked a little because we were running out of time to plan, but it also made my day that he chose to have it at home.
I’ve always done home parties for my boys, and last year was the first year I threw in the towel and had them elsewhere with minimal decorations, so I thought maybe they would choose to do that every year, but I was happy that wasn’t the case. Now, time to get in gear and start decorating!
Creating the Minecraft Decorations
Luckily, Minecraft is so simple to DIY that some spare cardboard boxes can go a long way! The birthday boy even got to help me with some of the crafting and he loved every minute of it and loved that he was a part of making something for his own party.
Making TNT Boxes
I started with the few spare boxes I had saved and were laying around. I Googled a couple of Minecraft pictures and just used that to look at while I painted.
One of the rectangle boxes I knew I wanted to make it into a TNT block. I started by painting the top and 3 sides that were going to be shown, red. I didn’t bother painting the back or bottom because it was going to be on a table against the wall and I knew they wouldn’t be seen. After it dried, I marked off a strip with tape to make sure my lines were straight and I painted a white stripe across the front.
I added some gray boxes across the top, and some black ones spread around randomly. This part is really up to you and you can add as little or as much as you want. I just glanced at a picture a few times and tried to get as close as I could. After that was dry, I peeled off the tape and just freehanded the “TNT” on the front in black paint. Project one, done!
Grass Blocks
The next box I used, I wrapped in butcher paper just like you would a present. I knew I wanted to do a couple of grass blocks so the color of the paper was perfect, and it hid any wording on the box.
I freehanded several squares with a pencil just as grid lines to go off of, and that made painting a lot easier. I painted the top and a few squares down the front with green, and then just a few different shades of brown down the rest of the front side.
There is no specific order or anything I used. I just decided as I went with each color and made it look as close to the picture as possible. They do not need to be perfect and there is so much room for your imagination to make them look the way you want them to. It probably took me a few hours total with drying time to complete both boxes and both of them turned out great.
As soon as my son saw them finished he just lit up. He didn’t care if they were perfect, he loved them and was so excited that I made them for his party.
I also took an old canvas I had, wrapped it, and free-handed “Level 6 Unlocked”. I love to look up fonts on Dafont and I just typed in Minecraft and they had a few to choose from. I drew it in pencil just in case, and just went over it and shaded it in with a permanent marker. Voilà!
Finishing Touches
I bought a few things from the party store to complete the look, like a Minecraft “Happy Birthday” banner and masks, black and green tablecloths, napkins, and plates from DollarTree.
I also ordered some little party favor bags from amazon with a few things for the kids to take home, and a number “6” balloon. These are cheap decorations and things that I don’t mind spending a little on to make it all come together.
I also ordered some green color-changing cups from Amazon that weren’t delivered in time so I ended up just using some clear plastic cups that I had leftover from another party.
I got a list of the kids who were for sure attending and designed a creeper face and each child’s name in Minecraft font, and cut it out on black vinyl with my Cricut. I then transferred them to each cup and then added a colorful neon straw to each cup.
They turned out so cute and the kids were blown away that they each had their own cup with their name on it. It was so fun to see their reactions!
Minecraft Themed Food and Snacks
Lastly was the food. Most of it I couldn’t prepare till the day of, but I purchased ahead of time. I only told my guests I was having “snacks and cake” so I didn’t go overboard on food this time.
I had a veggie tray, chips, salsa, “torches” made of pretzel rods and chocolate, chocolate-covered puffcorn, some chili cream cheese dip with Fritos, and cupcakes. The cupcakes I baked from a box and frosted them to place them in the shape of a sword.
I also made the cake from a box and decorated it to look like a Minecraft block. This is the one my son picked out and I was grateful he picked one I could easily do! It wasn’t perfect, but he loved it and it only took me about 10 minutes to decorate. A win for both of us!
Pro tip: Always prepare enough food for the number of guests confirmed, plus a few more. Since I normally have a fairly large spread at my parties, everyone came hungry. I should have known, but what little food I had, disappeared within minutes. Definitely learned a lesson there!
Cost and Conclusion
I spent less than $100 total on this party and it was super easy to DIY. Minecraft lends itself to using simple block shapes and relatively easy patterns that make decorating a breeze. I would highly recommend throwing a Minecraft party for your kiddos if it’s something they enjoy and you’ll be impressed with yourself once you see it all come together!
