Looking for an awesome birthday party idea? Look no further! Here’s an amazing DIY Minecraft party that any Minecraft-obsessed kid would love!
This incredible project comes from designer and mom, Ji Ho. Ji is an art director at K12 and her creativity and artistic talent really shine in these pictures. For her son Tyler’s 9th birthday, she threw a Minecraft party for him and his friends, and was kind enough to share some photos and details about how she put it all together.
Of course, not all of us are designers, but many of these clever ideas could certainly be adapted by those of us who are less artistic.
The image at the top of the page was part of the invitation designed by
Ji. She also created fun Creeper goodie bags and T-shirts for the party
guests, including cute pink ones for the two little girls in
attendance. Ji said, “I cut out the Creeper [stencil] using freezer
paper, one small for the goodie bags and one large for the t-shirts.
Using fabric ink and a sponge, I just tapped the ink on the shirts and
bags, and let them dry for a day.”
Using this method, she created shirts and gift bags for the 16 boys and two girls at the party. All the kids wore the shirts throughout the party, Ji said. With 18 little Creepers in attendance, the shirts really added to the Minecraft atmosphere!
To fill the goodie bags, Ji created custom labels to turn
ordinary treats into materials found in the Minecraft world. Twizzlers
became TNT, Hershey’s Nuggets stood in for Iron, and blue candies for
Diamond.
For snacking during the party, Ji put out blue and green Jello (for Ice and Slime), pretzels for Sticks, and strawberries for Red Stone. Custom labels turned ordinary water bottles into “Creeper Juice”. Ji said all the decor really made the kids feel like they were inside the Minecraft world.
To decorate the house, Ji used some typical party items, but in
some unexpected ways. She shared her clever decorating tips that could
easily be replicated for your own Minecraft party.
Balloons add a festive atmosphere, but anyone who’s dealt with getting a car full of helium balloons home—only to have them start dropping before the party—knows they can be a pain. Instead, Ji hung colorful balloons upside-down from the ceiling, so she didn’t have to worry about getting them filled with helium the day of the party. Still festive, and so much easier!
She also added an awesome wall feature to the room, made with a surprisingly simple party supply. Ji said, “On our big family room wall, I used 10×10” square paper plates (a total of 86 plates) to make the Creeper face. This was the biggest ‘WOW’ from the kids.”
And what’s a party without cake? To top her Minecraft cake, Ji used fondant to create characters from the game, including Steve, a Creeper, and a cute duck. Ji also printed signs featuring characters’ faces to top some otherwise simple green cupcakes. To decorate the dessert table, she just used green tissue paper grass. Simple, but so clever, and it really looks like the game!
While it’s clear a lot of work went into the party to bring the Minecraft world to life, the reaction from the birthday boy made it all worth it. “Seeing Tyler’s big smile on his face and having lots of fun with all of his friends who are Minecraft fans, it was just priceless,” Ji said.