DYNAMITE DIY Minecraft Party
Super easy to create your own Minecraft chests and crafting table.
Exactly one year ago I was new to the Minecraft thing.… My son got a Nintendo Switch for his Birthday and desperately wanted to play Minecraft. I was totally unsure about it; I knew only about the creepers and the zombies and just didn’t want to “start” the whole thing. Slowly, I began to see how imaginative and creative it was. A year later he is still very much into Minecraft but now, so is his sister. I love that they share this common ground and joined appreciation for something!
So of course for his 7th birthday we had to have a Minecraft themed party. My daughter helped me in a huge way because there’s a lot I still don’t know, lol. I am proud to report it was a huge success, so I am here to share with you some fun ways to have a dynamite DIY Minecraft party! On that note, make sure to grab the free downloadable food labels below.
From the beginning I knew I wanted to have an inventory/treasure hunt incorporated somehow. In Minecraft you have to gather certain supplies, so I needed to find out some of the items that go into a Minecraft inventory and a little about how that works. Also, by combining items in your inventory you can make or activate other helpful tools and resources. I won’t bore you with the details but from what I gather two stones and a stick make a sword! This essential item is perfect because I ordered the plastic swords as the kid’s party favors. A “crafting table” is also necessary to create the tools and things you build in Minecraft. Lastly, you can create chests that store useful items in them. BOOM- a treasure hunt was born.
I first started on the chests and crafting table. I ordered 8 file boxes with removable lids from online. Unfortunately the only option I could find at that moment had manufacturer printing all over the sides. I needed to cover the printing up with brown kraft paper, however, if you can find clean brown boxes then you can skip this step! After I wrapped the bottom part of the box in kraft paper, I then used 2 different kinds of tape to visually transform the box into a Minecraft chest, black duct tape and electrical tape. I did this because 1) electrical tape is more expensive and 2) because I wanted the bottom to have wider lines than the lid.
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There are a few visual differences between a chest and crafting table. The chest has a silver latch piece I made with shiny silver duct tape and a rectangular piece of wood. The crafting table has the 9 square grid on top with the 3 squares at each corner. I used my silhouette to cut out the grid using black contact paper ( also known a shelf liner) because it’s cheaper than vinyl. If you don’t have a silhouette you could really use any utility knife to make this grid.
Next, I set to work on the inventory list for the hunt and food label printables. I purchased lanyards and hooked the inventory on list on them. I like to make these for boy parties including the theme and each guests name. This is super easy if you have a little graphic ability, a printer and laminator. Click on the free downloadable and printable images below for your lanyard tag and food labels! I would print on card stock;)
For the inventory that was hidden in the Minecraft chest I used these products:
Red rock candy- red stone
Green gum balls- emeralds
White Sixlets- wolf spawn
Mini Marshmallows- stone
Pretzels- sticks
Red Twizzlers- TNT
I made sure to hide the box with the sticks and stones where they would find it first because inside the crafting table I hid swords. Once they found the sticks and stones they put them on the crafting table and BOOM-swords! In hind sight, they then hoped that everything they put on the crafting table would create another tool, lol. It did not… Here is a link to very cute treasure goodie bags that would be perfect and also a creeper piñata is here.
There are some really awesome tableware sets for 8 guests here, for 16 guests a better deal here or 24 guests a still better deal here. While I was out picking up some last minute things I happen to find these green drink bottles that I thought would be PERFECT to create “potion bottles” to be used as their drink cups during the party and for take-home favors. Using my silhouette and the font I purchased in the silhouette design store called PN Pixelcraft, the Potion of Regeneration and Potion of Leaping was made! I also included each guest name so as to not have drink confussion.
The last thing I needed to do was create a Nether Portal. To do this, I used black and purple streamers and a couple black lights (flashlights) that I had leftover from Halloween. I staged this portal in the hallway leading to the game room where the kids would be playing Minecraft. We even set up a separate projector facing the opposite direction ready to go with some classic Nintendo with Super Mario Bros in case anyone needed a change of pace. Little side note, did you know that with the Nintendo Switch you can play 4 players on Minecraft?! Yep, super fun!
Finally I wanted a photo op area with this cool back drop and the pickaxes I purchased here for props. My son loves all things tech so I decided to include his very own QR code that was linked to his photo booth gallery for him and his friends (mind you I have access to an open air photo booth because I own a party company;). Did you know you can create your own QR code by googling QR code generator? These are free and you can create ones that link to your email or send texts… Below are just a couple of fun shots of us before the party starts! Thanks for creepin’ by!! XOXO- Nikki Socha
Shout out to a local party business! Card My Yard Prosper/Celina.
Oriental Trading Company has sooooo many fun things for your party!
