One of the tables for our Minecraft party. Image courtesy of Debbie Morrow, All Rights Reserved.

Does your loved one know every type of potion, brick, mineral, and creature that exists in the Minecraft world? Well, then you may consider making their dreams come true with a Minecraft Gaming Party!

Having had the recent pleasure of throwing a Minecraft party gives me the opportunity to share what worked and what didn’t work so well. I’ll be adding a 1-3 tutorials at a time, since they can be lengthy. So check back frequently for follow-up posts.

The Party : Prepare for Glitches

As a seasoned party planner, one of the unspoken rules to a successful party (especially for kids) is having enough activities. Even though we had the gaming trailer coming, whenever you are dependent upon other people (from guests arriving on time to vendors), you’ll want a backup plan. So make sure you have enough activities and appetizers at hand to fill gaps of time, such as late food deliveries or late-arriving entertainers.

Games

Pin the Tail on the Minecraft Pig

For under $15, a pin-the-tail on the Minecraft pig was born. Image courtesy of Debbie Morrow, All Rights Reserved.

I wish I can totally say this was my idea, but MommaDandDaboyz on Pinterest has a similar one, I just added a little extra Minecraft reality  to it, made it 3D so it was easier for kids to attach the pins, and used different materials.

You’ll Need:

3 Foam boards(1 pink and 2 green)
A color print of a Minecraft pig face
A few sheets of light pink and dark pink paper (construction or scrapbook – add more sheets if you can’t find pink foam sheets like me)
Scissor AND a Utility knife
Ruler
Wood Clothes Pins
Glue
Optional: Straight cutter or Trimmer and
pink paint for covering the wood pins.

Here are the Specs for the image above – Head: 7″ x 7.5″
Body: 8.5″ x 11.75, Legs: 12″ x 3.5″. The Tail Squares: Outer 1.5″ and Inner square approx. 1.25″.

Steps:
Use a utility knife and cut out all your foam body pieces. IMPORTANT: Keep scraps of foam board to glue on back of each body part to raise the parts higher (making it easier for kids to attach their pig tails). If you can’t find either green or pink foam boards, glue pink paper over foam board legs and body. A brown or grey foam board can work well as a background too. Tip: Don’t try to use Glue Dots – they do not hold up well against gravity and pig body parts will fall off easier.

Go to Gallery Hip and save their image of a Minecraft pig head to your computer. Open that image in your paint program and resize to the head specs. If unsure how to do this, go to a pixel to inch converter to help. Glue head print to foam head cut-out.

Once everything is dry, try out different leg/body positions on the green board. Once you’re happy with the position, glue the pig to the green board background.

Tails

You can let your clothes pins stay a natural wood (as pictured) or paint them pink before gluing the cut-out squares. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a paper cutter. This made making 40+ squares much easier, but scissors and a ruler can do the same.

Take the lighter of the two tones of pink squares cut for the tails earlier. Cut in a square, maze-like fashion (see pic for better understanding). If you’re making a lot, you may enjoy this part better if listening to the radio or watching TV, since it can be a daunting task after a while.

Glue the light maze cut-outs on top of the darker shade squares. Let dry and glue each to a clothes pin.

For the game, have each child write their name on their pin.

We used a cardboard Steve Head block (instead of a mask) and turned it backwards with eye holes looking out from a child’s back of head/hair. You can buy one or make your own. Either way, the Steve head is just optional. You can also use a plain or Minecraft scarf for a blinder.

Tip: You can actually find a green scarf at your local dollar store and sew (or use iron-on) a few square black patches for eyes, nose, and mouth.

How to Play: With the same rules as Pin the Tale on the Donkey, pick a tail spot and give out prizes for either the closest to that spot or the top 3-5 players. Dollar prizes work well.

If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me a comment or email.

Coming Next:

The next parts will entail the gaming company we had come to our house, the making of edible bricks (2 kinds),Endermen, Creepers (2 kinds), minerals, invitations, banner, appetizers, and a completely simple, yet perfect cookie cake. I’ll also try to add other decorating ideas I have never seen anywhere else.