Super Duper | Super Mario Birthday Party

My son Cole turned the big 5 last year, and for his birthday he wanted a Super Mario-themed party. There wasn’t much available out there commercially so, wanting to make it really special for him, I had to get creative and invent/repurpose some oldies but goodies.

Submitted By: Janet

INVITATIONS: I started with the invitations, creating them to look like VIP passes to a race. I left the names off the invites so my son could hand write them himself. The plastic lanyards and holders were purchased from Staples.  Lanyards $11.99/10 pack Badge holder $17.50/25 pack

DECORATIONS: I purchased a book of scrap booking paper from Michaels to make hanging flags, and I downloaded and printed out various Super Mario graphics.

FOOD:

Popcorn: I used squares of scrapbook paper and created cones for popcorn holders.

Rice Krispy Squares: made star-shaped rice crispy squares (using Lemon Yellow Icing Colour by Wilton  from the Bulk Barn).

Mini Cupcakes:  miniature mushroom character cupcakes decorated with coloured chocolate drops also from the Bulk Barn.

Drinks: For drinks I used mason jars topped with coloured cupcake liners (purchased at Michaels) and added names using circle stickers purchased at Staples, and paper straws found at Indigo.

GAMES: We had a relay go-cart race wearing the signature Mario hat and mustache from Dollarama, played pin the “M” on Mario’s hat, and knock down the Mario character bean bag toss. Not shown was the chocolate gold coin hunt we had in the house. For prizes I made a series of “?” boxes with mystery prizes inside, so the kids didn’t know what they would get until opened.

LOOT BAGS: Purchased kraft bags and striped tissue from Michaels, circle stickers are from Staples which I printed with graphics and applied to bags, labeled drinks, made the “M” stickers for pin game, and “M” for hat in relay race.

All in all, the party was fantastic. My son, who’s a bit of an introvert, had a huge smile that day. Did it make staying up until 2 am the night before, finalizing the food and decorations, worth it? Absolutely!