Gamers Gonna Game: A Birthday Party for the Video Game Lover
Some kids love hard-core gaming. My boys? Give them NBA2K15 or Madden 15 and you won’t see them for hours. We do love us some sports at Team Whitaker, both the virtual and the real. So, when our 11-year-old asked for the game truck, I said yes.
The best part is it pulls up to your house but it’s not actually *in* your house. And, with 13 energetic boys on a rainy Austin day, I was quite grateful for that. We typically throw parties at our house, as I love opening our home to the people my kids call friends. This turned out to be a great, albeit slightly chilly, afternoon.
Let’s chat about the pretty, then we’ll get to the party.
Believe it or not, we had to hold this one in our garage. The forecast earlier in the week was just stunning. Like 70s, no wind and sunshine stunning. Fast forward to the party and it was 40s, cloudy and rainy. But, I regret nothing because we partied on the actual birthday boy’s big day and he was stoked. My original plan of having the dessert table in the driveway, got bumped back a few feet. And, lucky for us, the game truck was heated.
No harm, no foul.
The Food
I mostly focused on munchies – some salty, some sweet with a dash of healthy – all while trying to incorporate the main party color of green. So, jalapeno chips, marshmallows covered in green sugar and tasty grapes it was. We served up Creeper Juice (you might remember the original from this party) and it didn’t last long. The marshmallows were an idea that we recycled from the girls’ relaxing spa party, but used green, in lieu of pink, sprinkles. Something tells me the pink would’ve been lost on the boys.
The table was decorated with my go-to white tablecloth (my party workhorse) and a little green- and white-striped fabric, leftover from Luke’s train party.
For the “happy birthday” singing, we enjoyed cupcakes, while the birthday boy dove into his cookies.
The Favors
With every party, I try very hard to make the favors functional. But, this party had me stumped. I decided to go with sweets, in the form of an edible xBox remote and some lime green pop rocks, because nothing says I love you quite like a sugar rush.
The Game Truck
A few hours before the party, I realized I didn’t have the VIP badge holders like I thought, so my mom bailed me out and let me borrow a few of hers. Hey, daughter of the original party planner.
She and Scott whipped together the juice and assembled the badges while John Paul and I set the dessert/munchie table. Once the boys arrived, they grabbed a badge and then headed into the game truck. They emerged an hour and a half later! We kept it family-friendly and banned all Call of Duty and Halo-type games. Momma is not a fan of those. They enjoyed tons of Minecraft, Super Mario and lots of smack talk. Perfect for 11-year-old boys.
I think my favorite part was just sitting in the truck watching all those kids play. Luke was having a blast and hitting up any older kid who would have him. Those boys were so kind. They have no idea how happy they made that little guy. Will and Anna-Laura tried their hands at Just Dance. Oh my stars. That was priceless. Not be outdone, however, Scott and I engaged in a friendly competition. And I don’t mind telling you I schooled him. Have it on video, even. He may not remember that smack down, but my blog, my memories.
Here’s the obligatory family photo shot I try to get at every party. But, you may notice a kid missing. Sometimes, you just have to cut your losses.
The biggest compliment of the day? When one of John Paul’s friends asked if this was something we did for parties, this “having them at home” gig. When I replied, “yes,” he smiled and said, “That’s so cool.” That evening, as we sat our dinner table enjoying John Paul’s favorite meal from Chuy’s, his ‘best’ was “pretty much the whole day.” Happy 11th birthday, John Paul. Let’s make it an ER free year.
Vendors
Printables: The Homespun Hostess
Cupcakes/Cookies: Polkadots
Straws/Ribbon: Michael’s
Game Truck: Games2U
Love to party? Me too! Feel free to OD on dessert tables and favors over on my parties page.
What an awesome party! I love the idea of the game truck (I’d never even heard of them!) and the decorations and treats look pin-worthy! You are super talented!
My favorite party favor is music. I make a compilation of songs related to the theme and give out CDs. So the kid’s animal party had “Go Bananas” and “What does the Fox say” type songs. Our candyland party included “I want candy” and “Sugar Sugar” by the Archies. Not sure what songs a gaming party would have come up with, but I’m sure an Internet and I-tunes search would have come up with some good ones. It takes some pre-planning and you have to be able to burn copies of CDs, but it is worth it.
LOVE this party. You did it again! So impressed that you come up with something new and fun each and every time. My son is 2 years younger than John Paul, but he would have gone bananas for this party. Definitely a party he wouldn’t forget. Thanks for the great idea! I’m going to check out that game truck in my area.
PS – my son has that very UA jacket your son wore that day. He loves it.
That’s a very cool party idea! I’ve never been one for video games, but I know they are a big deal to kids these days. Very well done!
Ahhh! Another great party, Kathryn! Happy birthday to that great boy of yours.
Chuy’s is the best!
We are having a Gametruck party in June and you have given me some great ideas. Thanks!
Oh hooray! Have fun!
I was wondering, where do you get the water bottles with out the labels? Thanks
You just cut them off!
Love the party invitation! Where can I get that template?!
The link is at the bottom of the post!
[…] Gamers Gonna Game: A Birthday Party for the Video Game … – What an awesome party! I love the dea of the game truck (I’d never even heard of them!) and the decoratons and treats look pn-worthy! You are super talented! […]
We’re having a gamer’s party for my son this December, and you have given me great ideas for the party. I would love to know how you made the creeper juice, if you may share. Thanks!
It should be linked in the original post! Just sprite and lime sherbet with real limes!
Do you think a gaming truck party would work for 8 year olds? I was planning to have it this feb, in a month from now, and my soon to be 8 year old son who hasn’t gamed before is somehow super excited about it, but I feel confused if it is the right age for any kind of gaming? Please comment!
Thanks in advance for the redponse.
That’s a personal decision but I do know you can limit the games they offer. We did and that gave me some peace of mind!