Last Saturday we threw our son, Grayson, a Minecraft themed party for his 7th birthday. I was really excited for this one, because typically the themes he comes up with have little to no decor options. Ahhh, the joys of these YouTube shows, am I right???

I bought most of my decorations, but I couldn’t help doing a couple DIY projects. For instance, the TNT in the above photo. That was a DIY project. Super easy and fun!

This party was a little different than previous years. For starters, it was our first birthday party since our house burnt down. Obviously I lost all of my party supplies so I had to start from scratch. Plus, we are really trying to stay on budget in order to afford our new house build. I did a really good job of that, I was very proud of myself. I love planning parties, so I’m known for going above and beyond.

I did have a little bit of self-reflection when preparing. Typically, I go all out. I make the cake, cupcakes, decor… you name it. I’ve always felt this urge to do everything. This year, though, I bought the cake from Walmart and I bought a lot of decorations online. And do you know what I realized?? That’s okay!! Why has it taken me the better part of 10 years to realize this!? That’s one of the main changes I’ve been making since the fire… it’s okay to give yourself grace and just relax. Not everything must be done perfectly and stretch the limits of what you’re able to accomplish. It’s okay to buy a store bought cake and only put up a few decorations. Is your child going to notice every little detail you did? No. Will YOU remember everything you did in 10 years? No. All you’ll remember is whether or not your child was happy.

Back to the party— I was actually sitting down watching t.v. about 30 minutes before it started because I had everything completely ready to go. I was SO proud of myself. I had prepped the day before, the house was cleaned earlier that week so I was able to relax and enjoy everything so much more.

For food, I had went back and forth with a few ideas. I had decided I wanted something I could prepare ahead of time rather than like burgers and hot dogs where you kind of have to cook as your guests are arriving. I also knew I wanted to play off the Minecraft theme too. So I went with a “build your own sandwich” bar. I don’t know, because I’ve never played, but I’ve heard you “build” things in Minecraft so I thought that went well together.

For my meats I did pulled pork, sloppy joes, chicken salad and deli meats. I will take responsibility for all the choices. When I eat I like to have a smorgasbord of different foods so you can be sure, if I’m in charge of food, there will be an assortment.

For the side dishes, I definitely wanted make ahead options. I went with my crowd favorites. These are ones I make a lot, but I can always be sure people will enjoy them. We had taco salad (which is taco meat, Western dressing, corn, salsa, lettuce and Doritos), pasta salad (I use the Betty Crocker pasta salad and then add in my own produce and ranch), deviled eggs, chips & dip and then fruit & veggie cups. I like to do single serve portions with a large crowd using punch cups because it’s easy to just grab one and go.

For the decor I bought a lot of it online. In my opinion if you have balloon garland, a banner and a cake that’s basically all you need. You can find the decorations I used here, PLUS my must have party equipment (hint: it’s a balloon pump).

https://www.amazon.com/shop/organizedchaos4/list/1EOHVIRPK5T5Y?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsforganizedchaos4_Y35G814P2S0622M9J46G

If you think you can’t do balloon garland, you’re wrong! As long as you have balloon tape (which is linked above), you can easily make your own garland. The garland below took me maybe 20 minutes to complete. It’s super simple!

There wasn’t anything I would change. I think the whole party was a success and I’m sad I don’t have another one until Isabella’s 11th birthday in September! Did you enjoy the decor and food choices? Let me know below!