Both of our boys have their birthdays at the end of April, so we often have one big birthday party to celebrate. Sometimes we have to find some middle ground on what we choose for a theme, but there was no question that this year we were going to have a Mario Birthday Party!

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So I started my search for Mario Brothers party supplies and a cake and some ideas for things to do at the party. I feared I may have waited too long to get the party supplies but quickly discovered I was going to have to order them online because none of our local stores carried any! Luckily, Amazon had just what I was needing! I always think ordering on Amazon is convenient and easy! I quickly found a great Super Mario Brothers Pack. I was even able to get party favor boxes, centerpieces and corresponding party favors! It really made it easy! We had everything we needed to throw a party! Woo hoo!
Finding a cake proved to be a little challenging, but after checking out all the chain retail stores we decided to check out a local bakery. We were in love with the cake we purchased from Buggy Whip Bakery. It was half chocolate, half vanilla and had a unique look with coins, stars, and mushrooms. I love that it was so unique! Our younger son particularly loved eating the icing and decorations. I think the cake overall added a great, unique look to our party!

Despite finding a Mario Pinata locally I still wanted to add a little extra flare and fun, so I decided to create a Question Mark Box one of the boys could punch Mario style to release more candies and goodies! I mean, it’s a celebration after all, so more candy and toys is welcome!

Making the Mario Birthday Party Question Mark Box

What You Will Need
Square Cardboard Box
Yellow Wrapping Paper
White Paper or Foam Sheet
Scotch Tape
Scissors
To make the Question Mark Box I started with just a cardboard box I grabbed from around the house. I made sure it was square in shape to be sure to fit the look. Then, I cut off the top and filled it with the goodies.

After it was filled I took the yellow wrapping paper and started by covering the opening. My husband made a comment that perhaps should have made the folding over the opening so they would be at the top and bottom, but because a child would be punching the bottom, it needs to be stretched tight over that are so when it is punched the goodies can easily come out without any issues! So be sure you pull the wrapping paper tight over the opening.

Then I continued to wrap the box very much like wrapping a present. Finish it and tape it just like a present!
Then it’s time to add the question marks! We cut the question marks using a paper cutter, but scissors would work just fine. Once you cut one question mark you can use it as a guide for the other three to ensure they all look the same. We used plain white paper, but if I hadn’t been sick that week I would have gotten foam sheet because I believe that would really make it stand out!

Voila! You now have a fun pinata substitute that is easy to make, fits the Mario theme perfectly, and is FUN! Of course, only one child can do this, so I would reserve it for the birthday boy or girl. In our case, since there were two, we gave our youngest the option to do it, but he wanted his big brother to do it instead. He had so much fun, and then there were lots of extra goodies for the kids to put in their mini Question Mark Boxes!

You really don’t have to have a huge party to have a blast. We had just a few family and friends – around 15 people total including our family of five, and it was great! We topped it off with some pizza from our favorite pizza place, Heavenly Pizza. We were going to have a cookout, but it was cold and rainy. I think pizza was ultimately a great choice, though, because it fits well with the theme, and it’s easy!
Top top off some indoor fun, we ran a small, simple bubble machine. A cardboard frog with an open mouth for a little beanbag toss. The most fun, though? Balloons! We opted to buy a disposable helium tank, and that was a great idea and HUGE hit! Not only do balloons make great decorations, but kids LOVE them! I let each child pick a color and have their own balloon! Overall, everybody had a great time!

Because we want to make sure each boy feels extra special on their actual birthdays as well, we budget for a big party but also don’t go HUGE so we can also give them a little treat on their respective birthdays as well! I was excited to find a great list of places that give you free stuff on your birthday because it helped us have a great birthday party and make sure they each had a special day on their birthday as well!
What have been some of your favorite birthday party themes?