I am so excited to share all of the details from Ethan’s 4th birthday party! He got really into Mario last year playing Mario Kart, and then when the movie came out— even more! So here we gooooo!!

I decided to host the party at the park beside our house. This way the kids could play at the playground, and have lot of space to play! But the best part was that we could set up a Mario Kart race in the paved area behind the park! My knowledge of Mario starts and ends with the Super Mario game on Nintendo from the 90s - so I knew I wanted to incorporate some of the classic elements from that game. So the challenge was to try to tie in some of the newer Mario Kart fun as well!

the backdrop / snack tables

For the snack table area of the party, I was so excited to use this round metal grid backdrop from Stef Forward Events! I had this idea to do a sort of pixelated or 8 bit version of a #4 using paint chips, so the subtle grid pattern worked perfectly behind it! I used yellow milk crates for a stepped “block” feature like in the video game, and created a few rounded green grass/hills out of plywood.

For the kids’ tables - first, I layered these little green door mats to create a runner/longer rug under the tables - the colours were so perfect! Then I used these outdoor tables and little white stools, and I added 2 of these yellow stools for a fun accent (since Ethan’s fav colour is still yellow!). To set the table, I ran a blue cotton table runner across all of the tables. Then I started with I these solid yellow and blue plates from A Little Confetti, layered this fun checkered plate on top of that, and added a green napkin (I just trimmed the tops of these rectangular green napkins to create the arch shape, and used these square ones to create a half circle shape) + wooden fork to finish off the place setting!

Another cute detail was the little question mark block snack containers that I put together for each of the kids. I used these inexpensive square containers that already had yellow lids, and then just added the Mario question mark decal in white permanent vinyl (along with their names on the side - this keeps everyones snacks organized!) Inside, I put a pack of Super Mario fruit snacks, a GoGo Squeez applesauce, and MadeGood cheddar stars crackers! It was a fun way to label each guest’s place setting, and have a fun “power up” snack during the party! I also added these little brick wraps (you can download the template here!) to the bottom of the juice boxes!

checkered plates | yellow plates | blue plates | green napkins

super mario funables fruit snacks and gogo squeez applesauce

MARIO KART RACE

I was super excited about the Mario Kart race (or as I called it “Ethan Kart 4”!) and knew it would be fun to have a planned activity for the kids to do as well. I loved the idea of using PlasmaCars because they aren’t really fast - and can be used by toddlers, little kids, big kids, or even adults! (I found used ones on FB Market Place!) I wanted the race to have some fun things along the way, so I made super star bean bags and used green buckets (warp tubes!) for a quick bean bag toss along the course, and I also made some mystery boxes with mushrooms in them that the kids had to knock over and see how many Power Ups they could get before racing to the finish line!

To try and make it feel like the video game, I made a little flip chart the kids could play with to choose: what character they wanted to be, colour of car they wanted to ride, and what icon to add to their car. These felt face masks made choosing a character super easy, and I laminated the different character’s icons and attached velcro to the back (with the other piece on the cars) so they could switch up their selections before their race!

I made a felt banner for the starting/finish line, and also set out lots of race flags for the kids to wave to cheer on the racers when it wasn’t their turn! Woohoo!

The treat stand

What’s a party without treats, right? I wanted to keep the snacks easy and mostly pre-packaged since we were outside/at a park. I actually used our lemonade stand that we DIY’d last summer (you can see more of that here!) - but painted it in the same green colours as the backdrop! I just added some foam board clouds to the front instead of the felt canopy we normally use!

CANDY : SugarCube is the clear WINNER when it comes to party candy (we are BIG fans of their cotton candy and stickered candy packs for our parties!) This time - they put together custom candy bags with a cute label to match the party as well as little CandyGram cubes of just yellow candies! I just love that they handle everything and curate the best combos/variety of delicious candy (lots that I’ve never tried before too!)

CUPCAKES + COOKIES : my sweet friend Caitie from BlueEyed baker handled the cupcakes and cookies and they were the perfect addition to the treat stand! She made green and red mushroom cupcakes, and super star + #4 cookies!

RICE KRISPIES : keeping with the recurring “block” theme I was going with, I cut rice krispie treats into cube shapes, and added these treat toppers that I made to the top.

EVERYTHING ELSE : snack-sized bags of Angie’s popcorn (the yellow bag!), MadeGood chocolate granola bars, and of course more Mario fruit snacks + juice boxes filled up the rest of the stand!

THE CAKE

Ah - the cake! I decided to make or favourite banana cake recipe - it’s the best! For the toppers, I made a few cubes (printed them on card stock) and attached them to these clear acrylic sticks for a floating effect! (You can download the template in my shop to make your own!) The best part was that I used this swivelling cake stand so that we could spin it around and around! My original plan was to stick printed edible paper graphics on the side, so that it would kind of loop like the video game… but they didn’t work out and I had to scrap it! Oh well, not every idea is going to work out - I still love how it turned out!

Quick View

super mario party cake toppers [DIGITAL DOWNLOAD]

CA$5.00

THE FAVOURS

I love putting together party favours! This time, I found these simple white cups that sort of looked like pipes, and added the kids’ names on the side with light blue vinyl. Inside, I included a mini playdough container, a ‘warp-pipe’ m&m tube (with a custom label - you can download it in my shop!), a little Mario pop-up toy, pack of mario stickers (with a fun custom “GAME OVER” label), a mario tattoo, UNO card game, and a cube of candies from SugarCube!

super mario GAME OVER favour tags/labels [DIGITAL DOWNLOAD]

CA$3.00

THE INVITATION

I always start planning my parties by designing the invitation! It sort of forces me to commit to colour scheme, overall design aesthetic for the party! For Ethan’s party - I used some Mario graphics, but edited the colours a little bit. I love how it still feels like Mario, but a little less….primary??