Assemble the Minions!!
Last Saturday we finally celebrated our daughter’s 6th birthday with a Despicable Me Minion theme. It was a whirlwind day of fun, food and games with 13 little Minion friends!
I only had about 2 weeks to plan and execute, so almost all of the decorations were easy DIY projects thanks to all of the super talented people who have hosted Despicable Me parties before me and who provided their files for {free}. All I needed was a computer, a printer, a Sharpie, glue and some 110# cardstock! I’ve included links to all of the sources below.
Invitations
We hand-delivered her invitations since we had attached a rainbow lolipop to each one (to represent the rainbow party blowers that the Minions used in the movie preview). I ordered the invitation from Amber at Sprinkles of Sugar on Etsy. Amber is super nice and she delivered the invites quickly, so I’d highly recommend her and would happily use her again in the future!
Costumes {Adults & Kids}
When the kids arrived, they were greeted at the Minion-wrapped door by Lucy Wilde of the AVL {the Anti-Villan League} and Gru. Admittedly, orange hair is decidedly not my color and this wig makes me look more like Daphne from Scooby Doo rather than Lucy, but the kids thought it was funny anyway.
The story was that Lucy had received reports on an authorized party in the backyard and needed to enlist the help of the guests! Each child was given a DIY Minion hat in order to transform them into Special Agent Minions!
The Minion hats were made from yellow plastic construction hats purchased at Party City. I added black pipe cleaners to the top {in three different hair styles}, black ribbon for the band of the goggles, a pint-sized Mason jar lid for the rim of the goggle, and I created an eye in Photoshop. {You can download the eyeball file here.}
Games
1. Minion Egg Hunt
Once in the backyard, the kids were given empty goodie bags made from plain yellow bags with Minion faces glued on. The bags would hold their prizes from all of the games for them to take home!
The first game was an egg hunt. Each child had to find 4 plastic Minion eggs numbered 1-4, with each numbered egg containing a different prize. Once collected, the eggs and prizes went into their goodie bags and they were given a Special Agent Minion tattoo. The scavenger hunt was a great way to give the kids something to do while we waited for everyone to arrive.
2. Pin the Goggles on the Minion
I made a simple poster using PhotoShop to play Pin the Goggles on the Minion. Each child was given a pair of goggles with their name on it and we used double-sided tape to attach the goggles to the poster. Here’s a look at the small version of the poster but you can download the full size version here.
3. Space Killer
Just like in the movie, the kids could play a carnival game of Space Killer! Plucky Momo created awesome replica images of the spaceships from the movie, so we printed and taped them to the inside of the glass door and then let the kids blast dart guns at them. {Dart guns, not….} :)
4. Freeze Ray Dance
This was a good ol’ fashioned game of freeze dance using music from the movie soundtrack, but whenever we stopped the music, we pretended to blast them with the Freeze Ray.
5. Minion Pinata
We purchased a Minion pinata from Party City.
I had every intention of taking a picture of it; unfortunately, by the time I found my camera, this was all that was left! All of the candy that the kids collected was added to their goodie bag.
Food
I layed out all of the food buffet-style for the kids to help themselves. They feasted on:
- Miniondogs (mini corndogs)
- Agnes’s Caterpillars (Cheetos)
- Pineapple and Blueberries
- Minion Bananas
- Cookie Robots
- Coconutties
- Merry Minions (Twinkies)
- Cake
- PX-41 Antidote (Yellow Lemonade)
- Anti-Gravity Serum (Purple Grape Juice)
Place Settings
We did simple blue tablecloths with the Despicable Me theme paper plates from Party City. I also printed and cut out an eye to wrap around the napkins and added a face to the cups.
Special Guest Appearance
Sadly, just like in Despicable Me 2, the fairy princess couldn’t make it to our party. Thankfully, Gruzinkerbell was able to step in to read a story to all of the kids and sing Happy Birthday during cake time. My husband was willing to dress up as Gruzinkerbell for the kids since he knew they would think it was funny, but he made me promise not to post any pictures here. :) For those of you that don’t know who Gruziinkerbell is, here’s a photo from the movie.
Before leaving, I also added some Minion goggles to their goodie bags, as well as their very own Freeze Ray {a squirt gun}. I think all of the kids had fun and as soon as the last guest left, I changed into my PJ’s and went to bed….and it was only 2:00 PM!
Happy Birthday, my little Minion! Until next year!!!
Sources & Files
- Invitations: Sprinkles of Sugar
- Minion Faces for goodies bags, cups, bananas and front door: Source unknown. File located {here}
- Minion eye for napkins: Hale Grafx
- Spaceship: Plucky Momo
- Food cards and cupcake toppers: Claudell Crafts
- Anti-Gravity Serum label: Tidbits&Twine
- PX-41 Antidote label: Tidbits&Twine
- Eye for Minion Hats: Tidbits&Twine
Did I miss a file or source? Please let me know so that I can add it!
Would you like to receive my posts via email? Enter your email address below. You will instantly receive an email from FeedBurner and you will need to click the link to activate your subscription.
Join the Community
Let’s keep in touch! Get exclusive artwork plus the latest news delivered directly to your Inbox!
I love all of the things you’ve done with this! I am throwing a minion party for my almost 5 year old in a couple of weeks. I want to print a poster for “pin the goggles on the minion” but I’m having a hard time finding two things: an image that is suitable to print that size without being pixelated, and a place to print for as low a price as you did. If you have any ideas on where I could look, I’d sure appreciate it. Thank you!
So creative and so happy to have found you! Where did you find the yellow and blue eggs for the Minion hunt?
Hi Barbara! If memory serves, I found them on Amazon…. Good luck planning your party! :) Kim
LOVE these ideas! Thank you so much for sharing. I think its hilarious how your hubby was willing to dress up as Gruzinkerbelle. Where do you get the costume? I’m trying to convince my husband to do the same for my daughter’s birthday LOL but can’t find that costume anywhere.
Hi Maya – We didn’t find an actual Gruzinberbelle costume, but instead bought a long blonde curly wig and a large women’s pink princess dress costume off of Amazon. My daughter already had wings and a wand so we added those to complete the look. The key was the voice, though! He read them an entire story in Gru’s Gruzinkerbelle voice but I must say that he ended up with a scratchy voice the rest of the day from the strain! Good luck and have fun! :) Kim
Awesome job! It must have been a long for you but well worth it. I’m stealing the minion hat idea for my sons crazy hat day. Thank you!
What did you use to make the cookie robots bodies? So cute!
They’re super easy to make! I cut a toilet paper roll in half and then slit each half lengthwise. I then rolled one half for the bottom part of the cookie robot and covered it with silver duct tape. I rolled the other half a bit tighter so that it could fit inside the bottom part (and trimmed height as needed) and then duct taped that part and put them together. I cut out a circle from red construction paper and used a glue dot to attach it to the front. The “hat” is actually just a piece of black garbage bag that’s been crumpled up and shaped into the tube. The legs are just pipe cleaners that are bent and stuck into the cookie.
such an adorable party. I planning my daughter’s 3rd birthday and plan to use these great tools u have here. Thx so much for posting these. Could you pls describe the details of the freeze ray dance and the space killer game in terms of how it was designed and played
Hi Neha – The Free Ray Dance game was just regular freeze dance but we used music from the movie soundtrack and everytime we stopped the music we yelled, “Freeze Ray!” just like Gru does in the movie. As girls were eliminated, they became the “cheering section” so we never said they were “out” just that they became members of the cheering section (saves tears if there are sensitive kids who don’t like to lose). The last person left won, but we gave all kids prizes for participating.
For the Space Killer Game, we printed out the images that I mentioned on my site and taped them to the inside of our sliding glass door. We then had the kids line up outside and take turns firing the dart gun at the space ships. The darts stick to the glass so it was easy to see who hit the spaceship and who didn’t. Whoever had the most hits won, but we gave all of the kids prizes. I hope this helps!
I’d love a link to the poster and goggles as well, if you don’t mind!
Here you go! Please let me know once you’ve downloaded. :)
https://www.tidbitsandtwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Pin-the-Goggles-on-the-Minion-V21.jpg
Saved! Sorry I took so long!
I downloaded the link to the poster. Thank you so much!
My son’s birthday party is in 2 weeks and I would love to have the large Pin the Goggles on the Minion as well if you don’t mind reposting. So many great ideas here!
Hi Heather – Here is a link to the poster. Please let me know once you’ve downloaded. I hope your little guy has a great birthday!
:) Kim
SUPER CUTE party!! My son is obsessed with Minion’s!! Can you tell me where you got all the mason jar lids? Did you have just a bunch laying around?
Thanks!
Hi Natasha – Thank you so much! Yes, I had a bunch of lids from when I bought a box of mason jars, but you can buy just the lids at some craft stores or on Amazon. :) Kim
I got a 12 pack of lids at Bed Bath and Beyond a few months ago. Think I paid $3!
Thanks Ladies!! His 5th birthday is in March, and he is already planning, so I need to be one step ahead of this kid!!
Good to know, Christina! Thanks for sharing!
Would it be possible for me to get a copy of the large pin the goggles on the minion? It’s SO cute!!! Thank you for sharing your adorable ideas!
Hi Brenna – Thank you so much! I’m including a link to the full-size poster below. Could you please let me know once you’ve saved it? The file is too large for me to host indefinitely so I’ll remove it once you have it. Have fun!
Thank you so much!!! I saved it.
You did a fantastic job on all the decorations! I’m doing this theme for my sons first birthday too and I was wondering if you also have the download for the pin the goggles on the minion poster?!
Hi Stephanie – Thank you so much! I’m including a link to the full-size poster here. Can you please let me know once you’ve saved it so that I can delete it from my site? The file is so big that I don’t want to keep it on my server any longer than necessary. :) I hope this works for you! Good luck and happy birthday to your little one!
Thank you so much! I’ve saved it! Im probably gonna do mine on Walmart, I looked on Staples where you said you did yours and they were like $13 for the 18×24 :/
Hi Stephanie – If you choose Engineering Print at Staples then the prices are super cheap…but they are also B&W. I’ll have to check out Walmart; sounds like another good option!
Hi there. Would you mind posting the link to the full sized poster again? I am having a minion party for my son and am looking for exactly what you have. Thanks so much! Great job on your party!!!!!!
Disregard my last post. I noticed the link below and downloaded. Thanks so much!!!!!
Please email me the pin the goggles on the minion, best if its a psd file thank you
Hi! These are great ideas! What did you use to put together the hats? What type of glue? I have all the supplies to make the hats but am trying to figure our how to put them together.
Thanks,
Veronica
Hi Veronica – I used a hot glue gun to put the hair on the hats and I used glue dots to hold the mason jar ring eyes on. :) Kim
Great! Thanks so much!
Comment
If rather buy the bags you used also since they have a handle. Thanks again…sometimes auto text makes it seem like we need hooked on phonics…lol
Where did u purchase the gift bags from. I have yellow bags but I can’t get the minion template to print any bigger. I’m off by a half inch. So is rather but smaller bags that fit the complete cut out
Hi Monique! I’m pretty sure I used these bags from Party City…http://www.partycity.com/product/yellow+kraft+bag+8+1-4in.do?from=Search&navSet=yellow%20bag&bypass_redirect=1 Also, when you print the template, be sure you don’t accidentally have the “scale” or “fit to page” check box selected, because that will cause the template to print smaller. Good luck with your party!
So adorable! You thought of every little thing. I love the photo of you and your husband. I thought it was a magazine photo until I looked again and realized it was you! The little Mia Minion was of course adorable! I love the hats and bananas! I’ll bet it was a very fun and memorable event! Nice work.
Thank you so much!
I love that you did the bananas, I’ve been trying to find a printable source for those! How did you resize the file to fit on a banana? When i open it, it looks like it takes most of a full page.
Hi Marilee – If you don’t have PhotoShop, then the easiest way to resize is probably Microsoft Word. I’ve listed out the directions below, but keep in mind that I’m on a PC and these will likely vary if you’re using a Mac.
1. Save the minion graphic to your computer as a jpg or other image type
2. Open a new blank Word document
3. Insert – Picture – Browse to the file you’ve saved and open it
4. The full-size image should now appear in your Word document
5. Click on the image so that the small squares appear around all sides
6. Hover over the upper left square until you see a double-sided arrow appear
7. Hold down your SHIFT key and then left click your mouse and move it diagonally to the center of the picture. You will see the size of the image reduce proportionately (if you don’t hold the SHIFT key, it will only resize the width and not the height proportionately).
8. Keep scaling it smaller until the face is the size you want for your banana
I hope this helps!
2. Insert –
Amazing work! I’m wondering how you attached the pipe cleaners and the mason jar lid to the construction hat? Will simple glue hold them on? Thanks for the great ideas!
Hi Christina! Sorry for the late reply….I used hot glue to attach the pipe cleaners to the hat which worked well. For the mason jar lid, I did the first couple using hot glue and it definitely holds, but it was a little tricky for me to keep it from dripping and looking messy, so I eventually switched to using glue dots. The glue dots held but the lid didn’t always rest flat on the curved surface, as they weren’t able to hold as well as the hot glue.
Great, thanks for the info, can’t wait to try it! I’m gonna tackle these and the Twinkie cupcakes!
Good luck and have fun!
OMG how fun is that!!! Your hubby sounds like the best and I bet that was a hoot. Thanx for sharing these fun party ideas. Off to Pin it!
Thank you, Pamela! It was so much fun and I owe hubby big time for his part in it all. ;)