Nerf Birthday

At some point in a boy's mom's life, your son starts to collect Nerf guns. Since they first came out, boys have loved to collect as many as possible, and with the guns come all the little bright orange and blue Nerf bullets. My son collected so many Nerf guns and all the extras, it was getting to the point where it was hard to find places to keep them all. So when his birthday came around, it was easy to figure out a theme for his party. I knew from the start that he would never let his friends use his guns, so in the invitation, we made sure to say to bring your Nerf gun for some Nerf war fun.

As for the Nerf war, this was easy. I went to Home Depot and bought moving boxes in all sizes, along with green and black spray paint. I put the boxes together empty, and they spray-painted the outsides in camo colors. The kids were then able to use the boxes to build a fort to hide behind during the war. I split up the group into to groups and, using my Girl Scout bridge, set the rules in order to get from one side to the other, you had to cross the bridge. The first team to take over the others' fort won. In the end, they played this for a good hour running back and forth because if you got hit you had to return to base before trying again.

When the kids arrived, they each got a belt, an orange bomb, and a few packages of Nerf bullets. For his party, I had gone onto Amazon and ordered 5000 Nerf bullets so that they never ran out. In each fort was also a large tub full of bullets that anyone could use. I had made the belts to hold their bullets from utility belts that I had gotten from the Home Dept. I then bought a print and heat paper to print the Nerf war logo, and then puffy paint from Michaels to decorate it.

Here is a list of some of the items I used:

https://www.amazon.com/AMOSTING-Refill-1000PCS-Bullets-N-Strike/dp/B0798JJHSV/ref=sr_1_5_sspa?crid=1ZTN9H3D0CD9A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pz5Omec6twpgAWfcsBgUz324VDEZJs1-dEOZrAjAJj9bYzQC3HWxHd6VsdFsrQyM7PT4gxCd2Il4Mo0DFpdTlDTAsDDSDBytDnPD955Hu3O2BoLwfP7JQr_2sgtAATEspGp1YAr6NEz-le05cC4TgQEcQgTsnvCExvDwtP73KfBqDIa7nuDPzRpY2NGBgr-Dsyom7jC6Jvti_LJuaEpMezuanZfHYFKnAI8IcqSI0b297sQjCvvTlkf7RfH7sNsATLpGluMfg2bukUMohhubYEItvJbGoPLPJoCAYsqMwk4.IB9EHQjo_lbgdiX87-2OQK0s3htEhbwg5YLiqOMHd7U&dib_tag=se&keywords=nerf%2Bbullets%2Bcheap&qid=1757280766&sprefix=nerf%2Bbullets%2Caps%2C961&sr=8-5-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

amazon.com/TransOurDream-Printable-Transfer-Laserjet-Transfers/dp/B0CBRLK8YL/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MihRc1XAKInz-f_ejWB3wzIR8Fu2uQfEy4YnLqTEIsxIj4Xz5AyEOJSlxBNlC4paCrVoXZDwb-AOnmy8OGFr3Unlf-tOmWzCLNiFEC-vr4pSa5jfM39G3dOxy56ZZqmvDRitz1mRFPhy8p7_mEHAluuGACdqAqMmO8YpkRF36k-fHoh4-FN5ZB_9_O1_G0nCROFDYMUusc_eKXiF3XckPgAyZ7xokYqhU918vmrKG8-qk_5DGiXLrOSrla7ExzFGZ8jVlgHSjubYKHsUedAJOLj6JCqu9JycqXXhCP4TrEM.mC2W7KGe0nI2D_1pHG2PhYJsgnxqjZySrGtigzSZkoo&dib_tag=se&keywords=iron+on+print+paper+for+fabric&qid=1757280859&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

https://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Home-Depot-Canvas-Tool-Work-Apron-HD324655-TH/310338162

Before the fun started, and while we were waiting for the guests to arrive, I had set up target practice around the backyard. For this one, I just got balloons from the Dollar Tree and then, with a tent stake, hooked them to the lawn. When you shot one, it made a ping sound, plus they moved with the wind, which added a level of difficulty to it.

For this target practice, I went to Dollar Tree and bought the pizza pans. I then used red and white paint and painted the targets. To hang them in the tree, I drilled a hole in the pan and used a string to hang from the branches. Just like the balloons, when they got hit, they made a sound which the kids really enjoyed. Sounded just like on a shooting range when you hit a target.

For the cake, I kept it really simple, a two-tier cake frosted with butter cream frosting. The bottom layer I wrapped some Nerf bullets and tied a matching ribbon to make sure they didn't fall off. And then the top layer, I made a target with fondant and cake decorating gel to paint the target onto the gel.

In the end, the kids ended up taking the boxes and building a tower with my brother's help, and then they all worked together trying to shoot it over. I knew the party was a success when everyone was tired and sweating in the end, and they were talking about it at Cub Scouts later that week. Some years, my kids had a hard time coming up with what they wanted for their birthdays. It was those years that I looked at what they were really into and ran with it. Sometimes it's easiest to use what you have already around you instead of reinventing the wheel. Total, this was one of my cheapest parties I put together for my kids, and I would do it again because even the adults had fun.