Hey there!  We have reached the home stretch in planning the ultimate Skylanders Party!  Even if you aren’t planning a Skylanders party I have plenty of ideas and tips for all of your Character Party planning needs.  The best part is you can Do it yourself and most of the supplies you will need are available at Dollar Tree.

Today I’m going to show you how to create party supplies like game signs, gift bags, gift tags and cake toppers using any character you can dream up.  I have used Skylanders for my characters but you can use these ideas for any character.  Some characters are hard to find while others are non-existent.  With these DIY ideas you can throw the perfect character party without tearing your hair out!

Character Party Game Signs

 

These simple signs will make it easy for you to organize the games for your character party.  They double as decorations so you can stay organized and festive at the same time!   I came up with the names of the games and selected the characters but to save time I had the lovely Kristine from A lil’ frosting shop put them together for me so all I had to do was print them out.

Character Game Sign Supplies:

Foam core board, Brads, 8.5 X 11 page protectors, piercing tool, and painters tape.

Instructions:

1. Start by printing out your signs.  I used photo paper for extra shine but regular white card stock will work just as well.

2.  Insert signs into page protectors and trim off  the holes on the side.

3. Cut a piece of foam core to fit your sign using a heavy-duty trimmer or an x-acto knife.

4.  Cover the edges of the foam core with Painters Tape.  *The easiest way to do this is to apply a strip of tape to one edge at a time by centering the tape and folding the edges on the front and back of your sign.

5. Place your page protector on top of the foam core and use a piercing tool to punch a hole.  Insert brads to secure your sign.

6. Attach wooden dowels or large floral picks to the back of sign with Hot Glue.

Character Welcome Sign

 

Here’s an easy way to spruce up the old “Balloons on the mailbox” trick.  I found this plastic Happy Birthday yard sign at Dollar Tree during one of my party supply jaunts.   I  figured for a buck I would try my hand at turning it into a personalized Character Welcome Sign!

Kristine from A Lil’ frosting shop was kind enough to send me this Skylanders Welcome sign (Also available in her Etsy Shop).  I had an extra page protector on hand so I threw it in there and adhered it to the Dollar Tree sign with Painters Tape.  * This way it’s removable and ready to accommodate the NEXT character party (whatever that may be…probably Mine Craft from the looks of it).

 

To top it off I tied balloons in all the Skylanders Element Colors to it.  We all know balloons are the universal sign for “The Party is HERE”,  but having an ACTUAL sign gives it that little something extra

 

Character Party Buckets

 

Here’s an idea for creating buckets of fun for your character party.  You can use them to corral items for games (like I did), hold favors, or even a festive way to serve party snacks.   You can find buckets by the boat load at Dollar Tree or the dollar section at Target.  I found these Halloween buckets at none other than Dollar Tree. No matter what the season  you can find all the buckets you need there.

Character Bucket Instructions:

1. Print Character images on White Card stock and cut them out.  * I used the game signs from A lil’ frosting shop and just cut out the characters.

2. For my characters I used my Xyron Creatopia to make giant stickers.  *  If you don’t have a Creatopia you can use Mod Podge, a glue stick, or an adhesive runner.

3.  Stick or adhere characters to bucket.  * If your images crease along the rounded edges of the bucket cut tiny slits on the crease to lay them flat.

 

 

Character Gift Bags

 

Character Gift Bags are fun and kids love them, but boy are they expensive!  I’d rather spend my money on things to put INSIDE the bag than the bag itself.   With this easy peasy DIY Character Gift bag project you don’t have to sacrifice style to save.  With a printer, a glue stick and a trip to Dollar Tree you can make these bags for around 50 cents each!

All you need are plain white gift bags from Dollar Tree (2 for $1).  Print your Characters out one more time and adhere them to the bags.  *I used plain white copy paper to print my images.

Here’s another tip:  To save time and the headache of hunting down addresses I wrote out all the Thank-you cards and placed them in the bags.  You can find Trading Card Thank-You notes like these at A lil’ frosting shop.

 

I also created gift tags to put each child’s name on their bag.  If you are a Mom you know how important it is to name EVERYTHING!

Character Gift Tag Instructions:

1.  Using a Fiskars Circle punch I punched out the Skylanders Elements left over from the game signs and ran them through my Xyron 1.5 in create a sticker.  If you don’t have a Xyron create a sticker you can find them at most craft stores for around $10.  I have 3 different xyron machines and love them all…plus they make you instantly cool with all the kiddos

2.  Next I used my Fiskars Scallop circle punch to cut coordinating colored card stock to mount my stickers on.

3. Adhere circle stickers to scallop circle, punch with hole punch and tie with ribbon string or whatever you like!

*These two Fiskars punches are a must have. They were the first punches I ever bought and I STILL use them constantly.

 

 

Character Cake Topper

 

I am no baker, but I make a mean cake topper!  My Hanging Sign Cake Toppers have been a success at several parties so I was confidant I could come up with a Skylanders version.  I saw a Skylanders Cake Topper at Amy’s Party Ideas made with straws but ran out of time to order them.  I decided to go with my old standby grunge board, an image from A lil’ frosting shop, and some ribbon wrapped floral picks to create my own version in a pinch.

Cake Topper Instructions:

1. Print and Cut your image then adhere to Grunge Board.  *You can also use chip board or recycled cereal boxes (I just find Grunge Board to be the sturdiest)

2. Take a floral pick or wooden dowel and adhere the end of a piece of ribbon with a drop of hot glue.  Wind your ribbon all the way down and secure the end with a drop of hot glue.

3. Adhere your ribbon wrapped picks to the back of your character cake topper with E-6000 adhesive.

4. Lay a piece of wax paper over your project and place heavy books on top of it.  Allow to dry overnight.

 

Don’t get crazy and  give me credit for baking this cake  I told you I am nooooo baker.  I simply printed out a picture of a cake I found online and brought it to my local baker.  You can find all kinds of Skylanders Cake inspiration and more on my Skylanders Party Pinterest Board.

*I begged little man to let me place one of the Skylanders on top of the cake but he wouldn’t have it!  He didn’t want any frosting to get on it…smart man

Hope you enjoyed the last installment in the Skylanders Party Saga.  Sheesh, I hope I don’t go through party planning withdrawals.  I guess I’ll just have to plan another bash

If you missed any of the earlier posts check out the links below:

 

Amy*

Tagged as: Character Party, Dollar Store Crafts, Dollar Tree, Fiskar's Punches, grunge board, Skylanders, Skylanders Party, Skylanders Party Supplies, Tutorial, Xyron