James asked for a Terraria-themed birthday party this year, so we came up with a few ideas, booked a party room at an arcade/family entertainment center, and got to work. I don't know much about Terraria (or Minecraft, for that matter...), but the "Demon Eye" character seemed easy enough, so I went with that. Pre-party prep at the house this week included banner construction, Demon Eye sugar cookie, cake, and cupcake baking and frosting, and putting together goody bags for the party guests (mini popcorn boxes with a Demon Eye bouncy ball, a Demon Eye sugar cookie, a fruit rollup, some chocolate coins, and a sheet of Terraria stickers.
James saw his cake the next morning and told me "Mama, Terraria doesn't have levels"...
After the exhausting morning at the soccer field (and our refusal to give the kids their Kindles during the hour and a half drive over to West Monroe), they both fell asleep and napped almost the whole way to the arcade.
The arrival at Excalibur (our first time ever going - we'd heard about the party idea from a friend with an older boy who frequents the place) was met with whoops and clapping. The castle facade made it more exciting, I think.
(Why yes, she is catching up to her brother in height. He's barely got 2" on her now...)
Terraria characters and 7 candles added to the cake, game token cups set beside the goody boxes, and some Easter grass tossed onto the table among the Demon Eye plates, even though Jay gave me the side-eye.
Who's ready to go play some games?!
After an intense game of laser tag, they took a break for the birthday song and cake (and/or cupcakes and cookies and chocolate coins... I'm sure the parents appreciated the influx of sugar!)
Then it was back to playing, this time outside for bumper cars and go-cart racing!
At the end of the party, James took a spin on the birthday wheel:
He won 1000 tickets, which means we'll be going back another time for him to pick a worthy prize. (We had to rush to dinner reservations and didn't have time to wait in line to pick something out.) Besides, our favorite campground (and running trails!) is just a few minutes west in Ruston, so we think a fun weekend of camping AND gaming is in our future as soon as soccer ends!
The Kennedy's joined us for dinner and we all gave River & Rail rave reviews. The food was really good, the drink menu was extensive (Jay had mead, which you rarely see on tap), the prices were right, and they gave the birthday boy a giant ice cream covered brownie...
...which he needed a little help finishing. Good thing he had some willing accomplices. (Yet even the 3 of them combined couldn't get into the clean plate club.) The kids were tired and we didn't leave the restaurant until after their usual bedtime, but James was adamant about opening his gifts once we got home and Cora was determined to "help" him, so they both stayed wide awake for the drive.
James got a lot of cool stuff! He was most excited about the Minecraft Lego set and Snap Circuits and remote control helicopter and Star Wars trooper helmet. Cora was most interested in the trooper helmet (she BADLY wanted to be allowed to color it herself, not that James would allow it). All box opening and playing would have to wait until morning though... so instead they burnt the last of their energy by covering daddy in tissue paper!
Our boy had an awesome party and loved that so many of HIS buddies (from school, soccer, Scouts, Lego club, gym daycare, and dance class waiting room!) made the long drive to help him celebrate. We've heard nothing but happy reports from our guest's parents, so we can highly recommend an arcade birthday party if your kid (and their crowd) are old enough for it!
