Minecraft Party: Grass Block

When you plan and execute a birthday party in close collaboration with your own children - including the birthday child herself - there is no suspense left by the time the actual day comes. I sometimes feel bad that while their guests are truly thrilled by all the unexpectedly fun things going on, my own kids, having been involved in the making and prep work, already know exactly what to expect, and how everything works, and where all the treasure is hidden (because they did the hiding).

So for this Minecraft party, I wanted to make blind boxes containing little Minecraft figurines as a surprise for everyone - including my own kids - to find. And rather than cutting out a dozen or so containers myself, I found a pack of 2" x 2" favor boxes at Michaels for about $3 and turned them into Grass blocks which are, literally, the building blocks of the Minecraft outdoor world. 

Here is Emily assembling them - she didn't know what they were for.

Here is Jenna painting them - she didn't know what they were for, either.

(I love that my kids obey my craft demands so unquestioningly, because it helped keep everything a secret. I said, "You! Paint those!" And they said, "Yes, Master Mom!" and set to it.)

We used acrylic paint and foam brushes,

which produced very nice textures.

We made a dozen.

and filled them with these.

and the kids traded gems with the Villagers for them. Everyone was equally unaware that they weren't empty. . . until someone opened theirs  and discovered the little figure inside. Then there was a riot. Hahahaha!