How to Host a Nerf War
And just like that, Hudson turned 10. To celebrate Hudson’s tenth birthday, I threw him a Nerf War party with a few of his buddies. We live on a beautiful property that is perfect for the game and since his birthday falls in August, the weather is typically awesome.
As always, Harper Gray designed the invites and knocked it out of the park like she always does. She is amazing!!
It was a pretty simple party to put together. We have a lot of trees and wooded areas around our property, so the scene was already set. I just had to bring in a few details and make sure to have plenty of food, because, 10 year old boys. If you’re throwing a Nerf war party and live in a non-wooded area, I’d suggest bringing in bales of hay or using cardboard boxes to build hiding spots!
I set up an artillery cart filled with all kinds of gear, bullets and guns for the boys. You can ask each kid to bring their own Nerf guns to the party, or purchase Nerf guns for the kids to use and take home as party favors. In partnership with Nerf, each boy had their own Nerf Modulus Ghost Ops Evader Blaster.
Nerf War Essentials:
Set up target practice with bottles, jars and targets. I turned old wood crates and boxes upside down to build height and create a little interest in the area. Glass jars held color coordinated candies for the kids to grab as they wanted.
Once everyone is geared up, lay down some rules for the war!
Ours were simple:
No cheating.
No arguing.
No intentional face shots.
No pushing or hitting.
Once everyone is suited up, snap a team pic and start the game!
Make bullet refill stations around the area for kids to refill their guns. I just used plastic beach buckets and a yard hanger (that’s typically used for yard decor) to house the bullets. Next to the bullets were gatorades (in orange and blue!) in case anyone needed to hydrate.
The boys were pretty creative in their game. I found them in trees, up on decks, hiding in bushes…
After the kids finish, be sure to have snacks ready to go. Boys seem to always be hungry! I made simple food trays with sub sandwiches, trail mix and oranges. They boys gobbled them up!
The best part of any party is the dessert table and for Hudson’s Nerf party we decked it out in all things Nerf!
The table was covered in Nerf inspired treats from sugar cookies decorated like bullets and targets to Nerf bullet rice krispy treats. The showstopper was the Nerf Max Cake from Jenny Cookies Bake Shop. Our MAX cakes come standard with a layer of chocolate, red velvet and vanilla bean cake, filled with cookie dough icing. The cake is topped with chocolate bark, cookies, candy, rice krispy treats, cake pops and even a cupcake! The Nerf Max was one of the cutest Max cakes I think we’ve ever done!
A party favorite were the PB Cracker Cookies decorated to look like targets.
After all of the dessert and Nerf war fun, the kids filled jars with candy. The jars were easy to make by hot gluing a soldier onto the lid of a glass jar, and then spray painting orange.
The boys had a blast and because the party was all outdoors, it was the easiest clean up! Well besides the 4,693 Nerf bullets scattered across my property….
This party happened in August 2018, and got buried in blog drafts and other projects. Now it’s nearly June and time to plan Hudson’s 11th birthday! What party theme would you like to see? Leave your ideas in the comments below.
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Photos by Kelly Clare
What about a fishing party?
You should not promote a company on your Blog that does not email people back. Harper Gray was sent multiple emails through the one on her website and Etsy. Not one return email. Terrible
Where did you get your clear cake stands?
Your party is awesome! I showed my son your cake and he screamed! We love it ??
This party is A-mazing! I showed my son these pictures and he wants a nerf war party and that cake!
I love your clear glass cake stands, where did you get them?