DIY Ideas for a Candy Land Birthday Party

The famous Hasbro board game was first designed over 60 years ago, and yet it still seems to be a popular party theme. Today there are several different versions and spin offs of the game, with of course, an online version as well. The theme is perfect for a party due to the famous locations including Gum Drop Mountains, Lollipop Woods, and Peppermint Forest.

I wanted to share a real party thrown by one of my best friends, Jennifer Hostetler. Jenny is an extraordinary party planner and is one of the most detailed and creative people I know (Some of Jenny’s other projects include DIY Nursery Letters and a Carnival Theme Party). She transformed her back yard into a real life board game.  I have to edit so many pictures, that finally I decided to break it up into two different posts.

This first post will show the making of Candy Land, and tomorrow, I will post the fabulous results!

DIY Candy Land Characters

Materials Needed:

• Plywood or Cardboard
• Paint
• Paint Brushes
• Construction Paper (optional)

The game has several characters including the Gingerbread People and Mr. Mint.  You can make giant versions of the characters using cardboard boxes, or if you are extra handy, you can cut them out of plywood with a jigsaw. Here are a few of the characters Jenny created with cardboard and paint.  Her nephew surprised everyone and played the role of Mr. Mint!

DIY Candy Land Party Signs

Materials Needed:

• Foam Board
• Scissors and/or Craft Knife
• Paint and Paint Brushes
• Staple Gun
• Wood Stakes or Dowels

To make these signs, draw and cut them out of foam board. You can buy foam board very inexpensively at your local dollar stores. Use a staple gun to attach them to tree trunks or wooden stakes.

One by one, she and her husband painted many signs for each of the lands…

DIY Painted Gumdrops & Lollipops

Materials Needed:

• Styrofoam Circles
• Planter inserts
• Paint
• Paint Brushes
• Wooden Dowels
• Glitter
• Glue

Painted gumdrops can easily be made by painting planter inserts and turning them upside down. You can find these in a garden section of your local hardware store.

Hand painted Styrofoam circles and attached wooden sticks make easy and light weight lollipops.

DIY Giant Hard Candies

Materials Needed

• Cellophane
• Balloons or Plastic Balls
• Scissors
• Ribbon

They also blew up balloons and wrapped each one in cellophane and ties with ribbon to create oversized candies. I have made a version of these giant candies with plastic balls.

Giant Candy Land Game Board

Jim and Jenny also painted each winding space for the Candy Land game board track. Jim cut these out of plywood so that the kids could jump on them.

Come back tomorrow and see Jenny’s back yard Candy Land birthday party transformation!