For my DH’s 40th birthday party, I wanted to come up with activities and a theme that embraced his hobby of competitive shooting. He has been into all things guns since he was a little guy, and it is just part of what he is. We were going to be having several friends and their kiddos at the party, so I was definitely setting up a shooting gallery, and even had a scoring sheet. I also like to have an activity that is focused on the birthday person, so I created a trivia quiz with 40 questions about Big T that were a good mix of what family would know and what friends would know. Some photos on the big screen from the past 40 years were quite humorous to the little ones. As far as decorations, I kept it very simple, but did have a party favor for everyone to take home. Regarding menu, I went with his favorites, which included BBQ catered by our friends at The Smokin’ Box and the fixings.
TABLE DÉCOR
Like I said, I kept it simple. I cleaned up some aluminum cans, punched holes in them to look like they had been shot, and tied black and blue balloons (his favorite colors) to them.
SHOOTING GALLERY- SCORE SHEET
The sheet is used to record how many “hits” the shooter had at each stage. Each stage was given a cheesy name to go along with the setup and maximum points per stage.
SHOOTING GALLERY – WEAPONRY
One of Big’s T shooting buddies has a son with an extensive Nerf collection, so I asked if we could borrow from the arsenal for the party. He did not disappoint. In hindsight, we should have had a “range officer” with the kiddos the entire time because we had to unjam a few guns after the party was over. Not all Nerf guns use the same kind of ammo.
SHOOTING GALLERY-STAGES
1) Spinneroo- I found instructions for the frame on Pinterest, and it was super easy to build, transport, and set up.
See the link here: https://www.inspirationmadesimple.com/2016/03/diy-nerf-spinning-target/
I made the targets using my Silhouette Cameo and the Print and Cut function. I used a heavier weight paper than copy paper, but as you can see from the photo, I probably should have used cardstock. I ran into a bit of a problem with the adhesive between the PVC and the binder clips during transport, so I had to do some last minute hot gluing which held during the party. You may want to try E6000.
2) Avengers- This one is a simple use of aluminum cans in two pyramids with Lego figures from the Avenger movie series.
Big T is also a huge movie buff. To accumulate points, the shooter had to knock each of the Avengers off.
3) Red White and Blue- This is another version of the Spinneroo stage, but uses targets like what is used with USPSA, his competition organization.
4) Big T- This one incorporates his favorite Disney animated film, The Lion King. Once again, the figures had to be knocked off the big T.
5) Bad Guys- I also found the instructions for this stage on Pinterest. https://frugalfun4boys.com/spinning-nerf-targets-diy-cardboard-toy/
I liked the way these targets spun when they were hit. The kiddos only recognized a couple of the bad guys (Voldemort and Darth Vader) but I was trying to span several years’ worth of movie bad guys.
6) Bowling for Points- The instructions for this one was found on Pinterest also. https://frugalfun4boys.com/nerf-turkey-targets-thanksgiving/
Obviously, you can put any picture you want on the file folders to go along with your theme. I used the Print and Cut feature again on the Silhouette for the artwork.
PARTY FAVOR – “PARTING SHOT”
When I was searching for party ideas, I saw a link for chocolate ammo in an ammo box. I wasn’t really crazy about doing that, but it gave me an idea for making my own ammo.
Materials needed:
Lifesavers roll
Rolos, individually wrapped
Gold Mylar paper (Michael’s)
Tape
Glue dots
Ammo box
This was quite easy. Cut 3”x4” piece of the gold paper and wrap it around the Lifesaver roll; tape to secure. Using a glue dot, attach a Rolo candy to one end of the roll. Tada! Candy ammo!
Please note that the shooting gallery required a table for each stage and one to display the nerf guns for choosing. We also needed tables for food and eating, so we actually reserved one of our church’s fellowship rooms to accommodate our needs.
