Instead of a high-priced Laser Tag or Paintball birthday party where you have time limits and too many rules, you could host a backyard Nerf Zombie Strike birthday party! Now that is a party that kids will be talking about until their next birthday.
While I’m not particularly a fan of zombies or zombie movies, I do like the look of the Nerf Zombie Strike blasters. The villain itself doesn’t much matter. Having a common foe to triumph over gives the kids a shared goal.
Here are a couple of ideas to make this a fun party that will engage kids in expressing their creativity and also burn off the extra energy from the cake.
Materials:
Cardboard – lots of boxes of all sizes and several large flat squares
Art supplies – markers, crayons, scissors or an X-ACTO knife (for parents only!), duct tape, tissue paper, Scotch tape
Flexible metal stakes
Nerf Zombie Strike Blasters – There are many to choose from and several priced right for each kid to have their own as a party favor.
Nerf Zombie Strike Dart Refill Packs – Don’t let the fun stop!
*Nighttime Party – glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark paint, and glow-in-the-dark Nerf ammo
Initial Activity: Create the Monsters
When the kids arrive, start the party off with a crafting activity. Each kid will create a monster on the large flat pieces of cardboard. Have plenty of crayons and markers on hand to help out, and encourage the parents who come to act as models in funny or scary poses. Parents, use an X-ACTO knife or scissors to cut a few holes out of the monsters, then use tape and tissue paper on the back of the cardboard to cover up the holes. The holes on the cardboard monsters will be the targets.
The cardboard monsters can be duct taped to the flexible metal stakes and stuck into the ground. Kids score points by shooting out the tissue paper target holes on the monsters. Write numbers indicating how much each target hole is worth. When all the target holes on a monster have been broken, the monster has been defeated and is taken down. The nice thing about using the tissue paper is that you can patch up the monsters and use them again for additional rounds.
Start the Battle
You can also create the zombie battle environment by using large cardboard boxes to make battle structures that look like forts. You can create challenges and difficulties to prevent kids from walking right up to a monster and shooting out all the holes, such as making a radius around each monster that is a danger zone. Make a circle around each with colored streamers or get some hazard tape. Section off other areas as strong running rivers and provide some bridge building materials (a two-by-four or two-by-six) or stepping stones (pizza boxes).
Some Additional Ideas to Make the Game Fun and Exciting
Pick up a few of the higher-caliber Nerf Zombie Strike Blasters and create power-ups that can be hidden throughout the play area or taped to the back of one of the monsters. If one of the kids finds a power-up or earns one for defeating a monster, then he or she can trade it in for a new blaster or more ammo. There really is no limit other than your own imagination.