Super Mario Birthday Party Decor: DIY Ideas

When my son turned 7, there was really only one acceptable theme: Super Mario! I wanted the party to feel like the kids had stepped right into the Mushroom Kingdom, but I also didn’t want to spend a fortune buying character decorations that we’d only use once.

So, as usual, I started looking around the house and asking myself, “What can I make?”

The answer turned into Bomb-ombs made from balloons, Piranha Plants made from oatmeal containers, giant bananas made from paper towel rolls, mushrooms made from felt and Styrofoam—and one very large banner that ended up being the centerpiece of the whole party. And check out what we made for party favors, too!

Here’s how I pulled it all together.

The Giant Super Mario Banner

The biggest decoration—and probably the one that made the biggest impact—was a large Super Mario banner I had printed at CVS.

This was one of those projects where I decided that buying something was actually the better DIY decision.

Rather than trying to piece together a giant backdrop myself, I found a Mario banner on etsy I loved, had it printed as a large banner at CVS, and hung it over the food and dessert table. It immediately made the whole room feel like a Super Mario party.

Sometimes the best party DIY is knowing when NOT to DIY!

The banner became the centerpiece, and gave everything else a place to shine.

Super Mario Place Settings

I wanted the kids’ table to be fun, but I also wanted it to be practical.

Each child had a custom placemat they could draw on, which doubled as both a place setting and an activity.

I paired the placemats with black-and-white checkered plates and bright red accents.

For dessert, we brought gold star plates—because obviously everything tastes better when you’re eating it off a Super Star.

The black-and-white checkered plates were especially fun because they gave the table a little retro arcade/racing feel without screaming “licensed party decoration” everywhere. The stickers were a nice activity while everyone was waiting for cake to be served.

DIY Felt Goombas

Of course, I couldn’t have a Super Mario party without a few Goombas!

These little guys were made from brown felt, and they were one of my favorite DIY decorations. I used this template to cut out the felt. I cut out the Goomba faces from felt and added the big white eyes, black eyebrows and mouth, and little white teeth. I also made their feet from felt and attached everything to a simple cardboard base so they could stand on the table.

They definitely had a little personality—especially when I put a few of them together!

I love that you don’t need fancy supplies to make recognizable Mario characters. A little felt, some cardboard, and a template or picture to work from can turn into surprisingly cute party decorations.

I scattered the Goombas along the “road” running down the center of the kids’ table, where they looked like they were waiting for Mario to come along and stomp them.

DIY tip: Felt is one of my favorite materials for themed party decorations because it’s inexpensive, easy to cut, and doesn’t require perfect crafting skills. And because Goombas have such simple shapes and features, they’re a particularly forgiving character to recreate.

DIY Bomb-ombs

I made Bomb-ombs out of black balloons and added white circles for their eyes and details. A little blue cup and gold pipe-cleaner “fuse” finished off the look.

They were surprisingly simple, but once they were sitting on the table, everyone immediately knew what they were supposed to be.

And that’s my favorite kind of party decoration: inexpensive, recognizable, and a little ridiculous.

Piranha Plants From Oatmeal Containers

I covered the containers and added red paper fans. The result was a collection of oversized Piranha Plants that looked right at home on the party table.

I love using containers that would normally go straight into the recycling bin for party decorations. They’re essentially free craft supplies!

Giant DIY Super Mario Bananas

Another easy one was making giant bananas from paper towel rolls and yellow paper.

I used the paper towel rolls to give the bananas some structure and shaped yellow paper around them.

They weren’t complicated at all, but the oversized bananas added another fun element to the table and helped fill in some of the empty space.

And because they’re oversized, they photograph really well.

Felt & Styrofoam Mushrooms

Of course, no Mushroom Kingdom party would be complete without mushrooms!

I made these using Styrofoam and felt, creating the classic red-and-white mushroom look. This tutorial was very helpful in wrapping the felt around the top of the mushroom.

These were another example of how you can take really inexpensive craft materials and turn them into something that looks like a themed party decoration.

I especially liked having the mushrooms scattered around the table instead of having every decoration be a character. It made the whole setup feel more like a little Mario world.

A Super Mario Table Runner

I had some extra green turf grass from another project that worked well as a “tablecloth.” Then I used a black paper runner down the center and turned it into a little Mario roadway.

I painted white strips to look like road markings and then placed the DIY characters and decorations along the road.

This was such an easy way to make the table feel intentional without having to cover every inch with decorations.

You Don’t Need a Huge Budget to Make a Big Impact

The best part of decorating this party was that most of the decorations were things I made myself from inexpensive craft supplies—or things I already had around the house.

Oatmeal containers became Piranha Plants.

Paper towel rolls became bananas.

Styrofoam became mushrooms.

Balloons became Bomb-ombs.

And a giant CVS banner pulled everything together.

That’s really what I love about kids’ birthday parties. You don’t need a professionally styled dessert table or hundreds of dollars worth of matching decorations.

Pick a few big, recognizable elements and have fun with the rest.

Because at the end of the day, the kids aren’t going to remember whether every detail matched.

They’re going to remember that they got to have a birthday party in the Mushroom Kingdom. 🍄⭐