How to throw a 'Nerdy Thirty' Birthday Bash!

What happens when two slightly nerdy buddies turn 30 within 3 weeks of one another? Why, a Nerdy Thirty party, that's what!

Somewhere in the midst of summer, my hubby and our close friend both hit their 30th birthday milestone. Neither of the two were too interested in a big celebration, but since they were the first to 'level up' in our group, we knew they had to do it in style. Combining all their favourite nerdy themes, we created the ultimate Nerdy Thirty Birthday Bash, and in the end, two very happy nerdy 30 year old's ;)

I know this is a food blog, but we had such fun with the decorations that I wanted to include those as well, so without further ado, here's how you throw a Nerdy Thirty Birthday Bash!


For starters, get people interested from the beginning with some quality invite copy!

and finding a great picture of those being celebrated, is always a nice touch too!

Halloween photos are perfect for this!

Then comes the actual party... you've set high hopes with your invite, now it's time to deliver! Signage is key! You want to make sure everyone at the party knows who they're there to celebrate!

Extra points for creative methods like Lite-Brite, if you're still awesome enough to have one around.

Comic-style speech balloons also work!

Then there's general decor to set the mood!

Pac-Man & friends darting around your walls and cupboards!

Nintendo controller tablecloth courtesy of duck tape, markers and construction paper!

Piranha plants to hold your candy... these also make a great general prop to keep after the party is over!

Dragonballz dotting your trees (a.k.a. lanterns colored to look like dragonballz)

Random Mario Scenery

and you can't have a party without balloons! Kirby-style!

Don't forget about theming your food!

A spread of nerdy nummies!

Epic cake of combined favourites, featuring: Storm Trooper, Groovy chainsaw (Army of Darkness), Nintendo & controller, Link (Zelda), Thundercats, Plants vs. Zombies, Crow riding a dragon (don't ask!), dragonballz and lego blocks! Missing from photo - light sabers and component cables)

Potions of Manna, Health, Magic & Poison (a.k.a. flavoured Kool-Aid for a non-alcoholic offering with jello shots of matching colours for the alcoholic option)

Superhero tootsie pops - brought to you by felt and construction paper ;)

Always nice to have some healthy options - fire flower fruit and vegetable trays!

Mario star Rice Krispie pops!

Pokeball layered dip

Boo made out of Marshmallows, for roasting at the fire (don't forget to provide sticks!)

And why not include some entertainment for the evening? Make sure you load your party playlist with lots of nerderific tunes from game soundtracks to movie soundtracks, to remixes of television theme songs from their hay-day! We were surprised by the number of remixes that exist!

Have everyone don a nametag with their Hero name!

Make a Coin Box Pinata - fill it with chocolate coins, then make people jump up and punch it... no sticks here, gotta do it Mario-style!

Play a riveting game of 'Stab the Weak Spot on Smaug' (it's a Lord of the Rings thing!) Get a dragon poster, mark a 'weak spot' and have people pin mini swords!

Set up a wicked comic-themed photo booth area

Include homemade lightsabers (hopefully your dollar store will have appropriate colours)...

...and homemade superhero masks!

And the usual photo booth props of swords, tiaras, weapons, boas, etc.

And last but not least... make those birthday boys/girls feel special, and design them their very own superhero logo and cape!

Happy Birthday guys :)

What a fun time we all had! Make sure you encourage guests to channel their inner nerd and prepare for the BEST time!