The Ultimate Guide to Throwing a Dungeons and Dragons Birthday Party

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You may have already seen our guide on throwing the ultimate board game party but I know that Dungeons and Dragons players are often looking for something different. D&D is such a unique experience that I felt it deserved its own guide for how to throw the best Dungeons and Dragons birthday party! 

This ultimate guide is filled with specific decoration ideas, thoughts on food, D&D activities for the party beyond playing a game, D&D party favors, and budget friendly D&D birthday party ideas.

You’re Invited! D&D Birthday Party Invitations

To throw the ultimate Dungeons and Dragons birthday party, why not start right at the beginning with D&D invitations? There are several ways you can make physical or digital invitations that will have your guests excited to come.

Physical Invitations

The most straightforward physical D&D invitations I’ve found might be ones you can fill in yourself by hand. If you don’t want to fill them all out, though, or plan to send out a lot of invitations, you could always make color photocopies of them. Alternatively, you could make a design through a program like Canva and then print those out on a nice cardstock.  

If you’re not sure what to design or print out, several designers have already made Canva templates that you can upload and edit as needed.

• Adventurers Wanted 
• Attention Adventurer 
• Game On

The nice thing about the digital Canva templates is that they could be used as digital D&D birthday party invitations, too. 

Digital Invitations

If you have everyone’s email address or have created a digital page for your D&D birthday party, making an image with the Canva templates suggested in the Physical Invitations section is a great choice. 

Some people like invitations more catered to the physical space, though. In that case, uploading a design into an evite might be the way to go. If you don’t want to build your own, you can also use a dragon template or a treasure map template for a thematic digital D&D invitation.

Decorations: Setting the Atmosphere for your D&D Birthday Party

You can make a general D&D birthday party vibe or if the birthday person is part of an existing game, you can make the atmosphere in the setting of their current game if you know it.

Although standard Dungeons and Dragons party decorations are great, it can be more fun to transport the party into the world of Dungeons and Dragons rather than simply addressing the game thematically.

What is a D&D Atmosphere?

If you’re not familiar with Dungeons and Dragons as the party host, you can reference materials on the Forgotten Realms. You can also check out our Pinterest board below for a visual feel of what makes a D&D atmosphere.

Basically a D&D atmosphere is a sort of medieval magical aesthetic. If you’re familiar with Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons was based off of famous fantasy books like that, so that can give you a feeling too.

To set the atmosphere then for a D&D birthday party, you’ll want items that create the aesthetic of a medieval city or forest paired with magical elements. 

Items to Set the Vibe for your D&D Birthday Party

If you choose to go the atmospheric route, there are loads of affordable items that can really create the essence of being in a D&D game.

• Tavern table cover
• Decorative lanterns
• Medieval plates and cups 
• Gold goblets

If, however, the birthday person really enjoys the straightforward D&D look and doesn’t want any question about the theme of the party, there are some great options for D&D party decorations.

• General D&D party decorations
• D&D balloons
• D&D class coasters
• More D&D class coasters
• Black and white D&D cake topper
• Color D&D cake topper 
• D&D cupcake toppers
• Miniatures for decorations or cake toppers

Whichever way you go for the D&D birthday party decorations, make sure to keep reading for tips on how to make other parts of the party thematic and budget friendly. 

A Heroes’ Feast: Dungeons and Dragons Party Food

Just like the decorations, the food for a Dungeons and Dragons themed party can be more thematic to a sort of fantasy setting rather than being focused on literal D&D items. But food that focuses on D&D items and creatures like dice, dragons, potions, and more can be very fun, too! Consider both options below or even a mix and match of the two.

Lore-Based Food

One very straightforward way to have that vibe is to check out the book Heroes’ Feast. It’s a cookbook specifically designed for Dungeons and Dragons lore where the recipes are organized according to races. 

The creators of the Heroes’ Feast cookbook also made the Deck of Many Morsels which could be fun to “randomize” your food choices for the party and could go along with the party activities suggested later in this post.

If you want to focus your time on other elements of the party instead of trying new recipes, you could also make a straightforward “rations” or “tavern” plate in the form of charcuterie boards. Basically any plate of cured meats, cheeses, and breads or crackers can be very thematic. A hearty stew might also be a good option depending on the season. 

Thematic Dungeons and Dragons Food

Sometimes it’s really fun to have snacks that make guests say, “That’s so clever!” Kids often really like seeing their favorite foods dressed up in a new way, too. For a birthday party with thematically fun D&D food, consider some of these options:

• Label glass bottles with colorful beverages as “potions.”
• Put out various berries and call them “Good berries.”
• Use D&D miniatures as cake or cupcake toppers.
• Make some dice shaped cookies.
• Cut some cheese into polyhedral dice shapes. 
• Offer some thematically-wrapped jerky. 
• Bugles can be labeled as “dragon claws.”

A lot of these options make for a great budget-friend D&D birthday party, too. For more tips on considering the budget, check out the end of this guide.

Party Activities for D&D Themed Birthdays

You might not have the time or resources to run an actual D&D game at the party, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do! Here are some ideas for activities for a great Dungeons and Dragons birthday party.

Character Photo Booth

If you’re already creating a D&D atmosphere, then you could create a spot designated for photographs complete with costumes for a fun photo booth! Set up a tripod so party goers can use their own phones. It might be fun to have a list of common photo filter options through commonly used apps like Snapchat. 

Then have different weapons and gear for people to pose with.  You can set up a thematic background with a tavern-like tapestry or even use a premade head cutout background. 

This is also an activity you can let guests know about ahead of time so that they can bring their own costumes if they have any.

D&D Streaming

Streaming either a video or a Twitch channel would be a particularly great activity for a D&D birthday party sleepover. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves would be a good choice. Depending on the age group, a Critical Role one shot or episode might also be fun. Although it’s not a one shot, my personal favorite episode that works as a stand alone is from Campaign 2, Episode 45.

Roll for Snacks

Ever heard of the popular online show Roll for Sandwich? If not, the creator makes lists of common (and not so common) sandwich items that can be chosen at random with polyhedral dice and eats whatever he comes up with. It’s a pretty hilarious premise and one that could make a great activity at a D&D birthday party.

Your “Roll for Snacks” activity doesn’t have to stick to sandwiches either. Lots of TikTok accounts have had spin off ideas that you could look into like “Roll for Pizza.” Or you could make it more in line with a birthday by doing dessert themed ones. “Roll for Cookie” could include different flavors of pre-packaged cookies that have different decorative toppings like frostings and sprinkles (or something hilarious like mustard!), or you could do a similar idea with “Roll for Cupcake.”

D&D Birthday One Shots

So if the birthday person loves D&D so much that they want a D&D birthday party, then they probably do want to play some Dungeons and Dragons if possible. A birthday themed D&D one shot, or single game session, would be a great fit for the birthday person and a few guests who have a couple of hours. Fortunately, DM’s Guild has a few well-rated and affordable D&D birthday themed one shots that would work well for a party.

Level 1

An Ogre and His Cake

A Feywild Birthday

Level 3

The Wishing Cake

When the Candles Go Out

Adjustable levels 1-5

Cupcakes of Doom

These D&D birthday themed one shots cater to a variety of levels, player ages, and types of birthday themes from silly to scary. Make sure to read each description carefully before choosing one so you have the best one shot for your D&D birthday party. 

D&D Party Favors

It’s fun to give guests a little token to remember the party by, and it’s especially fun when the items are unique, thoughtful, and a reminder of the D&D birthday party in particular.

To find good D&D party favors, you’ll want items that are small, come in bulk, and are relevant to D&D players. That can include things like pens and pencils, candy, stickers, and even temporary tattoos! 

After careful thinking and consideration, here are a list of items I’d recommend to make a great D&D party favor bag: 

• D&D pencils that either have thematic phrases or refer to different classes
• Sword pens
• Sour candy D&D collectible tin
• You could buy a bulk set of dice and put one set in each bag
• D&D stickers
• D&D temporary tattoos
• Party favor dragon boxes

All of these items, including the boxes themselves, meet the criteria of coming in bulk, having a D&D birthday party theme, and have use beyond the party. Guests can use the pens and pencils anywhere, they can stick the stickers to whatever they’d like

D&D Birthdays on a Budget

Frequently it feels as if Dungeons and Dragons is an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be. That also means that a Dungeons and Dragons birthday party also doesn’t have to be expensive! These tips will help make your ultimate Dungeons and Dragons birthday party affordable and clever.

Make standard birthday party items thematic

Did you notice how in the food section I noted that you can make colored sodas into potions? You can do this with basically everything at your Dungeons and Dragons birthday party.  Remember, a D&D birthday party is often more fun if the environment is immersive to the world, and there are plenty of ways to create an immersive world on a budget.

For example, thrift stores and garage sales are great places to find offbeat items that seem fantasy-esque. Mugs, cups, goblets, and tea sets are all great thrift store finds while being thematically relevant to a D&D birthday party. They’re also a great place to find “costumes” for a photo booth if you’re interested in pursuing that idea. Look for items that might match a particular class like jewelry that could be a talisman for a Cleric or big books that might double as a spell tome for a Wizard.

If you would like to be a little more “on the nose” in terms of the Dungeons and Dragons theme, perhaps for a younger child’s birthday party, there are definitely fun ways to do that on a budget, too. Labeling common snacks as thematic can go a long way including:

• Bugles could be “dragon claws” 
• Jelly beans as “dragon eggs”
• Wrapped silverware as “weapon packs”
• Gold wrapped chocolates as “gold pieces”

See our Pinterest board for these ideas and more.

If you want to give out party favors, you could give out “first character” bags that include things like standard pencils, notebooks, and printed character sheets, which are all things that a first time D&D player would need but are also common items that could be found in a drug store or a dollar store. 

Repurpose Existing D&D Items

If your D&D player already has an extensive collection of D&D items, frequently you’d rather save the money to buy them more D&D gifts. If that’s the case, then perhaps they would be alright with repurposing their existing D&D collection for the party, or you could borrow items from D&D playing friends. 

For example, you could use common D&D items like dice as centerpieces in bowls or miniatures for place settings. Some people like to use miniatures for cake toppers, too, although make sure the owner of the miniatures are okay with getting frosting on them first!

Have Fun!

This ultimate guide to throwing a Dungeons and Dragons birthday party covers everything from the invitations to come to the party favors when leaving. You should be all set to have a great D&D birthday party. And if you’re looking for a gift to give at a Dungeons and Dragons birthday party, check out our gift ideas for D&D players and Dungeon Masters.