Super Mario 3 Party: Sky Land Balloon Vines & Sticky Cloud Toss Game

Balloon vines, foam clouds, and Mario blocks create a Sky Land backdrop for a Super Mario 3 birthday party. — Our living room transformed into Sky Land, complete with balloon vines, floating clouds, and classic Mario enemies.

After conquering Water Land, the kids weren’t finished yet—another Punch Block was waiting. They punched it open, and just like before, coins rained down along with a letter from Princess Toadstool and their next special tool. For Sky Land, the “tool” was a bag of fluffy cotton balls, perfect for what came next.

Letter from Princess Toadstool

Here’s the exact letter the kids pulled from the Punch Block to guide them to Sky Land:

A printable letter from Princess Toadstool instructing kids to head to Sky Land and watch for Bob-Ombs. — The kids punched a block and found this letter from Princess Toadstool, sending them on their next mission in Sky Land.

This system of letters, coins, and tools ran throughout the entire party. After every quest, the kids punched open a block, collected shiny coins, read their next instructions from the Princess, and grabbed the item that would help them with the next challenge. It gave the party a strong Mario game storyline, keeping every world connected.

A child in a yellow dress stands in a pile of gold coins and cotton balls that spilled from a Super Mario punch block. — The punch block rained down coins, cotton balls, and tools for the next challenge—Mallory dove right into the pile of treasure.

The Room Transformation

Sky Land took over our living room. Since this was the only space with enough seating for guests, I couldn’t go fully wall-to-wall with the décor (as much as I wanted to!). Instead, I integrated the TV into a feature wall and worked in decorations around the room’s furniture.

• TV Backdrop: The screen itself became part of the décor, changing with each new land. Since the TV was located in Sky Land, I framed it with glowing blue LED backlights.
• Balloon Vines: I built long balloon vines that climbed out of DIY warp pipes (warp pipe tutorial coming soon). These stretched upward towards the cloud decorations.
• Clouds: White balloon clusters stretched across the top of the wall, anchored by giant foam board clouds with eyes.  Smaller cardstock clouds also dangled from the ceiling.
• Brick & Question Blocks: The TV stand was stacked with homemade blocks, plus Bob-Ombs I crafted from balloons and paper lanterns and balloon Goombas.  
• Chain Chomp Enemy: A blue lantern Chain Chomp swung from one wall, with its paper chain link “leash” and sharp red mouth waiting to chomp.

The Super Mario Bros. 3 Sky Land world map displayed on a TV screen with background music playing. — To set the mood, the TV played the official Sky Land map and music from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Wide shot of the living room transformed into Sky Land from Super Mario 3, with balloon vines, foam board clouds, hanging paper coins, and a TV displaying the game screen. — Our full Sky Land setup — vines climbing from warp pipes, smiling clouds floating overhead, and Mario 3 on the screen to complete the atmosphere.

View of the Sky Land setup with balloon vines, floating clouds, and gold coin decorations on the walls. A few Chain Chomps can be seen hanging by the staircase, with the darker stone-themed entrance to Dark Land visible in the background. — Another shot of Sky Land showing some Chain Chomps coming down the staircase… plus a little sneak peek at the entrance to Dark Land, which came later in the party.

DIY Chain Chomp decoration made from a blue paper lantern with white teeth, red mouth, and paper chain links for the chain, hanging on the wall with paper plate Mario coins nearby. — A DIY Chain Chomp made from a paper lantern and paper chains, complete with looming yellow coins.

The Sticky Cloud Toss Game

The cotton balls that came from the punch block weren’t random—they were Sky Land’s game piece. Each kid grabbed a handful and tried to toss them at the sticky clouds (made by sandwiching cardstock clouds between clear contact paper, sticky side out). When a cotton ball stuck, it looked like they were “filling in” the clouds to make them fluffy.

Child in a Princess Daisy costume tossing cotton balls at a hanging cloud target during a Super Mario Bros. 3 Sky Land party game. — Mallory aims carefully as she tosses cotton balls at the sticky cloud targets in Sky Land—one of the party’s interactive Mario-themed challenges.

The kids loved pelting the clouds, and it was one of those activities that worked for every age level—from toddlers to big kids—because there was no wrong way to play.

Wrapping Up Sky Land

Once every cloud was fluffy and the cotton balls were scattered everywhere, the kids knew it was time to punch their next block. Coins rained down again, along with the next Princess Toadstool letter, pointing them toward Grass Land for their third quest.

👉 Stay tuned for the next post in this series: Grass Land (with Piranha Plants, warp pipes, and more balloon magic).