How to Create a Toy Story Party (DIY Props, Games & Food Ideas)

If you love going all out for themed parties, a Toy Story setup is such a fun one to create. We originally put this together for a Halloween event at our campground, but honestly—it works perfectly for a birthday party or any kid-themed celebration. I’m sharing all the DIY decorations, props, and simple ideas we used so you can pull together your own Toy Story party without overcomplicating it.

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Toy Story character costume ideas

Make your party fun by dressing up in your favorite characters and/or having your party guests dress up as one of them too!

My husband and I dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. I wanted to keep our costumes simple and comfortable because we are moving around a lot during the night. So, I purchased some large brown t-shirts and sewed some face pieces to them. I made the facial features on my Cricut and cut them out from different colored felt.

My son and his wife dressed as Barbie and Ken. They purchased their costumes from Amazon and they were hilarious. Ken came complete with his ascot too! So funny.

My two grandsons wanted to be aliens, but they also don’t like complicated costumes. So their mom purchased green t-shirts and added googly eyes and drew the rest on with black markers. They were so cute.

The green army men were the biggest hit out of all the Toy Story costumes. Not only did they look identical to the army men in Disney World, but they even played up the part by yelling commands thru a megaphone like a drill sergeant and looking around thru binoculars. LOL, It was great.

Addison, my 14-year-old granddaughter, wore a Jessie costume that we made from a pair of chaps, a white button-down shirt, and some red yarn. We purchased some cow print fabric and sewed it to the chaps. Then we used some yellow fabric that we cut to shape and glued to the white shirt and added strips of red ribbon for the detail. We also made two tubes in the yellow fabric and slipped them over the cuffed sleeves of the shirt. Add a pair of cowboy boots, jeans, and a Jessie cowboy hat and you have a really awesome Toy Story costume.

DIY Toy Story Decorations & Props

One of the most fun parts of a Toy Story theme is creating oversized toys and playful props that make everything feel larger than life. These DIY decorations were simple to put together using affordable materials, and they really brought the whole theme together. Here are some of the pieces we made and how we used them in our setup.

toy story land entryway sign

The first thing we started with in our Halloween trail was making an 8′ tall entryway made from painted cardboard boxes that were stacked to look like building blocks. Adding the hand-painted sign “Toy Story Land” finished off the look. This would be a great idea for the entry into your home or backyard.

Rubix cube and letter blocks

We built a large Rubix Cube from a square cardboard box by simply adding different colored squares of paper on each side. Just paint the box black before you add the paper squares.

We also made large letter blocks out of cardboard boxes and letters cut on the Cricut. I added some dimension to it with a roll of corrugated cardboard that I added to the edges of each side and painted corresponding colors.

Dominoes and army men props

Next, we made some Dominos out of foam insulation board. We painted them white and added black circles that I cut out with my Cricut cutting machine. Using a foam insulation board is an easy way to make large props. They are lightweight and easy to paint.

I also cut some army men out of the foam board. To do this I projected an image onto the board with a projector then traced, painted, and cut them out then simply placed them all around the campsite including some parachuting army men we hung over the bar area.

Playing cards and slinky

Next, we made some playing cards out of cardboard. I painted the cards white, designed and cut out the numbers and symbols with the Cricut, and finished the back with decorative contact paper.

One of my favorite props was the Slinkies. I purchased some mylar air conditioning vents and hung them from the trees with fishing wire so the kids could walk thru them.

Tinker Toys

Tinker toys were made from thin wood discs, cut pieces of a concrete tube, black vinyl circles, and painted PVC pipes. The Tinker circles in the middle also spin. This was so the kids could “Tinker” with them.

Barrel of monkeys and play-doh buckets

You can also make a barrel of monkeys. I already had a barrel in my entryway so I just printed the name out of vinyl and added it to the front of the barrel. I made the monkeys out of cardstock that I designed and cut with my Cricut. If you don’t have a Cricut you can just cut them out with scissors.

The Play-Doh buckets were also designed and printed in vinyl with the Cricut and then attached to 5-gallon buckets from Home Depot. Just paint the covers different colors and boom you’ve got huge Play-Doh props.

markers, paint tray, and dice props

Pool noodles made really cool markers when I added white paper and white duct tape to them. I just placed them into a cement tube and put them on our deck with cardboard dice and a paint tray also made from cardboard, Styrofoam plates, PVC pipe, and black pipe cleaners.

large Scrabble tiles

We also made some Scrabble tiles that spelled out our last name. You could spell out your child’s name, a character’s name, or even happy birthday. Again I made the letters with square pieces of foam board and black vinyl letters cut with the Cricut.

The claw machine from pizza planet

The best prop for the whole party was the claw machine. We cut three sides out of a very large cardboard box and added plexiglass in its place. The plexiglass on the front had two round holes in which we stuck two “grabbers” for kids to grab their Halloween candy bags we loaded inside. We added a second cardboard box inside to hold the candy up near the windows.

We made a fake claw out of cabinet handles, a clear plastic cup, and a piece of PVC pipe that I cut through the top of the box.

I also made alien stickers to put inside the machine for decoration. Some red paint on the whole thing and a “The Claw” words on the top finished it off nicely. This made us a 4′ tall large red claw machine. Perfect size for kids of all ages.

On the front of the machine, we added a smaller cardboard box and purchased some misc pieces from Home Depot to make the controller and coin entrance. All the trick-or-treaters, or in your case your party guests, will love having to fish for their Toy Story party favors.

Slinky Dog

I made a very large Slinky Dog out of paper Mache, cardboard, a ball, wire, and a Styrofoam bowl. This was my first Paper Mache project and it didn’t come out very smoothly, but all in all, everyone liked it and knew right away what it was. So that’s a plus. LOL

Andy’s room

We even made Andy’s room out of our 12×12 storage shed. After cleaning everything out, we added a photo backdrop of Andy’s room to the back wall of the shed and brought in a dresser, rug, curtains, and stool for furniture.

Then I added some Toy Story toys like Hamm, slinky dog, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, the phone, and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Then kid’s stuff like board games, books, crayons, Lincoln Logs, Legos, letter blocks, a slinky, and more on the shelves and on the floor. I finished it off by writing “Sunnyside” on a small cardboard box and made Buzz and Woody hang on it and hung Andy’s hat from a hook on the shelf.

Etch A Sketch

And finally, our last prop was a 6′ x 4′ Etch A Sketch that we played the Toy Story movie on during the night. People were amazed at how real it looked.

Party games

If you’re looking for simple ways to keep kids entertained, these Toy Story–inspired games are easy to set up and a lot of fun.

One idea is to create a Mr. Potato Head game using felt pieces. You can add Velcro to laminated facial features so kids can mix and match to create their own silly faces. You could also turn it into a classic “Pin the Nose on Mr. Potato Head” game for a fun twist.

Another easy and interactive activity is letting kids make their own Forky. This quick craft doubles as both a game and a take-home item. All you need are plastic sporks, red pipe cleaners, blue and yellow Play-Doh, googly eyes, large popsicle sticks, and hot glue. It’s simple to set up and always a hit with kids.

Finally, print out some simple Toy Story free printables for the kids to color or puzzles for them to solve.

Toy Story Party Snacks and drinks

Keeping the food simple but themed is an easy way to tie everything together without adding a lot of extra work.

buzz and woody drinks

For drinks, a fun idea is to offer two options in Toy Story colors using a double beverage dispenser. A red drink can be labeled “Woody,” and a green drink can be “Buzz” or even the Toy Story aliens. Adding simple printable labels or tags makes it feel a little more special without much effort.

toy story themed snacks

When it comes to snacks, you can go as simple or creative as you want. Some fun themed ideas include alien marshmallow pops, Toy Story cupcakes, cookies, Forky cupcakes, or even a themed birthday cake. But honestly, classic cookout food like hot dogs and chips works just as well—especially if you’re keeping things easy and budget-friendly.

Toy Story Favors idea

For favors, or treat bags, we used purchased Toy Story loot bags and filled them with candy, little army men, glow sticks, Toy Story slap bracelets, and pencils. I like to give out stuff other than candy on our Halloween nights.

It’s easy to find cheap toys to use for your treat bags. Check out Oriental Trading or Amazon for some great finds.

final THOUGHTS

I had such a great time putting these decorations together. It was a lot of work, but completely worth it when you see the excitement on the kids’ faces.

I did end up spending a bit more on toys since I don’t have kids at home anymore—but that worked out perfectly because we just welcomed another grandson, and I’ll be saving everything for him. 😊

The good news is, you can easily recreate most of these ideas on a budget—or even for free. (Start saving those big cardboard boxes now!)

Try a few of these DIY Toy Story party ideas for your next celebration and create a fun, memorable setup your kids will absolutely love.

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