Gamer Girl Party: Nintendo 3DS XL Fun!

Games and game systems are definitely not just the property of the boy’s club. Girls have got game, too! With Christmas so quickly around the corner, we decided to have our favorite gamer girls over to have a party before the holiday break, Nintendo 3DS XL‘s required. On tap was some hot cocoa and marshmallows, photobooth fun, and a thorough exploration of the 3DS games Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Whenever we have a party, it’s always a priority to break the ice between our guests. There is no better way to do this with a bunch of giggly little girls than to ask them to be silly in front of the camera! A photobooth with some Mii inspired props was set up; they took no time in jumping into the activity.

With parental permission, the girls customized and otherwise blinged out their Nintendo 3DS XLs so there was no doubt as who they belong to. To set up an activity like this at a gamer girl party, have washi tape, stick on sparkles and stick on letters available to the girls for them to decorate to their hearts desire.

Once their 3DS XL systems were all pretty, it was time to play! What’s great about having all the girls together with their 3DS systems is that they have the chance to use some of the cooler features of the game devices. Technology has come a long way since I’ve had a Game Boy–kids can now play their handhelds in 3D! You can toggle back and forth between the 2D and 3D options. The Nintendo 3DS XL also has a feature called “Street Pass.” When your game system gets in range of another 3DS, it can exchange Miis (characters custom created in games to look like real (or made up) people) and import and export silly items within the games.

The standout favorite at the party was Tomodachi Life. The characters are created by the players and can be made to look like themselves, family, friends and famous people or cartoons or just be good old imaginary creations. I loved this “Kitty Purry” Mii my daughter created based on her favorite singer.

The game allows the player to put the Miis in all kinds of fun situations, like stage performing, hanging out in a coffee shop, going to a barbeque, interacting with each other and doing other things people do like make friends, date and get married. You earn “money” in this game by making your Miis happy–giving them food, clothes, nice places to live and playing with them. The game adjusts to the season and has all sorts of clothing choices and backdrops available to earn that make the game really fun! My daughter loved turning her bearded and graying grandpa into Santa Claus with the game. I admit, I got a kick out of it, too!!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf was also a totally fun game to play. You’re the mayor of your own town in this one, building your own happy place while earning the means to build by working and busting through red tape to do so. Just about everything about this game is customizable, down to drawing the designs for your character’s clothes. Some of the custom designs the players make can be converted to QR codes and shared with other Nintendo 3DS owners–making it a total ball to be able to get together with the game units and swap all the things they’ve come up with!

Although the characters aren’t life-like in the Animal Crossing: New Leaf game, the situations certainly are, which totally cracked me up. Development permits have got to be pushed through Town Hall to get anything built in your community. How’s that for a taste of the true world?

Of course, all that fun game playing will work up an appetite! A small snack spread was set out for the girls – Nintendo 3DS XL sugar cokies, hot cocoa in custom Mii paper cups and a few cheese and crackers bits to tide them over till dinner from our after-school playdate party.

The custom cups were extremely quick and easy, but were a bright and cute addition to the party. Washi tape was wrapped around the rim, and a layered 2 and 2.5 inch circle were hot glued to the cardboard sleeve on the cup. Insta-custom partyware that is worth the few minutes of work for the kids’ delight!

Add a candy cane stirrer at Christmas time and you’re ready to serve!

Marshmallows are the perfect pairing for hot chocolate, so the girls had a blast dipping some “Mayoral Marshmallows” to go with their drinks. Melt a few ounces of chocolate in the microwave, set out some sprinkles, marshmallows, and stripey straws for sticks to make. For a full marshmallow dipping tutorial, click here!

Decorations we didn’t go overboard with; this was more about the girls all getting to play together on their 3DS devices and swap things on their systems. I hung a few paper circle garlands and buntings I made from scrapbook paper I had on hand and bought a few balloons to make it festive. Christmas is up all over the house so anything more would have been major overkill!

I can’t tell you just how much fun we had with this party–even I have found myself a little bit excited about these games and looking forward to meeting new 3DS friends so we can trade things. If you’ve got a girl gamer in your life, one of these handheld gaming systems will be wildly appreciated, as would the Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf games!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.