Bendy and the Ink Machine-themed birthday party

If you saw my post on the Bendy and the Ink Machine Bacon Soup recipe a few weeks ago then you know that G decided to have a Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party this year for the big 1-0. Side-note: how the heck is my firstborn 10 already?! But, I digress… While this may seem like an obscure party theme, it’s actually a pretty popular video game for kids his age. When he decided on the BATIM birthday party theme, I was surprised to see that there wasn’t a lot of inspiration for a Bendy birthday party on Pinterest yet, and not many things for sale in the theme. Fortunately, throwing a Bendy themed birthday party was one of the easier themes we’ve ever done, despite not having a lot of Pinspiration to start with. We just had to get creative with the color scheme of black, white, and tan and the motif of black ink-like drips. Today I’m sharing Bendy and the Ink Machine-themed party food and drink ideas, party decorations, Bendy party favors, party activities, links to Bendy and the Ink Machine party printables, and more. Be sure to pin this post for planning your own BATIM birthday party!

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Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party invitations

I DIYed the Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party invitation on my home computer. We based it on a letter that is shown at the beginning of the BATIM game Chapter 1 (I snapped a pic to reference when my kids were playing the game, but you can see it with a Google Image search). The letter reads:

Dear Henry, 

It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. 30 years really slips away, doesn't it? 

If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you. 

Your best pal, Joey Drew.

I removed “Dear Henry” and replaced Joey Drew’s name with G’s name to create the front of the card. The back of the card was simple and had the party date, time, location, and RSVP details. Here are the fonts I used for the Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party invitation (as well as for other party printables and details). Click the links to download each font, and see even more fonts from the Bendy and the Ink Machine game on this fan site if you’re looking for more:

• DK Black Bamboo (font used for the Bendy and the Ink Machine logo)
• Thin Skinned (Joey Drew handwriting font used for the body text on the Bendy birthday party invitation)
• Haydon Brush (font used for Joey Drew’s signature)
• Caviar Dreams (common font used throughout the Bendy and the Ink Machine game; would be useful for other Bendy party decor and details as well)

Food ideas for a Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party

Here’s what food to serve at a Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party.

Bacon Soup. When you think of what food to serve at a Bendy and the Ink Machine party, no doubt the first thing that will come to mind is Bacon Soup, which is featured throughout the game. I was surprised that I couldn’t find many recipes online for Bendy Bacon Soup, so I decided I’d make my own. It turned out to be delicious, so I created a blog post with the recipe. It’s made really easily in the slow cooker, which is very helpful on busy party days (you can start it in the morning then let it cook while you’re working on the rest of your party prep). Get the Bendy and the Ink Machine Bacon Soup recipe here.

To add to the theme, I displayed some cans with the Briar Label Bacon Soup labels from the game next to the soup. I purchased the downloadable and printable Bendy and the Ink Machine Briar Label Bacon Soup can labels from Etsy here. The printables have a really accurate look from the game graphics, and fit perfectly on the smaller tomato sauce cans.

Boris Brownies. I modified my Mint Swirl Shamrock Brownies recipe to be a simple brown and white cream cheese swirl brownie by eliminating the mint extract and green food coloring. They turned out delicious and worked great with the color scheme. Get the recipe for these Cheesecake Marbled Brownies here.

Alice Angel Food Cake. Playing on the name of the game character Alice Angel, I made an easy boxed angel food cake recipe and drizzled melted black candy melts on the slices.

Chocolate and Powder Mini Donuts. This kid-friendly treat worked perfectly with the Bendy party’s black and white color scheme.

Chocolate Cupcakes. I went super easy on the cupcake decorating for the Bendy and the Ink Machine themed party. Chocolate cupcakes with white frosting, then drips of black candy melts over the top to look like oozing ink.

Bendy Bites. Kids love chicky nuggies, so we called them “Bendy Bites” for this super easy Bendy party food idea.

Devil Darlin’ Dogs. Another easy, kid-friendly food idea for the Bendy birthday party is to mix lil’ smokies sausages with barbecue sauce (heated in a saucepan). We called them “Devil Darlin’ Dogs” after one of Bendy’s nicknames in the game.

Butcher Gang Beef Satay. Easy finger food was the name of the game for our Bendy party food, so we grilled up some beef strips (marinated in a teriyaki-soy sauce) and served them on sticks for kids and adults to enjoy.

Fisher’s Fish Sticks. Named after another character from the BATIM game, we incorporated fish sticks for another kid-friendly party food idea, served with a side of tartar sauce.

Ink Fondue. One of the hits of the Bendy birthday party was this chocolate fondue station. Melted chocolate resembles dripping ink, so it fit with the theme perfectly. You just need a fondue maker, melting fondue chocolate, long cocktail picks (I chose a black and clear set since it looked good with the party color scheme), and a variety of toppings. The toppings we chose for our Ink Fondue bar:

• Rice Krispies treats
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Pretzels
• Marshmallows
• Nilla wafer cookies

Ink Drink (aka sweet iced tea). Could you even have a Bendy party without an ink drink? Sweet tea in a drink dispenser behind a DIY cardboard ink machine (see more on the DIY ink machine party decor below).

Water Bottles. We wrapped standard water bottles with printable labels (see more links to printables below) and made sure all the bottles were recycled after the party.

Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party decor

Decorations for a Bendy and the Ink Machine party consisted of things in the colors of black, white, and tan, along with black drip and old movie motifs. Here are some Bendy birthday party decor ideas.

I made a DIY ink machine out of cardboard boxes, craft and construction paper, and duct tape. I looked at pictures of the ink machine from the game found online, and used old plastic drink bottles and toilet paper rolls wrapped in colored duct tape to make the pipes. I cut out bolts and knobs from construction paper to add a few additional details. Our ink machine also included an opening for the spout of a drink dispenser for sweet tea.

The plates, cups, utensils, napkins, and straws were a combination of black and white pieces along with tan compostable/eco-friendly pieces (better for the environment and looked great with the Bendy and the Ink Machine party color scheme). Here are the pieces we bought from Amazon:

• Biodegradable black and and white paper straws
• Bamboo paper cups
• Compostable wheat straw plates (9″)
• Compostable wheat straw dessert plates
• Wheat straw biodegradable bowls (for the bacon soup)
• Black lunch napkins
• Black plastic utensils or eco-friendly bamboo utensils

For the beverage and dessert napkins, we used a DIY trick I learned and used when planning my wedding. We got plain white napkins and embossed them using an ink drip/splatter rubber stamp, black ink (you need a kind that is good at holding embossing powder), clear embossing powder, and an embossing heat tool. This was a really fun DIY project to get the kids involved in, and it gave us a really unique design for each and every napkin. It was not as tedious as it might sound since we had an assembly line going with the kids.

For tablecloths and coverings, I layered black tablecloths over white tablecloths. I cut the edges of the black tablecloths to resemble drips. This was a really easy DIY project for the Bendy birthday party that had a great visual impact.

Since the game also has a theme of old film reels and vintage cartoon-making, I had a few of these movie reel centerpieces around for additional Bendy and the Ink Machine party decorations.

Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party Printables

While I DIYed some of the party stationery myself (see the details on the Bendy birthday party invitations above), I also used some Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party printables that I found online (one paid and the rest free). Here are the links to the Bendy birthday party printables I used:

• Bendy and the Ink Machine Briar Label Bacon Soup can labels ($)
• Bendy and the Ink Machine party printable food tents (free)
• Bendy and the Ink Machine printable water bottle labels (free)
• Bendy and the Ink Machine party cupcake toppers (free; I used them for lollipop labels- see below)

Bendy birthday party favors

We kept the Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party favors pretty simple:

• Mystery pack collectible Bendy and the Ink Machine keychain clips
• Misc. Bendy and the Ink Machine themed vinyl stickers
• Black and white lollipops with printable labels (see more on the labels below)

For the lollipop labels, I used these free Bendy and the Ink Machine cupcake topper printables which I printed on some Avery label printer paper.

Activities for a BATIM birthday party

We always like to have a few activities and games for kids to play at our themed birthday parties. Here are the activities we had at the Bendy and the Ink Machine birthday party.

Bendy and the Ink Machine character mask craft. We had a craft station at our Bendy birthday party for kids to make Bendy character masks out of paper plates. We kept it pretty simple so that the kids could use their imaginations. Here is what you need to set up a Bendy and the Ink Machine mask craft:

• White paper plates
• Black construction paper
• Jumbo popsicle/craft sticks
• Scissors
• Masking tape (to attach the popsicle sticks to the plates)
• Double-sided tape
• Black markers

Photo station. The masks kids make at the craft station are perfect to use at a photo station with additional props. I used a black cloth backdrop and had the following props available for kids to use for their own photos:

• Fun film strip frames
• Black and white bow tie (for Bendy)
• Giant cartoon hands gloves (for Bendy)
• Glitter devil horn headband (for Alice Angel)
• Angel halo headband (for Alice Angel)

Does your kiddo love Bendy too? Would you plan a Bendy and the Ink Machine themed birthday party? Comment below, and don’t forget to share and pin if you’re inspired!

More kid’s birthday party theme ideas:

• Anime-Themed Birthday Party
• Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania At-Home Watch Party
• Bendy and the Ink Machine-Themed Birthday Party
• Classic Nintendo Birthday Party (Mario Bros., Zelda, Kirby and More)
• Clifford the Big Red Dog Birthday Party
• Construction-Themed Birthday Party
• Despicable Me / Minion Birthday Party
• Dinosaur-Themed Birthday Party
• Disney Cars Birthday Party
• DIY Escape Room Kid’s Birthday Party (with lots of escape room puzzle ideas)
• Dungeons and Dragons Birthday Party
• Emoji-Themed Birthday Party
• Kid’s Ice Cream Social Birthday Party
• Safari Themed 1st Birthday Party
• LEGO Movie-Themed Birthday Party
• Minecraft-Themed Birthday Party
• PAW Patrol Party Ideas
• Pokémon-Themed Birthday Party
• Power Rangers-Themed Birthday Party
• Rock and Roll Birthday Party
• Silent Disco Party (Fun 13th Birthday Party Theme)
• The Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender Party
• Thomas the Train Birthday Party (with Free Thomas and Friends Birthday Printables)
• Tiger-Themed Birthday Party Planning Ideas