Every once in awhile I get a spark of an idea and it just won’t leave me alone. That’s what happened with today’s post for a Pokémon Poke ball hunt. Think of it as a cross between Pokemon and an Easter Egg hunt. The great thing about this though, is that you can do it year round. This would be the perfect party activity for a Pokémon themed birthday party!

If you’ve spent much time trying to find Pokemon products to purchase, you know that they are difficult to find or very pricey. Good news for you! Turns out that if you make your own Poke balls, they are much more affordable!

DIY Pokémon Poke Balls

Supplies: *contains affiliate links

Round Vending Machine Capsules or these
Black Electrical Tape
White Sticker Paper
Pokemon Mini Figures
Optional: Adhesive Vinyl in Red, Orange, and Yellow
Optional: Spray Paint that bonds to plastic. I used Rustoleum American Accents Gloss in Apple Red

Directions:

Depending on the color of your vending machine capsules, you may not need to spray paint any at all. I got a mix of colors which didn’t include red! To spray paint, press toothpicks into a large piece of cardboard. The capsules are very light and get pushed around by the force of the spray paint.
Spray light coats until the capsule is coated. Between coats, let the capsules set until dry to the touch. Let dry several hours after the final coat.
- NOTE: I opted to leave the bottom of the capsules clear so you can see what’s inside. For a more exact Poke ball look, spray paint the capsule bottoms white using the same technique.
Fill the dried capsules with whatever Pokemon goodies you want. I really love the Pokémon action figures you find on Amazon. They are a great price and are usually available for quick delivery.
Wrap the center of the capsule with a line of electrical tape.
Cut or punch a circle of white sticker paper and place in the front center.

There are so many different Poke balls that you could keep it simple and follow those steps for pretty much any color of capsule. I wanted to mix things up a little big and make some different poke balls. I had blue, orange, and green vending machine capsules so I made Sport Balls, Friend Balls, and Great Balls. For the additional design details, I created the design in my design software and cut them out of adhesive vinyl. You can use my design to come up with your template or if you have a Silhouette, I would be happy to send you my file. I also made some Gold Balls which I will talk about in a minute.

Now let’s talk about the gold Poke balls. I thought it would be fun to have special Poke balls that the kids could turn in for a special prize. I found 9 Eevee and Eevee evolutions plush for about $30 on ebay. Finding Pokémon plush for just over $3 a piece was awesome. The price was totally the selling point for having special prizes.

For the gold Poke balls I spray painted the top and bottom of the balls white and then gold. The main reason for a base coat of white was so that the gold would really pop.

The kids were so excited!! I kept the actual Pokemon Poke ball hunt small enough that there were enough prizes for each child to have one. I knew that would create a much more peaceful environment if the kids weren’t trying to kill each other over who got a Gold Poke ball.

To round out the Poke ball hunt, I also picked up some of these Poke Balls that were already filled with a little Pokémon figurine and some stickers. That was another ebay find. All the mini figures in these packages are translucent. So it’s hard to see but that’s a cloyster in the photo below.

Here’s a size comparison between the purchased Poke balls and the DIY vending machine capsules. The DIY Poke balls are much larger!

For the hunt itself, we went to a local park and marked off an area with streamers. We “hid” the Poké balls and after an explanation of the rules, we let the kids go at it.

Everyone had a great time and really loved seeing the Pokemon they “caught.” They even set up shop in the grass and traded each other for Pokemon they really wanted. This was a really fun Easter activity for our family and friends, but if I end up throwing another Pokemon birthday party, I will definitely be doing this again!

Stay tuned for the fun Pokemon themed food we incorporated into the party, you aren’t going to want to miss it!

Oh and don’t forget to pin it for later!