Ninjago Birthday Party

Mr. Mann's 7th birthday was last month and he wanted a Ninjago theme (naturally) - I think everything came together nicely! Here's some pictures from the party!

 My favorite part of any party is the desserts! We kept things simple for this one as I didn't have a ton of time to prep. Here's what we made:

- Rice Krispie 'Funshi'

- Ninja Sugar Cookies

- Ninja Cupcakes

- HoHo Numb-chucks 

 

The main food was "Funshi Peanut Butter and Jelly "Rolls"

{super easy to make - just make your sandwich, cut into strips and roll up}

First Activity: "Ninja Names"

I found a print out on Pinterest and helped the kids match up the letters in their names to create their own ninja name. They then wrote them on streamers that we tied around their heads to form Ninja Headbands. 

Second Activity: A "Ninja Training" Course 

The kids loved this - and the adults ended up having some big laughs while watching the kids run through the course. 

First up - gotta get the group in order to explain the course. Can you tell I've worked with kids for awhile now?

 First Skill "Agility": The kids ran through 'ninja swords' (pool noodles) that the adults waved up and down. I think the adults might have enjoyed this more than the kids...

Second Skill: "Accuracy": Hubs stayed up late to make ninja stars which the kids used to knock over the tubes made of paper towel rolls. The rolls were covered with black streamers to make them more ninja-ey.

Third Skill: "Balance": The kids picked up marshmallows with chopsticks from one bowl and ran them across the yard to put in another.

Fourth, and final, skill: "Strength": The kids broke boards that I made out of Styrofoam. I cut the Styrofoam into rectangles and then painted them with brown acrylic paint. I wish I had gotten a better picture - they turned out really well and actually looked like wood.

Of course the best part of an activity like this is what happens when the kids start improvising. Enter like B who thought it would be better to carry the marshmallow in her mouth. Smart, very smart :)

Of course no birthday party is complete without a fabulous cake! Many thanks to Sandy at Dessert Works - she always makes such great cakes for us! 

oh and a mini-breakdown...happens every time ;)

At the end of the day we had balloons left over and the kids wanted to release them into the sky. I know it's not great for the environment :/ I feel kinda bad about that....

And finally, our traditional birthday family portrait (minus mom as she had already left)

Hope this helps inspire your next Ninjago birthday party! Thanks for stopping by! 

Ri's LaLaLoopsey Birthday Party!

Wait...I'm posting on the same day as a party!! Whoa....

The niece turns 5 on Wednesday so we celebrated today with a birthday party with her friends. She picked LaLaLoopsey as her theme which was super cute. However, since it's a newer doll there wasn't a lot of pre-made LLL stuff sooooo Aunt Kristen had to get creative!

Let's dive right into the pictures! 

Mmmmmm desserts...

Since I love to bake and I always make a ton of desserts for parties I thought I would turn our living room into "Riley's Sweet Shop". I told hubs that I needed him to make me an awning and I must admit - he did a pretty darn good job! {even though he was grumbling the whole time!} Once it was up I did a little happy dance. I love it!

Our Life-Sized Jewels Sparkles

 White chocolate spoons or as Ri says "a spoon full of sugar" 

Button Oatmeal Cream Pies {SO GOOD!}

Button Chocolate Dipped Oreos

Sugar Cookie Buttons 

Sugar Cookie Lollipops 

Hazelnut cupcakes and Rice Krispie Treats 

Since we had several kids I thought it would be best to keep those 5 year olds occupied. We had a DIY hair barrette station and a 'create your own cupcake' table. I'll share more about these in another post. But here's the cupcake setup!

I'll post more very soon! Until then I'll leave you with these gems...

Amaris' Rainbow Birthday Party

It's hard to believe but little Amaris just turned ONE! On one hand it seems like she was born forever ago but on another it seems like just yesterday! The curse of being way to busy for your own good, I guess :)

I know I've said it before but I'm always honored when friends allow me to work on their parties. I figure they get mad props for knowing who I am and how I operate and they still want my help. Rumor is I'm kind of bossy {nooooo} :)

Jenny picked a rainbow theme for the party and I think it was a great choice for her daughter's first birthday. Original but classic at the same time - and perfect for a family that isn't all into the frilly girly stuff. I recently posted about it on my business blog {The Tres Chic Bride} but I wanted to post some of the deets here.

Enough chat - let's have some eye candy!

I love a fun entrance! 

Learn how to make these zig zag streamers here. 

We used the 'one' letters above to do a quick photo shoot for the decor. Gotta love how easy digital cameras/printers make things!

I love sweets! 

{all sweets except for the cake were made by moi. I love to bake!}

This theme was so easy to execute because all you have to do is get your supplies in all different colors! Easy peasy!

We did a "photobooth" for fun, but more importantly, for the memories. We just popped my camera up on a tripod, set the self timer to 8 seconds and let everyone push the shutter when they were ready. Worked like a charm!

Here's what the backdrop looked like - just some balloons arranged on the wall. Super easy!

This jumpy house was seriously THE best investment 3 years ago. It's paid for itself in entertainment 12 times over! Highly recommend!

Every 1st bday party needs a good smash cake! 

She wasn't all that into it - she decided it would be more fun to feed dad!

and get it on Mommy :)

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of her party! Mwah!