I got most of my ideas from Birthday in a Box. The invitations were white cardstock, cut and folded to look like a gi (karate outfit for those who, like me, didn't know it had a special name) and tied shut with a red ribbon for the belt. Had I taken a picture of one, I would post it...but I didn't. Trust me. They were cool. On the inside it said:
Jump! Kick! Punch! Block!
Landon's birthday is gonna rock!
Come ready to have some fun,
Earn your black belt before the day's done!
Landon loves to dress up and "be someone" almost everyday...a ninja or Indiana Jones are usually the character of choice. Most days he would come home from school and change into an outfit. The ninja outfits consisted of a top and bottom from his closet that were a matching color so he would be all red (Kai) or all blue (Jay). Being a karate birthday, he needed to look the part. He didn't have a gi so what's a mom to do....make one, especially if you go to order one online and discover shipping would be over $20 to get here in time. Had he continued karate after the free month, he would have gotten one but I couldn't convince him to go back. I found a free pattern online and the material was less than $15 total for the outfit so I can't complain. I'm sure it will be worn over and over...
Once the guests had all arrived, we made paper Chinese throwing stars to be used in a game later on. This was a little difficult for the kids since the folding really needs to be exact but most were able to do it with some help. I had a bunch of different colors so they all got to choose what colors they wanted.
The next game was to toss their star into 3 bowls. The closest bowl was 1 point, the next bowl was 2 points, and the furthest one was 3 points. They got to practice a bit and then I let them throw their star three times each round (they went through the line twice) and added their points up. Ella came out on top with 8 points. It was fun to see their minds trying to figure out what would be the best number combination. Should I just go for the easy one each time? Or risk my turn going for the 3 pointer bowl?
The kids came inside and played "Pin the Black Belt on the Karate Kid." Pretty good drawing, eh? :) Okay, so I enlarged an image I found online, printed it out in 7 sections and traced it on butcher paper. Still cool even if I didn't free hand it!
Next up, Rob demonstrated how to kick, punch, and block. Then they played "Sensei Says" with Rob as the Sensei. I love watching kids play this. "No, I didn't block. I was just scratching my ear." Oh kids. Gotta love them.
When a winner was declared and they were done practicing their kicks and punches, we headed back outside for them to break boards. We used some leftover drywall that Rob cut in rectangles. It worked out great, and the kids loved it!
Then it was time to break the pinata. Some chose to kick and punch it, while others meant serious business and used the stick.
Landon opened presents, and then they ate cupcakes and ice cream.
Ashlee made the cupcakes from a recipe out of a cupcake recipe book we have. They were chocolate with chocolate chip cheesecake. The cheesecake part was supposed to be a filling but they didn't quite bake right and ended up being more of a swirl. They were still yummy!
Before frosting...
She decorated them to look like a gi with a black belt.
The kids earned their black belts and it was time to go home.
Whew. Fun party but Rob and I were exhausted afterwards. Probably didn't help that I had stayed up way late the night before and got up early to finish up his gi since I have a habit of leaving sewing projects until the night before. But it was all worth it for this kid.
Happy Birthday, Landon!
2 comments:
Happy birthday Lando! My kids were not happy when they found out they were going to miss this! Looks like a blast. Love his karate suit!
What a fun party! So creative!
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