One of the first things my mom said when I found out I was having January baby was “Oh, it’s tough to figure out birthday parties during the winter!” She was right, and for the last few years we’ve had smaller parties at the house, really done up the theme that Taylor chooses with the decorations, and tried to think of a good activity to hold the kids’ attention. For his 5th birthday party, he really REALLY wanted a Ninjago theme. We didn’t have the characters at home at the time, so I had no idea what he was talking about, but he was so excited at the possibility that I happily agreed. My first stop was to the party store, where I struck out big time. Note to the licensing agent(s) for Ninjago: you’re missing the boat, people. So, I went to work online, trying to figure out what exactly these little characters are and do, and how to creatively decorate with it as a theme for a little kid’s birthday party (in other words, nix the swords). What in the world did people do before the internet and more specifically, Pinterest? I’ll tell you now, this link will be your friend. Print off more masks that you think you’ll need, and you should be set to tackle the various projects below.
When the kids walked into the house, this was the first thing they saw – the sign for the birthday boy, the cake and treat boxes, and their personalized ninja headbands. I used the medium to large sized masks and a glue stick to adhere to inexpensive paper lanterns hung throughout the house. I used the smaller cutouts for the take-home treat boxes, which are available in many colors at party supply or craft stores. For the headbands I used cotton t-shirt fabric, cut into long strips. The stretchy fabric helped the headbands stay secure. I used stickers for the names. The kids loved having the headbands, and it was a good way for the parents to be able to identify all of the kids by name.
