Ninja Party

They've been sneaky ones, these seven years.  They flew right by with my hardly noticing and here I am, surprise! the mom of a second grader, an almost-seven-year-old ninja who is tall and strong and goofy and sensitive and smart, and who loves sound machines that make fart noises. 

He's a grand one. 

And we had a grand party to celebrate him.

Some ninja party numbers:

54 dragon napkins made into banners
48 tiny ninja figures for cupcakes and goody bags
72 pairs of Ninjago eyes
40 black and red balloons
48 cupcakes and countless sprinkles
4 extra helpers imported from upstate NY
30 felt headbands
1 homemade piñata
9 hours of preparation
19 adults
22 children
2 hours of ninja madness in our yard
1 great party that was totally worth it all


The decorations:  before...

Drink table.  You can't see the eyes on the cups from here...

The ninja "staging area". We had a good number of little ninjas dressing up in front of the mirror.

Homemade napkin banners and ninja goody bags...



Surprise!  Sneaky ninja cake! (Ninjago eyes strike again!)

During!

Baby Indigo was a hit!  We don't have many tinies in our group any more...

Pinata time!

The sound machine! 

Playing tag the ninja-- in which we fooled the kids, getting them to carefully place tape where they thought the ninja was hiding... only to have the ninja be GONE upon reveal...  you should have seen how fast the kids dashed off to find the hidden ninja.  We only gave Jack a tiny hint so he could find it first.  :)  the kid needed a break as he'd be in tears at least two times before the party was over.  Luckily at this point its not a deal any more.  Everyone knows our boy-- and they love him anyway... 

 

The whole gang.  These are some spectacular children, with pretty great parents.  We are so lucky.

 Bonus prize:  Three days with Lulu and the triad!  They were a huge help with the party, instant friends for Jack and Ivy, and just wonderful to have around.  I liked our house all full of family...

 

Four days until my boy is officially seven.. four more days to ruminate on what that means to me.  For now-thank you to all who helped to make this a wonderful weekend for my wonderful son.