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About Me

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Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, graphic designer, freelance photographer, magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.

A Japanese Origami Dojo Ninja Birthday Party


Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Ideas, Decorations & Printables - via BirdsParty.com

I love designing party printables for my friend and blog contributor Smita. She has the most amazing ideas for her kids birthday themes, and she ALWAYS blows me away with her creativity and flair for styling any event!

Smita and I having been working on parties for years now, and the printables for this Japanese Ninja party she styled for her son Sohan's 8th birthday, are one of my favs to date! Check out all the fun details she describes below.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Ideas, Decorations & Printables - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Ideas, Decorations & Printables - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Ideas & Printables - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Desserts Table - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Desserts Table - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Candy Station - via BirdsParty.com

Origami, Ninjas and Sushi…that’s what the birthday boy likes—the perfect combination for a Japanese-inspired birthday party that was fun….and very educational! I chose a contemporary Japanese theme with a bold color scheme of red, orange, yellow and black for this party. 

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Origami Invitations - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Candy Station - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Candy Station - via BirdsParty.com

Origami Dojo DIY Party Invitations

The invitations consisted of personalized origami paper fortune-tellers, delivered in origami envelopes.

DIY TIP: You can use the printable scrap booking papers the Japanese Ninja printable kit by Bird's Party to create a similar invitation, with envelope seals from the cupcake toppers. Alternatively, we also sell a rectangular invitation in the shop here.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Candy Station - via BirdsParty.com
Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Candy Station - via BirdsParty.com

Japanese Party Food, Desserts & Drinks

The Japanese theme was continued in the food and drinks for the party—no pizza or chicken nuggets here! You may be surprised, but all of the children were very excited to try new foods and were extremely adventurous eaters.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Drinks - via BirdsParty.com

After snacking on snap pea crisps, roasted seaweed, fruit served in wooden boats with bamboo picks, and “anti-sushi” (finger sandwiches rolled into sushi shapes), the children enjoyed a dinner of sushi, udon noodles and chicken teriyaki and got a taste of some Japanese Ramune soda.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Drinks - via BirdsParty.com

We did have vegetarian sushi for the less adventurous folks! The adult ninjas also enjoyed iced green tea, cucumber sake-tinis and Saporo beer!

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Food, Desserts and Drinks - via BirdsParty.com

In addition to a ninja birthday cake, the dessert table included shuriken cupcakes, shuriken and ninja cookies, ninja cake pops displayed in Japanese bowls, candy sushi made from rice cereal, ninja lollipops, fortune cookies displayed in Asian spoons, jellybeans (doubling as Salmon Roe and Wasabi), and rice crackers served in a bamboo steamer.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Table Decorations - via BirdsParty.com

I gave the cake stands a little Asian flair by adding black cardstock to mimic curved Asian roof lines. The cake pops, jellybeans and fortune cookies were displayed on stands that I created using can racks (from my pantry!) topped with bamboo place mats.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Table Decorations - via BirdsParty.com

My favorite element of the dessert table was the Japanese candy station—I bought various Japanese candies and chocolates at my local Asian market and displayed them in a Bento box. The children loved trying new treats that they’d never had…as well as old favorites like Pocky!

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Table Decor - via BirdsParty.com

Ninja Inspired Party Printables & DIY Decorations

Decor included bamboo centerpieces, created using live bamboo from our garden. The bamboo was placed in vases wrapped with inexpensive bamboo place-mats.

We hung paper lanterns and origami paper cranes throughout the party area and used rice paper screens as backdrops. A banner reading “Happy Birthday” in Japanese was hung on the door.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Games & Activities - via BirdsParty.com

Upon arrival at the party, the children were given a personalized ninja headband to wear. They all looked so cute in their headbands!

The children sat on floor cushions and enjoyed their meal at low Japanese-style tables. The place settings included paper napkins folded into ninja stars and origami place-card holders!

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Games & Activities - via BirdsParty.com

Japanese & Ninja Inspired Party Games & Activities

We had numerous Japanese arts and crafts stations set up for the children to enjoy: Origami (the Japanese art of paper folding), Kokeshi (Japanese wooden dolls), Koinibori (Japanese carp windsocks) and Kakemono (Japanese rice paper scroll paintings).

Yes, this party required some serious research! I placed signs at each station explaining the Japanese traditions associated with each craft and the children actually had a great time reading them and educating themselves on Japanese culture.

Kakemono Party Activity

The Kakemono scroll paintings were composed of calligraphy using Japanese Sumi ink, scraps of Japanese decorative paper and washi tape.

Origami Party Activity Station

At the origami station, the children enjoyed making ninja stars, transforming ninja stars and Samurai hats, as well as numerous origami animals.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Games & Activities - via BirdsParty.com

Kokeshi Dolls Party Activity

The Kokeshi dolls we made were “ninja” dolls, wrapped in washi tape, with ninja sword cupcake picks.

Koinibori Party Activity

The rice paper Koinibori were decorated with markers, then painted using water colors. We then sprayed the Koinibori with water to make all the colors bleed together. It created really pretty windsocks!

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Games & Activities - via BirdsParty.com

Ninja Training Station Party Games

In addition to the Japanese arts and crafts, we also created our own version of a Ninja training station, consisting of Sumo Sushi Toss, Nun chuck Ladderball, Shuriken Target Practice, and the Fastest Chopsticks in the West (we do live in Texas!).

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Activities - via BirdsParty.com


The Sumo Sushi Toss was creating using a corn-hole game, on which I taped a hand-drawn
picture of a sumo wrestler. The goal was to feed the sumo wrestler the hand-made sushi
beanbags.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Games - via BirdsParty.com

For the target practice game, I bought some rubber shuriken (ninja stars), which were tossed at the foam-backed ninja target.

Ninja Japanese Birthday Party Favors - via BirdsParty.com

Japanese Ninja Party Favors

After a culturally rich afternoon, the children left the party with a “ninja” take-out container full of treats from the dessert table, their own candy sushi to-go and an origami book.

This party was a labor of love and required tons of research, but the children all had a fantastic time and the birthday boy was thrilled with everything…which makes it all worth it!

A Japanese 'Origami Dojo' Ninja Birthday Party - via BirdsParty.com

Japanese Origami Dojo Ninja Birthday Party Credits

Party styling: The Party Wall                                          

Japanese Ninja Party Printables: Bird's Party
                                                                  
Photography: Kathie Tam                                              

Birthday Cake: Cake Crumbs SA
                                                                                
Cake topper, cupcake toppers and sugar cookies: MJ Tabush Sweet Designs                                                
Cake pops: Fayes Cake Pops                                                

Birthday boy’s costume, foam nun-chucks, tableware, jelly beans, lollipops : Party City

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6 comments:

  1. I saw this on the SITS Girls link up. This is just absolutely awesome. I am a corporate event planner (working for a Japanese company) and I just love it. Brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much!! One of our favs too! :)

      Delete
  2. This is super cute and so many great details!

    ReplyDelete
  3. hello! would like to ask where you did you purchase the mini wooden kokeshi dolls? thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. hello!

    Would like to ask where did you purchase the mini wooden kokeshi dolls?

    thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Waw this is amazing. Job well done.

    ReplyDelete

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[name=Cristina Riches aka Bird] [img=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rgs8z050PyY/WunXdXzZ5VI/AAAAAAAAxjc/qiDi9XqWXLwHWPcat9CjHUSxy-f2PaTNgCK4BGAYYCw/s277/P1470392.JPG] [description=Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, content creator & social media marketing influencer, graphic designer, freelance photographer and writer (for English, French and Portuguese-speaking publications), magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, BHG Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Sony, Sizzix, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/birdparty) (pinterest=https://www.pinterest.com/birdsparty/) (instagram=http://instagram.com/birdsparty) (youtube=http://www.youtube.com/birdspartytricks) (twitter=http://twitter.com/birdsparty)

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