Monday, April 7, 2014

Brayden's Ninja Turtle Birthday Party.

Let me just fill you in on a little secret of mine: birthday parties generally stress me out just a little bit.

So this year, when Brayden told me he just wanted boys, I was slightly relieved. We ended up having a very small party with just a few of his closest friends from church. Brayden waffled back and forth of his party theme for several weeks leading up to his party. He was all over the map: He eventually decided on ninja turtles. I think the combination of green and swords nailed the coffin on that for him, as he's obsessed with all things green and all things swords.

There are a TON of Ninja Turtle ideas on Pinterest. Most of it I kind of overlooked, as I wasn't looking to get into anything too fancy and time consuming. I did see a pin for a veggie tray that looked like a Ninja Turtle head. I decided to recreate something similar using grapes and strawberries, as I thought those two option would probably be more appealing to 5 and 6 year old boys ;)
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the eyes are made from apple slices that I carved, and the pupils and mouth are made out of Jumbo olives.

I let Brayden pick out his cupcakes from the Walmart bakery. He, of course, picked out the most expensive set this year and had a super fancy cupcake holder that had the entire Ninja Turtle gang on it. Brayden was super excited about it though, so I really can't complain (and I have saved said cupcake holder in hopes that I might get one more use out of it. One can only hope, and my odds are in my favor since I have two more boys ;) ).
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(Connor thought it was hilarious to stick his nose in the icing. I usually don't allow such behavior, but birthday parties don't have rules. So icing on the face it is)

We had thought about being organized with party games, but decided to forego order and just let the boys run loose in the backyard. For the most part, everyone had a great time and there were no injuries or huge fights to break up, so all went well in my books.
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Mamaw entertained Tyler for almost the entire party... he was pretty excited about it :)

Brayden had two request for his party: a ninja turtle pinata, and ninja swords. When requests are simple, momma says "DONE."
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One of the best parts of a smaller party is fewer gifts. I have always toyed with the idea of just telling people not to bring gifts, but I think that kids at this age really enjoy giving gifts to their friends. Watching the excitement in their eyes as their friends open their gift is so sweet. I loved watching the boys get excited about all the cool games, books and toys.
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Drew and I gave Brayden a new bike for his birthday. He was in dire need of a new one, as the 12 inch bike he's been riding for the past 2 years is just a little too small for him ;) He's now on a 16 inch bike!
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For party favors we sent each boy home with a plastic samurai sword. It was Brayden's one huge request for his party, and one that I granted since the party was smaller. I was super grateful for the nice weather, as the thought of having 8 boys with swords in my house kind of gives me the chills. ha!
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Overall I'd say the party was a smashing success! I still can't believe my biggest baby is turning five this week. If you need me, I'll be hiding under a big pile of kleenex ;)
 

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