Welcome to Ninja Training Camp!
Da Boyz interest jumps so fast it’s crazy. At the beginning of August, everything was TMNT – that’s all they could talk about and my wife and I started prepping for a TMNT party. However, fast forward a few weeks and I’m trying to do my homework on Pokemon and NinjaGo . . . AAAUUGGHHH!!!
Happy Berfdei!
Fortunately, the boys jump back into past interests very quickly and we stuck with our original “Ninja Obstacle Course” party with ideas from their gym class, Pinterest, Tough Mudder, and the old-school origami. I’ll be completely honest – this party was A BLAST to put together . . . . and it really didn’t cost a lot of money since most of the items we had around the house or could borrow from a friend. Besides food, I think we spent under $30 for everything.
Inspired by Tough Mudder – the Barbwire Crawl!
I think the favorite activity of the afternoon was the water balloon slingshot. We actually borrowed the slingshot from a friend and it worked really well. By the end of the afternoon, my daughter was launching the balloon 30-40 yds. IT WAS AWESOME!
The Water Balloon Sling . . . if you can see my nephew’s face – it’s priceless!
We also are lucky to have family nearby who came out and helped with the bday party . . . the setup . . . running around and getting the cake, balloons, pizzas . . . .and always coming out to the kids activities. Thanks to them, we were able to finish setup in 30 minutes and actually be able to keep track of all the kids and enjoy the party.
The Laser Bridge!
One of my biggest stresses with the boys is if they are making friends . . . . I think this is a stress for every parent but especially for parents of autistic kids. We thought originally, we’d have maybe five – six kids at the party. Well . . . . we had more than 15 kids show up! We are extremely grateful for the support and friend group that our kids have.
Origami Ninja Stars! I made these as a kid but forgot how to make them ~ I have a newfound appreciation for YouTube tutorials! 🙂
While we had small goodie bags, we also made ninja headbands and ‘swords’ that the kids got to take home. The kids LOVED the headband . . . it was fun to see all of the kids wearing them and also, to see my twins running around hours later with it on their heads. The pool noodle swords were a HIT! There are a few different tutorials online involving PVC and making handles . . . and we didn’t do any of that – we simply put duct tape on the bottom to make a ‘handle’ and voila – we were done! In retrospect, after watching 16 kids running around with ‘swords’ and hitting each other – the softer the ‘sword’ the better – I’m glad we decided against the PVC . . . I guarantee we would’ve had a couple of bruises or black eyes.
Pool Noodles make great (and pretty safe) ninja swords
I don’t know if the boys will remember this party but we definitely had a blast planning and making it. More importantly, I am grateful for the support, friendship, and love that our family gets from so many individuals. . . . . . blessed!
It's a Wunderful Life 
This looks like so much fun. Good job Mom and Dad.
Thanks so much! It was a ton of fun!
love the creative activities. Wish we were there
Fantastic beyond belief!