Party Recap
In our home, we do our best to encourage an active, healthy lifestyle (although admittedly, we still enjoy a good treat every once in a while). Our girls love participating in a variety of fitness activities throughout the year, including various individual and team sports. You can imagine how thrilled I was when my daughter, Kennedy, came up with the idea to host a fitness inspired celebration for her 7th birthday and chose an American Ninja Warrior birthday party theme. We hired Jen Carver of Banner Events to help with conceptualizing and styling a feminine approach to this fun event. Kennedy had quite a few of her own ideas and opinions about her party, including the color scheme (teal, hot and light pink, white, and black) and having friends sport active wear (“workout outfits”). She loved working with her dad to design her own American Ninja Warrior inspired obstacle course, and with me to choose a delicious menu of healthy refreshments with a few sweet desserts (like sugar cookies and cake) mixed in for good measure. We are excited to share this fun, power-packed party theme with you, photographed by Lauren Oliver Photography. Disclaimer: I was provided free product in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the developing companies.
We kicked party plans into full gear by sending out custom American Ninja Warrior birthday party invitations challenging party guests to come test their skills at Kennedy’s party! “Many are called …Few are chosen.” Donna Martin of SwishPrintables created this fabulous invitation for us, along with coordinating return address labels and many other signs, posters, tags, flags, and printable decor items to go along with the theme. You’ll see them throughout the party.
Being able to move comfortably while getting her celebratory sweat on was another important party component for our sweet birthday girl. She is obsessed with athletic wear and wanted to pick out something special to wear for the party that would allow her to move with confidence and celebrate adventurously. We loved our outings up north, visiting Ivivva Bellevue. We had fun helping Kennedy and her sister, Kamryn, choose their favorite outfits and accessories to wear to the party, along with outfits and accessories for a few close personal friends. There were styles and colors to fit each girl’s personality and needs. After outfits were chosen, awesome athletic shoes were ordered from Asics to coordinate and help determined birthday warriors navigate the intense obstacle course Kennedy designed.
With a huge crew of kids and their families coming to test their skills, we knew in addition to the traditional birthday cake and cupcakes, we wanted to have healthy snack and beverage options to fuel and hydrate guests’ bodies for the afternoon of birthday fun!
We set up a “juice bar” that featured jugs of refreshing Tree Top Honeycrisp Fresh Pressed Apple Juice, Tree Top Organic Apple Juice Boxes, Tree Top Applesauce Pouches (Tropical Flavor), custom wrapped bottled water, and freshly made fruit smoothies served in 2 oz. glasses (Shindigz).
We love that Tree Top juice is 100% pure juice! Plus, the Tree Top Apple Sauce Pouches have no added sugars and no artificial flavoring, making them a healthy, mess-free option for adding fruit to a party menu!
With a large crowd on hand and several free-play style activities (bounce houses, playground, obstacle course), we set up a help-yourself-snack-bar and dessert area so guests could munch and mingle throughout the night. As the dinner hour approached, more hearty offerings of sub sandwiches and sliced pieces of cake were added to the tables.
To bring in that American Ninja Warrior vibe, but with a feminine flair, Banner Events spray painted a PVC pipe frame a metallic silver to mimic the metal climbing bars often seen in the television competition. From the metal frame, strips of ripped fabric–in party colors–were hung. With the party being out-of-doors, we wanted to add some festivity, but also allow for the beauty of the natural landscape to shine through. A large foam party logo shield served as the focal point with clusters of balloons (Shindigz) flanking each side of the table. Kennedy’s name was highlighted on the front of the table by way of a printed name banner.
In keeping with that raw, industrial ninja warrior look, we chose to display a mix of sweet desserts and healthy options on a variety of galvanized metal trays and stands.
Blueberry muffins were outfitted in printable baking cups and logo toppers.
Plastic cube cups (Shindigz) were filled with low-fat yogurt with fresh berries and granola sprinkled on top. Printable party flags were attached to mini silver spoons for self-service.
Rice Krispy Treats were cut into the shape of stars, dipped in pink chocolate and given a black candy melt drizzle by Colleen, of The Sugar Canvas Boutique Bakery. Colleen also used her amazing talents to bake custom cookies that coordinated with the fabulous American Ninja Warrior birthday party printable elements from SwishPrintables.
Always a dessert table favorite, this custom 3-tiered ninja warrior inspired cake by Christina Goff of 4 Kids Cakes stole the show!
Pirates Booty, trail mix, pretzel thins, popcorn, goldfish crackers and apple chips were some of the other snack options. Kids loved being able to choose their favorite snacks to munch on throughout the night.
Cute dining tables were set up where guests could enjoy refreshments. Tables were topped with teal runners. Centerpieces were made from black handled boxes, filled with paper shred and accented with silver number 7 mylar balloons.
Each place setting consisted of personalized plates, custom wrapped utensils and water bottles, a striped paper straw with party flag, and a Ninja Warrior snack box which housed a Tree Top Applesauce Pouch, a Tree Top Apple Juice Box, and a granola bar. (Guests loved being able to snack on-the-go during the party and take home leftovers in this box.) You can find the gable boxes, striped plates, napkins and straws in the Hoopla Events Etsy Shop.
Attached to the backs of each chair were black and pink drawstring backpacks (Oriental Trading Company) that housed the various party favors guests received, including a water bottle for staying hydrated, bandannas (perfect for keeping the sweat out of your eyes) and a barbell stress toy (also Oriental Trading Company).
With the popularity of photo sharing via social media, parents and kids love taking advantage of photo ops. This self-standing cardboard photo backdrop from Shindigz was a lot of fun. Kennedy loved that it was personalized with her name, age and party theme!
Trophies (Shindigz) were on display and definitely ramped up excitement over the competition and brought out a little bit of competitiveness from attendees.
The balloon arch (Stems Floral Design) marked the start of the obstacle course area and features balloons from Shindigz. Various parts of the obstacle course station were roped off with black pennant banners (also from Shindigz).
There were so many fun and challenging components of the obstacle course. Many products from Oriental Trading played a starring role (white cones for weaving through, hoop toss game, egg spoon race, ball and bat sat, and so on). Additionally, guests loved using their feats of strength and balance to whack at the number 7 pinata, that was filled with treats (all from Shindigz).
The party concluded with certificates for all of those who completed the American Ninja Warrior challenges, and trophies were awarded for a number of special recognitions.
Vendor Credits:
Krista O’Byrne of Hoopla Events & Jennifer Carver of Banner Events: Event Planning & Styling
Hoopla Events Etsy Shop: Pink & white striped paper plates and napkins, white gable boxes, black and white striped paper straws
Lauren Oliver Photography: Photography
SwishPrintables: Printable invitation and coordinating printable package
Ivviva Bellevue: Fly Tech Long Sleeve Tee, Calm to Energy Long Sleeve Tee, Fly Tech Short Sleeve Tee, Keep Ur Cool Racer*luon Light, Good in the Hood Hoodie, Rhythmic Crop* Lux, Fly Tech Headband, Back 2 Back Headband
Asics: PRE-Contend 4 PS shoes (Also available at Nordstrom Rack)
Tree Top: Tree Top Honeycrisp Fresh Pressed Apple Juice, Tree Top Organic Apple Juice Boxes, Tree Top Applesauce Pouches (Tropical Flavor)
Oriental Trading Company: Black Candy Buckets with Ribbon Handles, White DIY Traffic Cones, Egg Spoon Game Set, Bat and Ball Set, Black Canvas Drawstring Backpacks, Dark Pink Drawstring Backpacks, Hoops Toss Game, Barbell Stress Toys
Shindigz: Chain Personalized Photo Booth Background, Hot Pink Winner Award Trophy, Metal Whistles, Black Pennant Banners, Silver Number 7 Mylar Balloons, Number 7 Silver Megaloon Junior Balloons, Pink Pearl Latex Balloons, Crystal Clear Latex Balloons, Metallic Black Latex Blaloons, Teal Metallic Latex Balloons, Number 7 Pinata, Watermelon Frooties, Strawberry Frooties, Black Paisley Bandanas, Hot Pink Paisley Bandanas, White Bulk Cutlery, 2 oz Shot Glasses, Cocktail Clear Mini Cubes, Classic Pink 7” Paper Plates
4 Kids Cakes: American Ninja Warrior Inspired Cake
The Sugar Canvas Boutique Bakery: Custom Sugar Cookies, Custom Rice Krispy Treats
Stems Floral Design: Balloon Arch
Party Helpers
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Jennifer Carver
event planner
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