Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party

I don't remember when it happened, but a few months back Gavin became completely obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that they've just recently come back to TV & they're ALL OVER the stores right now. I don't mind that he likes them. I think it's kind of fun that he is into something that was so popular when I was a kid. And Gavin did think I was a pretty cool mom that I knew all their names too. :) As Gavin's birthday was approaching he asked if he could have a party. I asked him what kind & he quickly called out to me, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!!".  I wasn't really planning on letting Gavin have a big party this year since last years Super Hero party was so much work. But how could I tell him no? So instead I put a little restriction on the amount of friends that he could invite. I couldn't help but notice that he only named boys. I made mention of it & he replied, "Ya mom, ninja turtles are for boys, not girls." Haha! So that was that, a boys only party for my big 4 year old.

There are a TON of ideas out there for throwing a TMNT party! I pinned like crazy on Pinterest & starting planning away. I just have to say that planning for a smaller group was wonderful. It stayed fun & exciting while prepping everything versus becoming stressful or monotonous like it tends to do with large numbers. Oh, and I decided that the parents would just drop off their kids. That made it easier to not plan on tag-a-long siblings or parents to feed. :)  I just love planning parties! It is such a fun creative outlet for me & I hope one day to make it more of a business then a hobby. Anyhow, enough rambling & on to the party.

{Decorations}

 It was nice being able to use the table for a change. My absolute favorite part of the decor was the table center piece. I love how cute it is that the turtles are holding the banner. Haha! The favor bags were filled with m&ms, bracelets, pens, tattoos, stickers, disc shooters & ooze.

 {Food Table}

By far the easiest meal to plan. Thank you TMNT for loving pizza! We also had sewer dirt (pudding w/oreos), kraang brain cookies (oreos dipped in chocolate), fruit, cheetos, turtle power beverage (hawaiian punch) & toxic ooze (jello shots) :)

As the boys arrived they watched a TMNT movie & were practicing their ninja moves.

I asked if they were ready to start the mutation process of turning into TMNT & boy were they! They all gobbled up their Toxic Ooze (jello shots) and the transformations began...

 My sweet friend Rozannah has recently picked up the art of face painting & kindly helped out with the mutation process for these boys. They were all in heaven getting their faces painted like TMNT! How awesome is she? They all turned out perfect!

Now they are almost ready to start training, but they still haven't quite finished the process of being 'TURTLE-FIED'. Off they went to Gavin's room with Doug for some history in the story of the TMNT & some prep talk for the training they were about to begin. Once they were ready they entered the sewer for their official Turtle Training.

They crawled through the sewer & then received their turtle shells (frisbees w/decal & ribbon attached) & weapons of choice (sais or nun-chucks)  I seriously love their fighting faces in this picture! They are pumped & ready for action.

{Gavin, McKay, Tanner, Mason, Enzo, Solo, Owen & Liam}

 

 1...2...3..TURTLE POWER!!!

(gotta love the group huddle)

The boys had to complete quite the obstacle course in order to be fully prepared to defeat the Shredder. The best part was the end when they got to show me their ninja moves on the trampoline. They have some serious skills.

 They successfully complete training & were pumped to go up again the Shredder. 

I have to admit that I was way impressed with myself at creating a Shredder pinata. I bought a monkey & used duck tape to make him. Sadly, I didn't get a great picture that showed off all the blade details on his arm & leg shields, but you get the idea. He was pretty indestructible with all that added tape, but it gave ample opportunities for the boys to beat him with Donatello's Bo-staff.

With the Shredder defeated by our awesome team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles it was time to head back in for some fuel.....PIZZA!

It was so fun just sitting back & listening to these crazy boys talk to each other & eat their food. :) It made me happy to see them thoroughly enjoying themselves. After eating it was time for presents.

 Gavin got spoiled by his friends for sure. He was so excited about everything!

And then onto singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Gavin! And eating some yummy cake & ice cream.

 As the boys were eating their cake, they were discussing how they didn't want to leave. At that moment there was a knock on the door. Mason said, "It better not be mine!". Haha! Sadly, it was his mom. It made me smile. So I think it's safe to say that fun was had by all. We sure love our Gavin & were thrilled to see him celebrate his special day with his friends TMNT style.

COWABUNGA DUDES!!!