Fairies vs. Ninjas.

Big Sis loves fairies. Little Bro loves ninjas. For the last two years I have forced them compromise on something they both like so I could do one birthday party in August instead of one in July and one in September. Two years ago it was Paw Patrol and last year it was Nemo and Dory but this year, they were adamant about fairies and ninjas. I tried to sell the idea of Lloyd the Ninja Fairy but that did not go over well so we did two parties a few weeks apart.

Theme:

Big Sis is obsessed with those Rainbow fairy books with the glittery covers. If you are not familiar with Rainbow Fairy book series each book is exactly that same, I seriously question why there are 100 of these books with the exact same plot. There is fairy with a cutesy name (e.g., Bella the Bunny Fairy) and their dark nemesis is Jack Frost that steals their magical object in every book and they always the missing item back in the end. Fairies live happily ever after. Cue the rainbows and pixie dust. The End. 

Little Bro eats, sleeps, dreams and lives for Lego. His bedroom walls are covered with Lego Ninjago posters, we have the Lego Movie, the Lego Batman movie, the Lego Ninjago movie and he has watched every episode of Lego Ninjago: Master of Spinjitzu on Netflix. When I asked him what his birthday wish was he replied, "to be a real ninja". Hence, he was stoked on a Lego Ninjago party.

Decor.

Big Sis wanted a real fairy at her birthday party but I couldn't catch one and no real fairies responded to my ad on Craiglist so we had to settle on making fairy gardens. Everything for her party was rainbow coloured or pink and sparkly.

Little Bro's favourite ninja is Kai (yes, I know all their names) so everything at his party was red and black. The decor included his Ninjago Lego creations on display and a balloon bouquet that was held together with Lego creation that Daddy (the original Lego Master Builder made).

Venue & Activity.

The activities they picked could not have been more difficult. Big Sis had her party at Garden Works. There was a staff there that read the kids a story about fairies and then taught them step-by-step how to make and decorate their own fairy gardens. The kids were so quiet working on their projects that if a fairy did come and visit, I would have been able to hear her fairy wings flutter. It was really fun watching all the girls (and Little Bro) creating their own fairy gardens and making it their own.

Little Bro had his party at the Kerrisdale Play Palace. It a huge space filled with inflatable bouncy castles and a million screaming children. It is loud and chaotic and the complete opposite of his sister's party venue. Other than a friend getting a bloody nose, I am surprised no one else got hurt with all the climbing, running and bouncing.

The Cake.

 Every year I take on a task that I live to regret. Two year ago it was the Paw Patrol sugar cookies. The year before it was the stupid home made pinata. This year, it was the rainbow layered birthday cake. I figured since it was a Kraft Canada recipe, it couldn't be that hard. I mean if the ingredients are mostly cake mix and jello powder, what could go wrong? Uggg. I had to re-bake the cake three times before I figured how to get it out of the cake pan without falling apart and then carving the cake flat so the layers stack perfectly is not as easy as the three word instruction "Stack the layers" in the recipe. Also because we had no fridge to keep the cake cool at the venue, I had to change the icing from a whipped cream icing to part buttercream part cream cheese icing. Alas, in the end, the rainbow fairy cake turned out alright and it was a lot of fun to hear all the kids squeal in delight as we cut the cake and they saw the surprise rainbow layers.

Little Bro wanted the same multi-layered cake as Big Sis but with black and red ninja colours. I said no way. We comprised on a Dairy Queen ice cream cake with a Ninjago picture printed on edible paper. So much easier.

Food & Fun.

 Big Sis unwrapped all her presents at her birthday and was delighted with all their presents. Sparkly things, crafty projects, Beanie Boos and a real microphone that actually works with loud synthesized back up music.

 After surveying how much stuff she got from her party, we decided for Little Bro's birthday we would try a "$5 & $5" party instead. A couple of my friend's have started doing this and I love it. Each guest brings two $5 bills, one goes to the birthday boy and another goes to a charitable project.  Little Bro picked the Run for H20 of course. We took him to the Lego store after his party and he had enough money to buy a huge Ninjago set that he wanted. Next week, we will go see his auntie who work for Hope International and he can give half of the money so it can go to water projects in Guatemala. Hopefully, we can keep doing this so our kids learn to care for people outside of themselves everyday and even on their birthday.

The After Party.

After the fairy gardens, Big Sis invited a few friends over for a sleepover. There was pizza, candy and loud singing and not a lot of sleeping. In the morning, we made the girls personalized name pancakes.
Little Bro did not ask a sleepover and I am glad he didn't. I don't know if I can handle a room of sugar-crazed four year olds all night. Maybe in a couple of years...

The Verdict:

So that's a wrap. Two parties done.  Phew. I am exhausted. Can't believe these kiddos are another year older. Feeling blessed to see these two grow up and that its about another 365 days before we do this again.