I like the idea of walking into a party and having something to get involved in right away, so I often have a number of different activities going on and the kids can do the rounds. It does involve having other adults to help you. These are the activities we had at Goose’s Japanese party.
CHERRY BLOSSOM TREE PICTURES
I painted a branch and photocopied it onto pieces of card. We provided some geisha girl stickers, some cherry blossom shaped cutouts (punched out using our origami scraps & some Japanese writing) and some leaf shaped stamps & Japanese symbol stamps (that I already had in my stash) along with some red ink and some pink tissue paper to scrunch up and make their own cherry blossom tree picture. This idea was borrowed from here.
ORIGAMI PAPER FOLDING
We had an origami paper folding table set up with origami paper and printed a few simple origami animal shapes from here and stuck them on the wall with one of each that Goose had already made up. This is the first activity most kids headed for. You can see the table in the background of the photo below.
PAPER FAN DECORATING
I found some blank paper fans at Riot Art and the kids decorated them with textas. Thanks Anna for the idea!
GIANT MIKADO (AKA ‘PICK UP STICKS’)
If you’ve never played this game, see here for more details. This was my Mum’s set that she has had for years, but I have seen them for sale at Australian Geographic.
FUKUWARAI
Translated “Lucky Laugh” in English and traditionally played around New Year in Japan. Just like Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey, players are blindfolded & must try to stick the eyes, nose, mouth & cheeks in the correct places on the face. Thanks to my sister Clare for drawing the face!
You can find more information on the game of Fukuwarai here and some free Fukuwarai printables here.
We also did pass the parcel on the birthday girls request, which we played to the music of the 80′s classic ‘Turning Japanese’ by The Vapors and had a Guess How Many Japanese Lollies in the Jar competition.
- writing your name in Japanese. You can type your name into this website and it tells you your name in Japanese.
- Get the kids to race each other using chopsticks to pick up cheerios or lollies and transfer them from one bowl to another.
It all looks so good! I love how the girls looked
And the games and activities sound great – I wish I was a kid again to go to a party like that!
Well Emma, it certainly makes the kids' parties around this place look very bland indeed. What a wonderful experience for all. Absolutely love all the activities on offer.
This is so cool! I love the cherry blossom trees and fans- such great ideas.<br />The kids look so cute all dressed up… another awesome party!!
This is simply beautiful. What a great idea for a party. I am bookmarking this page for future reference
You are unbelievable, Emma! Just astonishing. The amount of thought, time and effort you put into all this was really worth it, judging from the joy on the children's faces. I am definitely bookmarking this one, for sure! J x
You are a great Mum Emma, what a great birthday party you made for your special girl. Great activities planned to keep them busy I can tell that you spent hours on preparing, it's all just beautiful! xo
ADORE this unique and magical party. You did a fantastic job, Emma!!! x
All those kids in costume – fantastic! And glad you used the fan idea too! Will definitely be following in your footsteps when my girls are a bit older…
Emma – where do i start – you are simply amazing – will you start a kids party planning business soon – Plllleeeeasseee!!!! I don't know where to beging, those costumes are great (how do you own so many??) and I love your choice of food!!! All looks so amazing, you should be so so so proud of yourself. Your images should be in magazines!!! well done and happy birthday goose xx
Seriously amazing job emma…you need to get into party planning! x