N got to celebrate his big day for a week. I started decorating the house a week before the actual party, and I was glad to have it so festive! N really wanted a Totoro Party. Our family has a very soft spot in our collective family heart for the Studio Ghibli animated films and Totro is at the squishy center. I set to work checking out blogs from moms that had done the same thing, I filed some good ideas away and wondered if I was really going to pull this off? I found a site dedicated to free printable's I used for hanging ceiling decorations, I found another that offered free wallpapers that I downloaded and printed up for magnets. The kids and I started sunflower seeds so our guests could take home a few sprouts a la the acorn garden scene. I visited a handful of Asian markets to pick and choose a few snacks that our American kid palates would appreciate. I began strategizing how to pull off a Cat Bus birthday cake and Soot Sprite and Totoro carnival games...I had waaaaay too much fun with this.
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| Seed Starting |
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| Making Acorn Bean Bags |
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| Turned out Great! |
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| Exacto |
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| These Guys were Lurking Everywhere! |
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| Making Pom Pom Soot Sprites |
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| Assembly Line |
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| Super Cute |
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| Late Night Cake Assembly |
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| Magnets |
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| Bean Bag Toss Final Product |
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| Hiding |
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| Fishing for Soot Sprites (we also had leaf hats and soot sprite necklaces ) |
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| Bubbles are always a hit |
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| Soot Sprite Balloons |
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| Take Home Gifts |
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| The weather was so nice |
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| The finished product |
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| Surveying the Goods |
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| Stamp of Approval |
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| Blow out the candles |
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| Soot Sprite Cupcakes |
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Gifts! (notice the lovely Totoro hat he got!
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