How to Organize an Epic Ninja Warrior Party in Your Backyard?

This year, for my kid birthday, I'm making an obstacle course in my backyard. Here's how to organize a ninja warrior party and not break the bank.

Organizing a ninja warrior birthday party in your backyard doesn't have to be an arduous task. You'll need an obstacle course that is challenging enough for your kid age. Plus, you must correctly select the party supplies such as decoration, invitation card, and party favors. Use the following recipe to put together the best ninja warrior party.

Planning the ideal birthday party for my kids has become a complex task. I'm always searching for the perfect idea, gift, cake, food, location, and activity. Every year, I want to beat the last birthdays and make it this one better. Therefore, I put all my creativity and focus on their birthday party organization. Because I want my kids to feel special, but also, I want everyone to be happy, to have a great time and leave with a huge smile.

This year, I was searching for new ideas, and I struck gold! I decided to organize a ninja warrior obstacle course for my kid birthday.

Ninja warrior obstacle course backyard party

What I absolutely like about a ninja warrior party theme is that it's not just another Disney cartoon inspired birthday. We have been there, done that, now I looking for a more inclusive and interactive theme.

I imagine the perfect ninja warrior birthday party will include :

• Impressive ninja decor
• An obstacle course that gets kids moving
• Challenges & gifts for every child
• All the kids are wearing a costume
• A beautiful ninja cake
• Creative and fun crafts activities
• Stellar party favor

Even if my primary inspiration is the American Ninja Warrior TV show, the theme can be modified and adapted to your kid taste and age.

What is American Ninja Warrior?

American Ninja Warrior (ANW) is a televised sports competition, where incredible athletes compete on a spectacular obstacle course. The participants come from all over the worlds and from all walks of life. The obstacles are breathtaking and required lots of ninja skills. Only the best men and women make it to the finish line.

We don't watch much television together, but this is the one tv show we all enjoy together.

An obstacle course for girls and boys!

This theme is not too girly or too sporty. Boy and girl can have fun on the ninja warrior obstacles. Also, do you know a kid who wouldn't want to become a ninja for one day?

It's difficult to organize a birthday party where girls and boys feel included. I intend that every kid at the party will have a good time and no one should feel left out.

This birthday party is the perfect occasion for your kid to be part of a group of special ninjas and have them all test their agility on the obstacles.

Let's start with the party supplies!

Achieving the perfect ninja warrior party required the appropriate party supplies. Apart from the usual balloons and banners, you'll need proper ninja warrior decor items to tie everything together.

It's those little details that will make the birthday extraordinary. Your kid will be happy, as well as your budget because it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

Here are the decor items recommend to create the best ninja warrior party atmosphere!

What colors should you choose?

The first decision you need to make before buying the decoration is which colors you'll be using. You can't just pick any colors. Therefore you'll need a color scheme; a specific range of colors for the decor items.

Here are my color suggestions!

The original color scheme for the American Ninja Warrior tv show as a predominance of red, plus a little bit of blue and white.

On the other hand, your kid might be more into Ninjago, in which case you should find out his/her favorite ninja, and opt for one of the following colors palettes:

• Red and black, plus a little touch of gold = Kai
• Blue and black, plus a little touch of gold = Jay
• Green and black, plus a little bit of gold = Lloyd
• Black and white, plus a little bit of gold = Cole
• Burgundy and blue, plus a little touch of gold = Nya
• White and silver, plus a little touch of black = Zane

Another variation is the Ninja Turtles colors, with lots of green, plus a little touch of red and white. You could also decide to go for a more traditional ninja style, with red and black only.

Once you decide the colors, you can start looking for decorative items.

Ninja party decorations

For the decor, you should stick with the classic birthday decoration; balloons, banners, and garland.

Begin with balloons and get every color from your selected color scheme to create balloons bouquet. After, look for banners and garlands that fit the same color range. You should also consider other decoration items such as paper lanterns, napkins, posters, and invitation cards.

Birthday party invitations

Another great addition to your ninja warrior theme is the invitation cards. Before the party, your kid will invite his friends and what better way to hype the party than a proper ninja warrior invitation.

Here's some example of invitation you could buy from Etsy.

If you're looking for the low-cost alternative, download this free party invitation template.

Ninja warrior birthday party favors

Even if it's not their birthday, the other kids will appreciate receiving a small gift too.

On the other hand, every time my kid go to a birthday party I anticipate the gift they will bring back home. Most of the time it's cheap toys, made of cheap plastic that will end up in the garbage after a week. Those type of party favors are conflicting with the environmental responsibilities I'm trying to teach my kids, so I needed to find a better solution.

What if I could find durable party favors that would fit in the ninja warrior theme. A gift they can play with at the party, but also the next time they see each other.

Here are some party favors ideas that kids will love, as well as environmentally conscious parents (like me).

Ninja costumes

All the children could get a costume to wear during the party and bring back home.

Instead of investing too much cash on the disposable decoration items, you could spend that money on high-grade party favors. Imagine the looks on the kids face when they receive their costume!

Here are some costume examples.

Just like the American Ninja Warrior Tv show, every kid could show their personality with different costumes and ninja nicknames.

Every kid love costumes, because it makes playtime more realistic and more fun. It's not just a toy, it helps develop their imagination and creativity. In my opinion, this is money well spent.

Ninja headband

Maybe the costumes are a bit too expensive, but you like the idea of everyone wearing something in common. In this case, I would recommend a headband.

Handbands totally fit in the ninja warrior obstacle course theme. First, many famous ninjas are wearing headband; such as the Real Life Ninja (Drew Drechsel), the Ninja Turtles, Naruto, and Karate Kid. Also, at every Spartan race, I attend, we all receive a headband with our number.

After, the party, kids can still wear the headband and enjoy their gift for a long time.

Ninja warrior wristband & sweatbands

The wristband and sweatband are also a great addition to a ninja warrior theme.

They can be offered as a party favors or rewards to agility challenge during the party. For example, every time a child completes the obstacle course, he receives the wristband.

At the end of the party, make sure every kid bring back a wristband, and they can all wear it next Monday at school.

American ninja warrior stickers

Stickers are another low-cost party favors that kids would love, and that could be used to customize a hat or a shirt.

Ninja warrior cake or cupcake?

Here's the real challenge when organizing a birthday party, coming up with the perfect cake. Will you take on the full challenge and create your own ninja warrior cake or will you have it professionally made?

On the other hand, you could go with the cupcake options. The cupcakes look so delicious and have numerous advantages over the cake.

The perfect cake will look majestuous, and all your friends will talk about how beautiful the cake was. But you need to consider the other side of the coin.

Will it be big enough for everyone to get a piece? Plus, what size do you need to cut the cake, for everyone to get a part?

In my opinion, cupcakes are less complicated to distribute. You don't need to use a measuring tape to cut every piece of cake identically so no kids will whine about not having the same piece of cake as the other. You just get one cupcake per person, and everyone is happy!

If you decide to make the cake yourself, here are some ideas to make it fit in the ninja warrior theme.

Cupcake toppers

A great way to customize your cake or cupcakes is with toppers. Just stick one of those on top of each cupcake. They also work great on the cake, just make sure to take them off before lighting the candles, or they could catch fire. Check out those example toppers you could get!

How to build a ninja warrior obstacle course in your backyard?

The obstacles are my favorite part of this birthday organization. Now that I have planned all the decoration, party favors, and birthday cake, it's time to create the perfect ninja warrior course.

Planning an obstacle course can be its own challenge. You must consider the age of the participant, the location where the party is held, the time available, your budget, and your DIY skills.

For a backyard birthday party, I would recommend buying ready-made obstacle kits instead of going full DIY and building a warped wall in your backyard.

For more information, I suggest you check out my complete guide on how to create a ninja warrior obstacle course for kids.

Ninja warrior obstacle course kit

The obstacle kits are not expensive, easy to install and thrilling for every child. The kids will have a blast by competing on the obstacles and showing off their ninja abilities.

Also, once the party is over your kid will continue to play with it and improve his ninja skills. It's the kind of toy that gets our kid to be more active and to play more outside. In our home, it's also the excuse to get some family time while doing something we all like.

Ninja Line

The best obstacle kit you could get is the ninja line.

The ninja line as to be attached between 2 anchors points (trees, post, house, garage) and different grip sets are hanging on the cable. The kids need to swing from one grip to another until they reach the other side.

To make it more similar to the obstacles you could find at a Spartan race or any other obstacle race, you just attach a bell at the end and have the kids ring it once they reach the other side.

Slackline

Another great obstacle course equipment you could buy is a slackline. Very similar to a ninja line, but without the grips, the slackline is set up between to solid anchor points, and will test everyone balance and overall ninja agility.

You can fix it close to the ground (12 inches), and have the kids walking on the cable. Also, you could create your own Spartan race obstacle, by fixing the slackline high enough so that the kids can hang from under and crawl to the end. Add a bell to the other side, and you have your own version of the Spartan Tyrolean Traverse.

Depending on the number of kids invited, you might need more than one obstacles, and getting both kits (Ninja line, Slackline) could prevent waiting line.

DIY obstacles

The type of obstacle games you could include in your course are almost endless.

If you have more free time on your hands and you would like to create a more complete obstacle course, I suggest you have a look at the following obstacle ideas.

• Palettes walls
• PVC Hurdles
• Stepping Stones
• Tire jump
• Crawling
• Noodle tunnel
• Balance beam

If you want more information on DIY obstacles, I suggest you check out my article on how to build a DIY obstacle course for kids.

Inflatable obstacle course

Inflatable obstacles and bounce house are simply irresistible for kids. If you have enough space to blow up one of those crazy inflatable obstacles in your backyard, you should go for it.

Kids can play for hours in an inflatable obstacle, and it surely makes the course spectacular. They are especially more suitable for a larger crowd because numerous kids can play at the same time.

The inflatable obstacle can be rented at your local party supply store or both directly on Amazon.

In my opinion, the ultimate obstacle course would include the ninja line, DIY obstacles made with hula hoops and cones, plus a bouncing house. Of course, this is an ideal solution from the kid's point of view. Has a responsible adult, I know I can't just blow all my money on one party, and I must consider my longterm budget.

That's why I have more low-cost activities to suggest.

Easy craft activities

During the birthday, it could be a wise decision to get all the kids together a do crafts activities.

I remember the last birthday party for my daughter, kids were split into small groups, and some become too agitated, while other kids were just left out. This time I think it would be beneficial to regroup everyone, take a pause from the other games and have them work on something fun.

Here are some great crafts activities you should consider.

Create your own ninja mask

Using a black t-shirt, the kids can create a ninja mask.

Ninja star

Every real ninja has a couple of shrunken in his pocket. Here's how to make a paper ninja stars with ordinary paper.

After the activity, the kids could use their shrunken in an agility challenge. Have them throw their ninja star to a specific target. It could be into a bucket, laundry basket or a hula hoop.

Ninja sword, knife, and weapons

I'm not too keen on having my kids play with toys that mimic a real weapon, because it practically ends up every time in a genuine dispute. On the other hand, when I was a kid, I would expect to get a katana with my ninja costume. Therefore, the perfect compromise is to make ninja weapons with paper.

I found some pretty cool ideas that you could teach the kids to make.

How to make a paper ninja sword

How to make a paper throwing knife

How to make ninja nunchakus with paper

Conclusion

Make sure to take loads of pictures, because this birthday party will be memorable. Your little ninja will thank you for organizing such a cool birthday party.

If your kids are not into obstacle course yet, this is a great solution to get your child more active and away from the computer screen.

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