A Ninja Climbing Party + Mpix Invites & Thank Yous

Portions of this post are sponsored. 

However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

In keeping with birthday celebrations, we gave Marcus the choice to either go on a staycation of sorts, or have a party. Last year he opted to hit up Great Wolf Lodge. I was secretly hoping he'd want to do more of the same this year. However, to celebrate turning seven, he was very persistent of having a party with his friends.

Over the last few months Marcus has become a bit of a ninja fanatic, so a ninja birthday theme was easily secured. 

Next step was creating birthday invitations. In year's past we've done text invites and email invites, but this year I really wanted something tangible that could be handed out to kids.  

After creating an invite on one of my favorite apps I uploaded my creation on Mpix customizable cards and had them printed up in no time. Per the usual, Mpix was beyond easy to use, shipping was insanely fast, and the quality was second to none.  

I also created a thank you card for Marcus to write his thank yous for birthday gifts. I've heard thank yous are a dying thing, but not in this house! Immediately post party Marcus sat down to write out his thank yous.

Handing out those Mpix invitations and sending thank yous was just so much more fun than hitting the send button on an email.

On to the party and the venue...

It was quickly agreed that Sender City Rock Climbing facility would be perfect place for a ninja themed birthday party. 

Fast forward to party day. Sixteen of Marcus' classmates, baseball buddies, and friends joined us to celebrate Marcus.

With multiple walls to climb, and plenty of staff to help assist with hooking kids into the belays, everyone was able to climb their hearts out.

I was so busy enjoying the party, oogling over how awesome the kids were doing climbing, as well as hooking kids into belays I didn't get as many photos snapped as I'd hoped, but enough to remind me what a fun day it was for everyone. The smile plastered on my face might have been as big as most of the climbers. 

And I have to prove Julia was there too.

The facility hostesses were the best we've ever experienced. From decorations to party favors, everything was set up before we ever stepped foot into the room. And, the food was exactly what seven year olds love (pizza).

The greatest part of all? From party start to party finish I didn't have to do a single thing and had exactly zero clean up. Can I get an Amen?

The icing on the proverbial cake was hearing from kids and parents alike how much fun they had climbing.

But, from Marcus, the words, "That was the best party ever!" Made turning seven the biggest birthday party success.

Cheers to seven, and a year full of ninja awesomeness!