Mia's 14th Sumo Wrestling Party!

I do love organising a good birthday party! Our lovely Mia Cinnamon turned 14 on November 4th, and at first we struggled to come up with party ideas. It's a challenging age; young teens are past the era of fully adult-orchestrated parties, but they're not really yet at the stage where they can just be expected to hang out together without any form of focus or entertainment. It might work, depending on the enthusiasm and dynamic of the group, or you might end up with 20 young people all sitting around on their phones! Party disaster!

Eventually we settled on a sumo wrestling party. None of Mia's friends (nor anyone else we know for that matter) had hosted a sumo party before and the unique, fun, physical nature of the activity really appealed to Mia.

So, the theme was set and we got to work. First, I created an invitation and sent it to Mia's friends' mums on a whats app group. Before I went to the time and effort of organising the party, I wanted reassurance that the invitees would be available on that date and would be allowed to come! Thankfully, this is still acceptable amongst Mia and her friendship group, so it didn't cause her any embarrassment!

Once it had been confirmed that we would actually have guests, we made our preparations! Around one week before the big day, Ruby started to paint long signs on white paper, in Japanese writing, to put up on the walls. Google translate reassured her that they said things like, 'Happy BIrthday Mia', 'Mia's Party' and 'Mia is 14', but we couldn't be 100% sure of the accuracy!

We're lucky enough to have a large garage area at the front of the house, which is partially covered. It's absolutely perfect for parties and it's been the scene of many joyous occasions for our family. I envisaged filling the space with Japanese bunting, so I made some by printing out Japanese sumo images, cutting them to size with a paper cutter, punching holes in them and threading a ribbon through to make long lines.

Mia decided she'd like to have a whiteboard at the party to record the guests' number of wins in the wrestling rounds, so I also set about buying trophies for the first, second and third place winners, then filling them with sweets!

The night before, the whole family blew up lots of black and white balloons, which I threaded together to hang up in lines, from wall to wall. We also had a few red balloons, and before blowing them up, we put a little piece of rolled up paper inside with a Mia-approved dare written on it. The idea was, when the party needed a burst of excitement, the kids could start popping the red balloons and carry out the dares. The sumo suits and mat also arrived a day early, because the company didn't deliver at weekends, but it only added to the excitement and build-up!

On the day of the party, Ruby made lots of red vanilla cupcakes, filled with strawberry jam. Meanwhile, I made the birthday cake and George went to pick up the chairs we'd arranged to hire from a local party supplies store. Once the hot midday sun had passed, we pulled out the stepladder and started to put up all the decorations and arrange the furniture. We also borrowed some disco lights from a friend and set up the covered area as the dance zone. We put a smoke machine by the speaker, to help create an authentic disco feel!

As the guests' arrival time drew near, we set up the food table, complete with bowls of sweets, Rubys cupcakes, nachos, crisps and popcorn. We brought out lots of pizzas later on, once the kids had built up more of an appetite! We also had cool boxes full of soft drinks and water, and big bowls full of cups (so they wouldn't blow away in the breeze!)

As darkness descended and the disco lights pulsated to the beat of Mia's play list, the area started to feel really atmospheric! Mia couldn't wait for her friends to arrive...

Meanwhile, at the back of the house, we'd put some fairy lights around the pool and bought some fun inflatables, so the kids could have a dip, if they wanted, after working up a sweat in the sumo suits. We also put a couple of basketballs by the basketball net, so there was a range of options to keep everyone busy and entertained.

Once the kids started pouring in, the party area filled up and the sumo wrestling started. Sadly, George and I were banished to the kitchen at this stage, so my role was reduced to popping my head around the front door every so often, to make sure everything was going ok! Ruby and her friend were assigned to the whiteboard as score-keepers and also acted as general photographers for me!

Once the kids had enjoyed a few rounds each on the sumo mat, and eaten pizza, they started to drift around the back of the house to play basketball and pop some of the red balloons to do the dares. The shaving cream dare was a particular hit, as was the make-up one and jumping in the pool fully clothed. We couldn't help but smile as we listened to howls of laughter through the patio doors!

Next up, we gathered everyone to the front again to sing happy birthday and eat cake. Mia's request was for a shallow, simple vanilla cake, topped with icing and lots of her favourite sweets from IKEA. I have to say, it was ultra sweet, decadent deliciousness, but, as the baker, I am a bit biased! I loved watching Mia's friends sing so enthusiastically and my heart soared when I saw how happy she looked. It's these little moments that make all the planning and preparation totally worth it!

After that, the kids all got changed and jumped in pool. It was energetic, raucous and totally fun! I think they would have stayed in there for the rest of the night, but pretty soon 10pm came around and parents started turning up.

All in all, the idea worked perfectly, but I'm pleased we had a few back up activities for when the sumo enthusiasm died down. Most importantly, it was a celebration that Mia will remember forever with happiness and tender nostalgia, which, as a person who prides herself on being a chief memory maker, makes me feel very warm and satisfied!