Have you seen the Netflix movie that has become a worldwide phenomenon?! My daughter begged me to watch it after listening to the music with her friend. I wasn’t thrilled with the title but I watched it with her, and I was very pleasantly surprised!
I always say I mostly don’t like musicals but this one passes the test! It’s so catchy and the song Free is especially beautiful. The story line is unique and quite refreshing.
Then my daughter asked for a KPDH birthday party. I have always given her a themed birthday since she was 4…it seems I can’t stop!
After I reserved the space and sent invitations, I started on the party favor of the knot bracelet from the movie. I found a tutorial on YouTube and ordered a set of cord that had purple & blue. I just wasn’t sure if I could do it. I brag about how good I am at undoing knots, but tying them? Well…
I won’t lie; it was an undertaking! You can just buy bracelets, but if you like to DIY and you have the time and patience to learn, it’s fun once you get the hang of it. Plus I’ve gained a new skill of an ancient craft!
I spent 2 full days just learning and practicing the 3 knots which are the X-knot (smallest), Clover Knot (medium) and Chrysanthemum knot (biggest), then about a week making the bracelets. I watched other tutorials whenever I was stuck on a step and that helped. After the first 5 or so, I memorized the steps!
The most challenging aspect wasn’t setting up the knot where you cross all the cords in a certain way (above); in fact it was the TIGHTENING of the knots. If you pull the wrong cords, it just won’t work. After lots of practice, I finally learned the right cords to pull. Then you tighten it one cord at a time, starting from the top (where you began) to the bottom.
I also started to develop a callous on my left index finger, so I recommend wearing a bandaid if you’re making many. I didn’t realize the cord I ordered was so tiny (only 1.5mm), so that probably increased the difficulty. Be sure to check the size!
If you use satin cord, it’s slippery, so the knots won’t stay tight unless you add glue. I used Aleene’s Jewel-It Embellishing Glue on just 1 side and that seemed to keep it all in place. Para cord might be better if you can get the right size (maybe 2-3mm).
Finally, I ordered purple organza bags (Amazon) to put the bracelets in so they wouldn’t get lost.
Next, I came up with a craft for the kids to have an activity: a paper bag puppet inspired by Derpy, the blue tiger from the movie. I added it to my Etsy shop (here) for download! I also threw in a printable polar bear like the one Mira wears, which I used to decorate more blue paper bags for party favor bags.
I got a bunch of Elmer’s glue (scored them for 50 cents each on back-to-school clearance), borrowed scissors from my church, and the kids just cut and glued on the pieces.
For the decor I made a stage backdrop with purple streamer curtains (Amazon), a gold number balloon ($1 at Walmart), and gold diamond-shaped balloons (Target). Purple is a strong color theme in the movie with Rumi’s hair (the main character), and so is gold, with the song Golden. I remembered in time that I still had gold table covers from my daughter’s golden birthday, so I used them again!
My daughter requested Rumi’s braid for her hairdo, which I believe is called a Dragon Braid, where you actually make a bunch of ponytails, split them in 2, then wrap around the next ponytail. I watched a few different YouTube tutorials and it worked pretty well. Another party guest also came dressed up with purple hair chalk and a braided hair extension which was SO fun!
For a cake topper (we had a donut cake), I made a 6″ Demon Hunters style number 8 stencil, cut it out of gold foil and glued it on purple paper, then taped a toothpick on the back. You can also use gold paper from gift bags or gift wrap. You can print it too here, for free! I also used it on a purple balloon (but only put it on one side or it will get too heavy for the helium to hold up). If your party isn’t for an 8-year-old, the HUNTR/X logo symbol would look great too!
On the table I added a little plastic doll couch (Dollar Tree) and added tiny signs on it that say “COUCH!” like in the movie. It would also make a great party favor, but you’d have to order enough of them!
I heard from a KPDH Facebook group I joined that Five Below had KPDH posters, so I had my parents grab 1 of each when they were near the store (MAN I wish I had a Five Below nearby, my favorite shop). I also heard they are available at Dollar Tree but I can’t confirm. They really enhanced the look, and my daughter is thrilled she gets to keep them.
For an activity, we already had a play speaker microphone, so we put some fresh batteries in it, played the soundtrack on a portable speaker, and the kids could sing along. It was SO much fun hearing them all singing together.
For beverages I made labels, printed them on sticky sheets, then put them on Capri-Suns to look like the tonic from the movie. I used ChatGPT to generate the image for me (which was a HUGE time saver instead of rendering the image myself) and printed them on sticker paper. Easy!
Along with the bracelets, I filled the party favor bags with Cup Noodles (62 cents/ea at Walmart), candy, and KPDH stickers (Amazon).
And that’s how the party was “Done-Done-DONE!” Have you seen the movie? What would you add to the party? Leave me a comment below!
