Little Devil's Asian-Inspired Graduation Party

I know I've bragged about my "Little Devil" until I'm blue in the face and you're red in the ears, but you only graduate from high school once.  Aside from our nephew (who is like a son to us) Little Devil is our only child.  Our "baby".  The baby who is going off to college.  Please allow me to brag on her just a moment, because she truly deserves it.  Murri (AKA Little Devil) was a recipient of the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship.  The scholarship pays $250,000 over 5 years to any college in the United States.  After applying to several schools and being accepted to such prestigious universities as Pepperdine and Drake University, Murri chose the University of Denver.  She also received the Taylor Scholarship from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.  In addition, she received another $2,000 from a local Shelter Insurance agent.  Needless to say we are quite proud and quite fortunate.  The doors of opportunity are opened fully for her.  She has also been a life-long member of the honor roll, works 25 hours a week at Chick-Fil-A, participates in the DECA business program and a youth leadership program with our Indian tribe.  Somehow she finds the time to babysit, participate in Habitat for Humanity, donate to our local animal shelter, take cooking classes and help out around the house too!  She's a very special young lady and we wanted to celebrate her accomplishments with a party in her honor.  I've told you before that she absolutely loves sushi, and Asian food in general.  It wasn't too hard to decide on a party theme for her.  I settled on an Asian theme right away.  Good Luck and Good Fortune seemed an appropriate theme for someone with her achievements.  I borrowed any and all "Asian" decor items I could find from friends and family members, and ordered a few things to make the day extra special.  It wasn't too hard to come up with a menu.  I just needed a call to our local sushi restaurant.  I did however, make quite a few Asian-inspired appetizers to accompany the sushi!  I hope you enjoy:

I used the table in the dining rooms for gifts
and party favors.  I framed her scholarship awards,
for the world to see.  I framed a collage of some of my
favorite pictures of Little Devil growing up, as well as
her gorgeous senior picture.  The centerpiece
was a vase filled with marbles and twigs from the
backyard painted black.  Hanging from the twigs
were glass ornaments that looked like a fortune cookie and a Chinese food take out box.

For party favors I ordered graduation-themed
fortune cookies from Oriental Trading Company.
I also ordered graduation and Chinese-themed
rubber ducks.  Little Devil has a massive
rubber duck collection and I thought all of the party
go-ers would appreciate having a little duck too!

Here's my beautiful girl...

A platter of ducks, and some Chinese Zodiac placemats,
rounding out the decor...

From our chandelier I hung Asian lanterns.  I even found
lanterns that looked like graduation caps too!

The kitchen table was used to serve the food...

For sauces, I provided a little tray of Sriracha sauce, soy sauce
sweet chile sauce and wasabi...

We ordered LOTS of sushi to go.  I would have
preferred serving it on a pretty platter, but the sushi chef
made such fabulous designs, I was afraid to remove it
from the foil pan.  You don't even want
to know how much sushi was ordered
and eaten!  (Oh well, we aren't having
to pay for college!)

My mom and aunt had some cute Bento boxes that made
great serving pieces for Wasabi Peas and Sriracha Peas.
You just snack on
them like peanuts or chips.  Beware, they are SPIC-EY!)

Pictured here is:   Ramen Noodle Coleslaw,
Asian Green Beans and Thai Celery Sticks.
I used Little Devil's Good Luck Cat, as the
place card theme to label all of the foods.  So cute!
You can find the recipe for the Ramen Noodle Coleslaw HERE,
the recipe for the Asian Green Beans HERE,
and the recipe for the Thai Celery Sticks HERE.

No Asian-themed party would be complete without a
bamboo plant for a centerpiece.   And a few
Deli Sushi Sandwiches for those too shy for the real thing!
You can find the recipe for the Deli Sushi
Sandwiches HERE.

Chicken Satay...
You can find the recipe HERE.

Asian Meatballs with Dipping Sauce...
Be sure to try that recipe HERE.

Almond Cupcakes with Cherry Buttercream Frosting
Recipe can be found HERE.

I made the cake stand from a candle holder and a
Chinese Checker game board.

Candy Sushi was a big hit!
The directions for making candy sushi
can be found HERE.

Who doesn't love Pocky?
(Little Japanese biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate!)

Chow Mein Cookies for dessert...
Topped with Maldon sea salt. 
These were a sweet, salty delicious hit!
You must try these!  The recipe can
be found HERE.

The Party was absolutely fabulous.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy the food and decor.   We were so appreciative of everyone who came to celebrate in Murri's honor.  I hope you will try some of them at your next party.  I've already made the Chow Mein cookies for two other occasions.  The meatballs have been added to my tailgate recipe rotation, and the green beans are about to become a holiday side-dish staple.  Thank you for celebrating along with me and I look forward to all of you keeping me company as Little Devil prepares to leave the nest.  It's a bittersweet time for us, but we are absolutely exploding with pride and excitement for her!