Hanazuki started out as an online cartoon by Hasbro. I think it eventually moved to TV in the US. As far as I know there will be a season 2 of this show. The toys were in Australia, but only the first wave. I was lucky to pick up a bunch on deep discount when Toys R Us closed. I don’t think people in Australia were very familiar with this cartoon, but I would describe it as a show similar to Strawberry Shortcake/Rainbow Brite crossed with the Pixar movie Inside Out. It’s a very bright and colorful show about a little girl exploring her emotions on her own little moon. The skittles on this cake are meant to represent the moon flower seed in the first episode. The birthday girl requested the wafer cookies on the cake as well so things got a bit out of control, but it wouldn’t look out of place on Hanazuki’s moon.
I made some layered Jell-o that is meant to look like goop. The little figures are treasures, which are like seeds that grow on trees on the moon. Goop is the food for the treasure trees.
Because Hanazuki’s moon is bright and colorful, I put out rainbow colored food for the party. They are not pictured, but I used potato chips to represent yellow. I cut the cheese into star shapes with a cookie cutter so they would be like the little treasures. You could use almost any type of cookie cutter because the treasures are all kinds of cute little things.
One of the characters in the show is Chicken Plant. She is usually in a bad mood and likes to eat Hanazuki’s little bunny-like friends, the Hemkes. She lays pink eggs with dark pink spots that hatch into cute chicks that eventually turn into monsters!
For the party activity, I had the kids make little nichos like the ones people in Mexico make for Day of the Dead. My example is based on Hanazuki, but I had the kids make whatever style they wanted.
To make these, I detached the lids from little tins similar to breath mint tins. I used the openings from the hinges to attach a string to the tin so they can hang easily. In Mexico they use tuna tins, and the frames are made of metal. I made these frames with craft foam. I glued them on with hot glue so they would be ready for the kids to decorate. The first step was to paint the inside of the tin with glue and then fit paper into it. The glue will make the paper soft and it can be pushed in to fit the shape of the tin. I provided beads, plastic gems, and felt for decorations. The kids could add the little Hanazuki treasures to their nichos.