Our Woodland Party

A few weeks ago, Kara got her new buddy Silver.  She has always had a great love for woodland animals.  Last Halloween she even  had me make her a fox costume.  When I asked her what she would like for her theme this year, she said definitely a Woodland Animal Party.

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She invited 7 friends, and 6 of them were able to attend.  Her older sister had a few friends stop by as well.   Decorating for the party was a lot of fun.   Earlier in the week, she made her moss letters and we added them to the dessert table.

This was not my original plan for the decor.  I originally hung 2 of the red paper lanterns and the 2 owl lanterns over the table.  I also designed a cardboard tree that I was going to use as a part of the backdrop.  Things did not go as planned though.  I messed up when measuring  the tree.  I needed it to be about 6 feet tall, but when I brought it in the house I realized it was 2-3 feet too tall. I forgot to compensate for the length of the branches. There was also  not a good way to attach the tree and get it to stand up, so we had to come up with plan B.   The tape on the lanterns would not stick to the ceiling, and when  one fell for the third time, I decided not to rehang them. I also had trouble with the green panel on the right. For whatever reason it did not want to stay put and fell to the ground several times. While I love the fabric I bought from IKEA, it was kind of slippery to work with.    I used a real branch from a tree that had been removed a few weeks ago instead.  Even though this set up was plan B, I really liked it.

After all the girls arrived, they went on the deck to paint birdhouses that we found at JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts. You can find similar bird houses like these at DollarTree.com

We had set up several outdoor games in the backyard, but once again it was pretty hot.  Instead of being in the high 90s like last year, it was in the high 80s.  Instead of playing games like badminton, the girls mostly all sat under our canopy on the log stools that I had placed there. I had planned on painting woodland animals on them, but ran out of time. Oh well, I can still do that at a later time.

Each of the girls posed with their favorite woodland animal by the cardboard tree. It was so big that it fell twice before we took the pictures, but it got the job done.

We played Pin the Nose on the Fox game that this year Kara designed.  The only girl who I am pretty sure cheated this year was Kara.  She is the only one who got the nose almost exactly where it needed to be..  Hmmm....

It was then time for food.  I was a little bummed about the cupcakes.  I had planned on piping on the quills to each of the cupcakes.  In the end I was  so pressed for time, and could not find my piping bags, so I just used two colors of frosting and some mini chips for the face.  The kids loved them just the same as they would had I spent a lot more time adding quills on them.  Either way they were delicious!

On the main table, I had another hedgehog watermelon.  I am glad that I had made a practice version, because I had to whip this one out  just a few minutes before the party.

In the big bowl was Survive In the Woods Trail Mix , and chocolate dipped strawberries.

There were little cups of pond jello, that were a big hit.

The kids also loved the smores pops and chocolate acorns.

Not pictured, we also had orange fruit cups, and pinwheel pizza snails.  I  had made some cheese/tomato mushrooms, that were forgotten in the fridge.. Ooops!.    In the pitchers on the kitchen  table, were ice water and orange sherbet punch.    While the girls were outside, they also had access to Capri Sun.

Blowing out the candles.. It is hard to put 11 candles on a cupcake, so she chose to use only 2.

In order to save on the number of paper cups used, I gave each of the guests their own jar marked with their name for drinking glasses.  It fit in nicely with theme, and not once was there a mix up on whose cup belonged to who.

There were a few added touches around the house, that helped with the theme. I made the mushroom just by using a green planter and a dollar store moss form upside down.

When it was time to go, each guest got to take an owl goody bag  from the owls nest.

Overall the party was a success, and Kara and her friends had fun.  That is what really counts!!!  I was a bit bummed when after the party I realized I forgot to take a group shot of the girls.  I did get pictures of each of them on their own, so at least I have that.  Another year, and we survived another party.

I bought many of the supplies for this party at the Dollar Tree.  If you are considering hosting a Woodland Party, here are items you might want to consider. 

bamboo skewers 

toothpicks

plastic party cups (jello fish bowls)

wooden birdhouses

serving trays  for the cupcake tiered tray 

plastic serving plates 

floral foam and brown paper (skewer holders) 

mason jars - here is a great alternative glass mugs with handles

paper lunch bags