A Beaver Birthday

For the last couple of years Lily has really enjoyed choosing a theme for her birthday party (usually almost a whole year in advance)!  And this year for her 6th birthday she decided that she wanted to have a beaver themed party.  No, not a Bieber party (as in the singer) as one guest thought.  I couldn't be happier that my daughter has no idea who Justin Bieber is, but that instead she was over the moon excited to have a beaver birthday party in honor of her favorite animal!:)  Oh, if only she could stay this young and sweet and innocent forever!  And so this mama did her best to honor the request.  I've learned that with a little creativity you can make just about any theme into a party.  And so I present Lily's 6th Birthday!

 

The day started off with this wonderful gift from her Grammy and Bubba in Wisconsin. Isn't this stand adorable? The sign and curtains change to be able to make it into a lemonade stand or market or post office or puppet show or just about anything you want. My parents bought the stand for her and I transformed it into a flower shop and she loved it!

  Her beaver cake!  

And beaver cupcakes too!

  

The day of her birthday was bright and sunny...in fact I would dare say it was hot. Yes, most of the adults were huddled against the garage for shade and I even saw one friend trying to find shelter under the shade of the swing set fort! This was my first time really having a hot weather birthday and I made a few rookie mistakes. Namely having the food outside. The little "beaver buffet" with various pretzels and dips managed okay but it didn't take long before the cake literally melted into a small pool for chocolate buttercream. And the beaver cupcakes? Let's just say a few of their faces melted off. I was so thankful that I took pictures ahead of time and now I know to keep the food inside!  

Trying to blow out the birthday candle on the melted cake!  

We had cake and snacks first because everything was melted. And then we started the beaver activities by having each of the kids find a beaver mask and tail that Lily had hidden around the yard.  

I was really happy with how the masks and tails turned out, but both Joe and I didn't really think that the kids would keep them on for more than a few minutes. Boy were we surprised when some of the girls barely took them off the whole time (even in the heat)!  

And the sticks they had were real "beaver" sticks that Joe and Lily had found out canoeing the day before. Isn't this the cutest bunch of beavers you have ever seen (minus Eli and cousin Holly)?  

And once they were dressed the part it was time for them to make their own little beaver lodges...out of pretzels, noodles, peanut butter, chocolate frosting, and chocolate chips of course! They all worked really hard and did a great job on their lodges (except for Eli who pretty much just made a pile of chocolate chips and then asked if he could eat it)!  

My original plan a while back was for the kids to construct a life-sized beaver dam. Joe was going to build a frame and the kids would construct the rest of it with sticks. My husband was willing to humor my crazy (but fun idea), but in the end I decided to let him off easy and just do these simple little lodges instead.  

But then out of nowhere, all on their own, the girls started picking up sticks randomly from our yard and making their own beaver lodge/fort. I guess creative (or maybe child-like) minds think alike!:)  

We also played pin the tail on the beaver which was quite entertaining! And after being out in the heat for almost 2 hours we moved inside for gifts. Lily received mostly craft kits (which is just perfect for her right now) and some other sweet little gifts.  

Overall a very unique party for a very unique, special, beautiful little 6 year old. May she grow up to always enjoy beavers more than any teenage pop star!