So here it is, my little man's 6th Birthday celebration:
You are Cordially Invited on a Safari Adventure for Kaden's 6th Birthday was the wording on the "Passport" style invitations! The invitation had a stamp of Africa & silhouettes of several wild animals. No one really knew what they were in store for!
So let me start the story of Kaden's 6th Birthday about the "animals"
You can't have a safari party w/out some wild guests!
We hired a company that brought the "zoo" to us! We had a macaw, armadillo, snake, legless lizard, huge frog, bush baby & even a Kangaroo!
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the parade of animals that Kaden was able to handle & each party guest was able to pet if they chose to do so. It was quite interesting & we all learned some random facts to take with us. I have to admit the odor made us open the windows though!!! :)
Kaden requested the bush baby to attend his party from the list of animals we could choose from so here he is:
Random fact about Bush Babies... they urinate on their hands in order to keep them sticky enough to climb! And then this happened:
Needless to say we scrubbed Kaden's hair that night :)
We were all suprised when this adorable furry creature made his debut:
The legless lizard had me uneasy...quite the scwormy worm! Kaden couldn't wait to get his hands on him!
The Frog as big as Kaden's head!
The Snake...wrapped around Kaden's Body!
A very loud Macaw
Nasty looking Armadillo. Still gives me the creeps!
Cute little baby Hedgehog
And here are some of the party guests expressions to all these wild creatures:
Onto the party decorations:
My inspiration always comes from one random object, picture, etc. So on a trip to Michael's Kaden was picking out some animal figurines that were on clearance. He loves animals & his favorite shows include River Monsters, Billy the Exterminator, & anything on Animal Planet. So the idea of a jungle/safari party was born & we went w/ it...I love to find a theme that the kids can contribute to & have fun w/ the planning process as well as the party. That day Kaden picked out about 12 figurines, which we later placed at each child's place setting & then at end of evening put in their goody bag to bring home.
The placemats were found at Publix while grocery shopping! I used self adhesive foam letters for each child's "place-card"
The foam figurines were sold in a bag at Michaels. I used wooden skewer sticks to place at bottom of animal & then add to green grass bags from Hobby Lobby to use at centerpieces on the long table where the party guests sat.
The chalkboard sign was ordered from Oriental Trading & is now used in the kids toyroom. The topiaries are actually part of my fall/harvest decorations that I use in the house so it worked well to pull them out of the attic & use on the table setting. We purchased about 30 bananas that were used as decor & food. The sandwiches for adults were purchased from publix deli & wrapped w/ animal print tissue & tied up w/ twine. The kids "Do Not Feed the Animals" sacks were filled w/ cheese sandwiches, animal crackers & fruit.
The grown ups fruit kabobs were put on bamboo skewers & made into arrangement.
Kaden has some random affection for Bush Babies & sleeps w/ this stuffed furry creature on occassion so I knew we had to use him in the decor :) He sat perched beside the utensils, which were wrapped w/ napkin & tied in animal print ribbon for yet another useful centerpiece and made for easy grab & go when passing out cake.
The Cake.....
The Cake speaks for itself. I love designing the cake for each party! Making it a true decoration for the party & using Heaven Scent Bakery in Cartersville makes this an easy thing to do and taste wonderful too! Kaden picked out what type of animals he wanted for the fondant pieces...choosing a cobra snake, jaguar, & zebra. The tree was actually fondant too & weighed so much that the bakery had to deliver & assemble at my house day of party!
I actually made these banners myself! Super easy. Just bought burlap cloth, cut out squares big enough for letters & then cut small openings in each corner of square. Used twine to connect squares by lacing through cut openings. The letters I found at Hobby Lobby w/ animal print in packages of A-Z so bought 3 packages to have correct letters for banners. Stapled letters onto squares of burlap. Turned out cute, unique, & was inexpensive. Now using the burlap cloth & letters in Kaden's birthday scrapbook.
Kaden's shirt by Janie & Jack & pants by Mini Boden. He loved this outfit!
This is Keith & Kendall watching the animal show! Their expressions are so true to their personalities! Keith is like a kid in a candy store soaking up random facts about these animals & Kendall is wondering why in the world she has to sit still & listen!!!
People who had not been to our house prior had actually asked me if the murals on the wall were painted for the party! I know I tend to go all out for my kids parties but that may have been taking it a bit too far. The jungle mural was actually painted in the kids playroom over 4 years ago by a wonderful & talented artist/photographer, Brandelyn Shirley.
The Hat! This was are last finishing touch & impossible to find. Kaden finally spotted this one at Dick's sporting goods one afternoon & it worked perfect & is now a fun accessory in his costume collection.
The balloons were another Ebay find...the best balloons are on ebay! I usually buy all the big mylar's there & then take them to a local party store to coordinate w/ regular latex balloons & have arrangements done & then blown up day of. Keith always hates being sent on the balloon run for a party! He complains every single time, but he keeps going back for more :)
Kaden & his buddies:
Kaden sent each party guest home w/ a bag full of goodies. The gift bags were basket bags that had a large leaf print found at Michaels for 49 cents each! Tied up w/ gift tag & included placemat & animal from each child's place setting, an animal on a stick craft we forgot to do at party, & their safari hat.
At the end of the night no one really wanted to cooperate for anymore pictures but we managed to squeeze in one more family photo. Another party finished & over but one that I'm sure will be remembered by Kaden forever! And some of his expressions & laughter will be etched in my mind forever. I like to say that is what makes all the work worth it, but honestly it is not work to me. I love to plan a party & to plan a party for one of my children is my gift.
