turned two, and I've got to say, two years old becomes her. In celebration of the big day, we held a Maurice Sendak Little Bear party. For those not in the know, Little Bear is a 6-year-old brown bear cub who, along with his friends Owl, Duck, Hen, Cat, and Emily, loves to explore the woods around his home and create adventures. Our little one is just smitten with the books and TV show.
As usual, we're on a very tight budget at the moment, but with a little ingenuity, a well-stocked craft room, and the good fortune of Dollar Tree stocking many useful crafting items, we managed to hold the party for only $15!
The birthday banner was made from crepe paper leaves and hand-cut letters to spell out her name. The letters were made from the same fabric as the tablecloth I sewed for my very first apartment (which has held up well and graced our buffet table). We hung the leaves from twine with simple laundry clothespins.
Little Bear loves chocolate cake, so a big, gooey one stood front and center at our party. I decorated the cake plate by hot gluing a moss roll (dried moss attached to a mesh wire backing) to our glass cake plate. The roll peeled right off when we were done with it.
The plate sat on a bed of leaves made by stitching some old silk leaves (left over from my Mumkin project) together at the corners and adding a smattering of buttons for interest.
No Little Bear meal would be complete without fish sandwiches (tuna) and honey sandwiches (peanut butter and honey). I scattered some seashells around the fish sandwiches in hopes The Mermaid would turn up for an ocean adventure.
One Little Bear story tells of Little Bear thinking his mother forgot his birthday, so he takes it upon himself to make some "birthday soup" to serve to his friends. He used "carrots and potatoes, peas and tomatoes," so we served up some vegetable soup of our own.
We all enjoyed some "zingy" lemonade, which fortunately was sweeter and far less zingy than the batch Little Bear once attempted. Ours had some blackberries floating in the lemonade, just like Little Bear loves to gather.
When Emily's Granny thinks something is silly, she pronounces it "a lot of applesauce," so we enjoyed some in her honor.
The food markers were made from reindeer moss glued to floral foam disks purchased from the dollar store. I used white school glue, and the moss held just fine. I then stuck a barbecue skewer in the foam base, printed out some Little Bear images I found online onto vellum along with the names of the dishes, and glued the vellum "flags" onto the skewers.
Other tablescaping included:
- shredded aspen wood found at Michael's craft store scattered all around to make things look woodsy
- polished stones
- moss-covered stones nestled here and there, purchased from the dollar store
Overall, the party was quite a success, with good friends, good food, and a sweet brand-new two year old to keep everyone entertained.
2 comments:
Lots of love went in to this delightful celebration. I had to pay a visit to your space here just due to your website's name alone! We read the Laura Ingalls books over and over again aloud here, we have visited her homestead in DeSmet, and we have shared a couple posts on pioneer activities to do with children. Happy to have found someone else who delights in Laura Ingalls enough to name her website after her! ~heather
It's always nice to meet a kindred spirit, Heather!
DeSmet is high on our family bucket list. Your pioneer project ideas are darling. I'll have to add them to our to do list, because I know my little ones would get a kick out of them. Thanks for the inspiration!
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