Annika's Birthday Party (part 1)

Last year, we wised up and realized separating the friend birthday party from the family birthday party was one smart plan. It keeps the chaos a bit more manageable and that is always a good thing.

This year, we chose to do an off-site party for the friend portion of her birthday celebration. I read about an art studio for kids called Roaring Mouse and figured it would be a great option for us ... and it was! The owner asked about Annika's interests, favorite books, etc. so she could come up with a good project for the kids. We wound up with the idea of the kids making treasure boxes with a "Where the Wild Things Are" theme. Perfect!!

We started off with a little free-play time while we waited for Annika's friends to arrive. The studio is split into two sections: one for art and one for play. The kids had a great time exploring all of the new toys and dove right in to playing together... even though many didn't know each other before the party.

Once everyone was on hand, Cheryl (the studio owner) explained the project to the kids. Each child was given a wooden box and was instructed to paint it. Next, the kids sculpted "wild thing" faces out of sculpting clay. Cheryl baked the clay when the kids were done and hot glued the faces to each child's lid. Really cute idea and the kids had a lot of fun.

After play and art, it was time for CUPCAKES! Annika requested strawberry cupcakes, which I happily provided. I wound up making strawberry cupcakes filled with strawberry compote and topped with strawberry Italian buttercream frosting... mighty tasty, if I do say so myself!

As we drove home, Eric and I patted ourselves on the back for deciding to have a party that didn't require us to prep all morning, scurry around during the party, and then clean up after everyone left. This really was a great approach to Annika's birthday party... and the kids had fun. Win and Win!

Thank you to everyone who helped make today such a special day by attending Annika's party!

These goggles were a hit for just about all of the kids

Annika and her BFF Valeria

Cheryl explaining the art project

Conor, Anne, Valeria, and Annika

Paint jars (I was being artisty with this one)

Annika painting her treasure box

Conor, Anne, and Valeria painting their boxes

Easton, Ethan. and Grace working on their projects

Daniel giving his treasure box a coat of green paint

Conor deep in thought

Did I mention the goggles??

Anne and Nicola

Grace, Ethan, and Annika sculpting their wild thing faces

Eric lending Conor a hand

Grrr!!!

Creative kids at play

Daniel and Kate

The kids also made wishes to put inside their treasure boxes; Annika's wishes
were to go to outer space and be the princess of the entire world. Aim high, little one!!

Annika blowing out her candles

Anne really got into her cupcake

Annika's wild thing treasure box