Last year, Savannah turned 5 a few weeks after Covid hit and the world shut down. We ended up having a “Zoom party” to celebrate her birthday because we still weren’t gathering with anyone else in person at that early stage of the pandemic. It was definitely a unique celebration, but we quickly learned that nothing can replace being with your friends and family in person.. We had been planning a “stuffed animal adoption party” before we had to switch to the Zoom party, so we decided to make it happen this year for her 6th birthday instead!
We originally planned to have the party in our backyard on the afternoon of Saturday, April 24th. We were comfortable with the idea of inviting both friends and family and letting the kids run and play since we would be outside the whole time. Well, the weather on the 24th didn’t end up cooperating. It rained and was really windy, so we decided to postpone the party to Sunday, April 25th at 3 pm instead. It worked out well because we didn’t have evening church services at that point, which gave us plenty of time for setup and cleanup afterward. Thankfully, everyone who was planning to come on Saturday was still able to come on Sunday too!
Paw and Rae Rae came up on Saturday afternoon and spent the night with us so they would be here for the big party!
We decided to let Savannah open a few presents that night to minimize the gift opening at the actual party the next day. She didn’t mind getting to open some things a day early! ;)
I loved the sweet and funny messages that Brooklyn taped to her gift for Savannah…all wrapped up in a Walmart bag! :)
Brooklyn got a hug from Paw during the gift opening…
Savannah had been learning about weather in school, and she loved this weather book from Aunt Jenn and Uncle Chandler!
Before bedtime that night, Savannah showed off her reading skills to Paw and Rae Rae. It was a fun evening!
We all went to church Sunday morning, came home for lunch, and got everything ready for the party afterward. The inspiration for this party was actually a birthday party that Brooklyn attended in kindergarten. It was such a cute idea that I knew I wanted to recreate it one day ;)
I ordered a bunch of 8″ Aurora stuffed animals (cats and dogs) in various colors/breeds on Amazon. The cat and dog carriers were gable boxes that I found at Hobby Lobby. Travis and my dad cut the holes in the front of the boxes. My mom got the white fence from someone at their church who had used it for a party and didn’t need it anymore.
Once each child picked out their animal, they were supposed to come over to this table to pick up an adoption certificate and a blanket for their pet.
We had markers and stickers for the kids to decorate their pet’s house :)
I also set up a couple of tables where the kids could make a collar for their pet out of pipe cleaner and beads. We had colorful beads as well as letter beads so they could put their pet’s name on the collar if they wanted to.
I also set up a station with a “pet hospital” for the kids to give their new pet a checkup!
Since the party was from 3 PM to 4:30 PM, I didn’t worry about trying to make a bunch of food. We just had a few simple snacks and called it good!
I ordered cupcakes from Publix and added the toppers from an Etsy digital party pack that I downloaded and printed myself.
Chloe was our first guest to arrive. We turned on our bubble machine, and the girls played with bubbles and played on the swingset while we waited for the other kids to start coming.
We invited Carter, Luke, Barrett, the girls in Savannah’s class, and two neighborhood friends, and everyone was able to come except two, so we had 12 kids in all.
The kids all enjoyed picking out their animal to adopt and making a collar for it and decorating its house :)
Abigail was glad to have Paw’s help with the different activities :)
She picked out a black and white cat and named him “Black Stop”…haha
Brooklyn picked out a black and white dog and named him Oreo. I was really glad we decided to use pipe cleaners for the collars rather than string. They were much easier for the kids to handle, and the beads didn’t fall off once they were on.
Our backyard is pretty small, but there was still enough room for all the activities plus space for the kids to run and play. This was the first party we’ve hosted in our backyard since we took the fence down and replaced most of the concrete with grass. It couldn’t have gone better!
The kids also enjoyed playing on the swingset and just running around playing with their new stuffed animals. Everything went really smoothly!
Savannah was so happy the whole time! She picked out a white dog and named her Cutie. She really took her time decorating her house and filling out the adoption certificate.
I was excited to see some of the girls giving their pets a checkup and using the things I’d set out :)
Savannah doesn’t mind a little quiet time, even at her own party ;) She didn’t make her dog’s collar at first when we had everything out, so she came back later on during the party to do it.
Savannah acted a little shy while everyone was singing to her, but she did great when all the girls crowded around while she opened gifts. She told everyone “thank you”, and I was so proud of her for not being afraid!
It was funny to see all the girls so interested in the gift opening. They were oohing and ahhing over so many of the gifts, especially a little plastic cat that made noise (from Kayla). Savannah got lots of arts and crafts stuff, several books, and many other fun things.
All the kids with their new pets!
It couldn’t have been a better afternoon! The weather was perfect (except for a little wind that blew some things off the table a time or two). Everyone seemed to have fun, and I loved how it all turned out!
Savannah said it was the best day ever…just like her shirt said!!
After our guests went home and we got things cleaned up, we headed to Culver’s for supper with Paw and Rae Rae before they drove home.
We couldn’t have pulled everything off without Paw and Rae Rae’s help setting up beforehand. They were a huge help!
So, Savannah’s party was on April 25th, but her actual birthday wasn’t until a few days later on the 29th. Things went downhill quickly at our house after the party. The next morning, we woke up to find that Gabby had thrown up blood in two different places in the house. I took her to the vet that morning, and after they did some bloodwork and an x-ray, they decided that she needed to stay overnight. She was borderline anemic and they were concerned that she could be bleeding internally. So Gabby ended up staying 2 nights before we picked her up Wednesday morning. I was afraid to get the bill, but it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be (~$650). Travis joked that Gabby was ordering room service while she was there, and the worst part of all was that she came home on 5 meds…haha. Several of them were twice-a-day meds. So that was fun ;)
Abigail, Brooklyn, and I also all had colds that week. I felt especially bad for several days…chills, muscle aches, low energy, congestion, sneezing, etc. The girls seemed like they felt okay other than sneezing and congestion. Abigail was pretty whiny on Monday and Tuesday, so I don’t think she was feeling great those days. Wednesday I was feeling bad enough that I decided to go get tested for COVID just to make sure that’s not what it was. Thankfully the rapid test came back negative and the PCR came back negative the next day too. That would have been bad luck to get a positive test in between my first and second shot!
Thursday was Savannah’s birthday, and I planned a birthday scavenger hunt for her as a fun way for her to find her gift from us. She had to wait for the scavenger hunt until after Brooklyn’s soccer practice, and then not too long after we got home, Abigail was running and knocked one of her front teeth loose on the end table in our living room. She cried hard, and it bled a lot. Thankfully the tooth didn’t come out, and the dentist said it would hopefully move back into place on its own over the next few weeks. I know it hurt…the end table has tooth marks now. So poor Savannah had to wait until after all that was over for her scavenger hunt.
It was fun to see the girls race all over the house to find the different clues.
Her gift was hiding in her car seat in the van. It was a big polar bear…too big to wrap, so that’s another reason I planned the scavenger hunt ;)
Polar bears are Savannah’s new favorite animal, so she was REALLY hoping for a big polar bear stuffed animal. She was so excited, and she decided to name him Icer. He sleeps in her bed many nights, and she still loves him months later.
We were glad that Savannah felt so loved during all her birthday festivities. She is so special to us, and it’s hard to believe she is already SIX!
