Traditional birthday parties, well ... they are not our family's things. We've always celebrated in unusual ways and this year we were inspired by this GIANT 5-foot-long crocodile from Melissa & Doug.
I have two daughters and every year they help me plan each other's birthday party. Having a child help with party planning is a great way to make them feel special, even if it is NOT their birthday. We also have a tradition of giving gifts vs goodie bags when we host a birthday party. Since our girls' parties usually only consists of a few close friends we have the opportunity to really play with this concept.
The birthday girl happened to come across this awesome stuffed animal online and was absolutely wowed. When she saw the price tag and nixed the croc as a possible gift request. She ended up looking around the Melissa & Doug online store and requesting a Trunki. What we saw was a perfect party opportunity. After looking at the Melissa & Doug giant stuffed animals, we secretly decided to go a little crazy this year and give each of our party guests a stuffed animal.
Because we were going swimming for the afternoon, we decided to roll with animals that lived in or near water. We created "caretaker" labels for each stuffed animal, so the children would know which stuffed animal was for whom, and we attached the tags with giant pink bows.
It sounds like a lot of work, but we had fun doing it. We had my husband drive the birthday girl to the hotel separately so we could sneak all the stuffies into the room without her seeing them. This little party planner was so proud of her secret handy work.
We've got a gaggle of @melissaanddougtoys stuffies in the car! #blogambassador
A photo posted by Zina (@letslassothemoon) on
The children literally went crazy when they saw the stuffed animals. The three girls kept repeating variations of, "This is for ME?" And the best part was when Quinn noticed this guy hiding between the two beds.
Thanks Melissa & Doug. You guys ROCK.
For additional birthday party ideas be sure to check out these posts:
- One of a Kind Party: Fort Building Birthday!
- Giving-Back Birthday Alternative
- Games & Goodies for a Pirate Party
- Zoo Train Party Ideas
2015 Blog Ambassador | Let's Lasso the Moon is proud to be part of the 2015 Blog Ambassador program. We worked hard alongside Melissa & Doug to explore fun ways to keep children inquisitive and to promote classic creative play. This is *not* a sponsored post, nonetheless click here to read our full disclosure. See all Blog Ambassador posts by Zina on Melissa & Doug's blog Playtime Press.
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