What little girl wouldn’t love a tea party featuring adorable woodland creatures?!
When my oldest daughter Adalyn was turning five, we thought it might be sweet to throw a tea party for her and her friends… but not just any tea party… we wanted to throw in a little twist by making it a Woodland Animal-Themed Tea Party! …Because what little kid doesn’t love cute furry forest creatures?! Venture into the forest with us for the most delightful Woodland Animal-Themed Party!
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The nice thing about a summer birthday is that I can utilize our barn for the party. The inspiration for our celebration was this adorable invitation that I found on Etsy. Pinks, neutrals and florals with shimmering gold accents and I added some lace ribbon! I wanted it to be “dainty” – because, well…tea party!
Join us for a tea party in the woods…
Lovely tea party decor
The burlap and lace runner for our elongated table was actually left over from someone’s wedding that they were going to get rid of. I took it and I actually end up using it multiple times a year ever since! It’s always great when you have some good classic staples to bring out over and over again to help keep your party affordable! I actually found the fun oversize paper roses at Michael’s craft store and had kept them since Adalyn’s very FIRST birthday party in the barn when she turned 1!
I didn’t want to use real teacups for the party, so these paper ones with matching plates that I found were perfect for kids! Instead of serving actual tea on this warm August day, we served organic lemonade and other cool drinks. Perfect!
Tea Party Setup
Believe it or not, I found this white dresser on the side of the road that I use for staging all sorts of things for events in the barn – It’s my blank template and depending on what we are hosting, I’ll just swap things in and out all the time. It’s also super functional with the bottom drawers for holding extra party supplies.
I always love to purchase a small piece of artwork for my kids parties – something that helps to bring me inspiration while planning their party– and this sweet deer artwork was something I found at a Homegoods. It’s also just nice to have something to hold onto for my girls’ bedrooms long after the party is over.
Most Delightful Tea Party Desserts
Each year, my girls and I LOVE to bake together for upcoming celebrations. Sugar cookies are our favorite, and we find cookie cutters to match whichever theme we are doing. In this case, we used forest animals (bear, deer, owls, etc) and invited a very good friend over to decorate them with us one afternoon. My kids always want to be a part of the party planning and prep, and obviously the older they get, the more help they really do become! They feel such a sense of pride in whatever tasks I assign to them. So while our cookies and cake may not look “professional”, I’d rather them be a family effort in putting them together, helping make those memories! Also, our favorite sugar cookie recipe is this. I’ve tried a lot and these are NO FAIL. Trust me on this.
The cake was (very obviously) homemade, but the animal toppers made of fondant and ordered from Etsy.
Flower Crowns
How pretty are these flower crowns?! Upon arrival, guests were invited to pick one to wear.
The Sweetest Woodland Animal Photo Op
I remember when I was a kid, my mom always took the time to make photo-op cutouts for whatever birthday party theme we chose, so of course this only continued on with her grandkids and now she is my go-to cut-out creator for every party! It’s such a blessing to have artists in the family! Kids loved choosing a mask and posing beside the forest creatures!
Cutest critters I’ve ever spotted!
Party Signage
I love to create homemade signage/artwork whenever possible for my kids parties… probably because as I noted above, this is something my mom always did for me as a kid! Believe it or not, this sign is STILL hanging on our playground and it’s been 5 years since this celebration. It’s not in the greatest shape anymore, but whenever I see it, it still brings back all these great memories! Easy, special, (and CHEAP!)
Garden Game
I had my girls collect acorns from around the property a few days before the party and we painted the tops of them different colors so they were a bit more visible. Our little guests all went on a hunt to find as many as they could and the amount that they each found corresponded with small prizes inside the barn! This was such a fun and simple game.
Woodland Animal Ornament Stenciling Craft
For this party’s craft, I purchased small wooden rounds with pre-cut holes so that the girls could design ornaments. I then found some cute adhesive stencils of forest animals that the girls would then stick onto the rounds, dabbing paint with a small sponge brush to stencil, and then they would decorate with adhesive jewels and glue on tiny fabric and paper flowers. This was a lot of the kids first experience with stenciling ever, so the fact that the stencils were adhesive helped greatly! I think they came out so sweet!
Supplies for this craft: Wooden rounds, string, sponge brushes, paintbrushes, acrylic paints, something to hold paint and water (I find that the dollar store is a great place to buy these plastic disposables) stick-on jewels, little flowers, adhesive stencils.
Cake Time!
Piñata Time!
I thought this piñata was adorable and hilarious. How fitting for a massive acorn to be hanging from our big oak tree?!
Balloon Animals
Big balloons are great for any theme you choose, and these woodland animals were just what we needed to add height to the decor in the barn and make the tables look amazing! They also serve as great photo props.
I hope this theme gave you some inspiration to host your own Woodland Animal Tea Party! As always, you can find more party inspiration here!
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