This was a very special birthday. For the Claire and Oliver’s birthdays in April and May, we could not physically celebrate with anyone but our little family of five. While that was sweet and intimate, we were thrilled that about a week before Gus’s fourth birthday, our governor announced that we had moved to Phase Two of the Safe Start Plan and could finally gather in small groups again. Gus got to have a few extra family members there to celebrate with him, including his two cousins. The day felt especially joyful because of this reunion!
I love sharing the eco-friendly choices we make for our parties. It has been slightly harder to live a low-waste and conscious lifestyle during the pandemic. Amazon and other online orders feel a bit safer than running around from store to store, but they come with so much extra packaging. Many coffee shops no longer allow you to bring your own cups. Some grocery stores weren’t allowing reusable bags for a while, although now I think bringing bags is allowed as long as you bag your own groceries. My husband often works out of town and with three small kids it is often safest for me to order groceries online and pick them up. These pickup orders come in plastic bags. I am trying to give myself some grace for these things. Although this sure feels like a marathon, it is a temporary situation. I will do what I can for now and I know we’ll get to a place again where we can pick up our old habits again. We were still able to have a relatively low-waste party for Gus by using what we had as much as possible, using paper as opposed to plastic, and choosing reusable instead of disposable.
On to some details…let’s start with the crown! Making a birthday crown has quickly become my favorite thing about preparing for a birthday party. I like that I can hand-sew them instead of using the machine, so I can work on it anywhere once the pieces are cut. While I’m sewing, I think about the birthday boy or girl and the things that are unique about them and ways to honor them on their special day. I like incorporating the age they are turning or colors that they like or something that goes with the party theme. This time I added a four with dinosaur spikes and jungle leaves. I used elastic covered with cotton fabric for the back. I used only materials I had on hand. I like to refer to Natalie Trusler’s Magical Birthdays for Children e-book for crown and other birthday inspiration. She has great ideas on how to make birthdays meaningful. In the background of the above picture you can see I hung pictures of Gus along with a felted ball garland that I made.
For favors, I sewed these T-Rex eggs using scrap felt and embroidery thread. I tucked little T-Rex figurines inside. We had a set of dinosaur figurines that we were given by our neighbor. They must have been at least 30 or 40 years old by the look of the label on the container.
I wrapped the eggs in paper snack bags. We love these bags from the brand If You Care, as well as their parchment paper . I punched holes in the bags and tied them shut with a piece of baker’s twine.
These party hats are made from cardstock and baker’s twine. I used this template and then glued the spikes on.
I love using paper globe lanterns in place of balloons. I save them and use them over and over, along with the paper fans. I think they are prettier and a little classier than balloons anyway! I found a leaf template online and used it to cut leaves out of green construction paper to create a jungle feel.
I thought this wooden t-rex skeleton was a fun decoration. I love incorporating neutral colors because they are calming and bring balance. Of course I also love that this little dino is made of a sustainable material instead of plastic.
I used scrap fabric and twine to make the bunting for the mantle. Like for Oliver’s party, I sewed tunnels on the tops of the pennants for stringing on twine instead of purchasing bias tape. I saved a trip to the store, a few bucks, and some plastic packaging. The other great benefit to this way of making fabric bunting is that I can easily take the pennants off the twine and interchange the colors for future parties so that way I am more likely to reuse them.
We used real plates and silverware and cloth napkins. We’ve been doing this for parties for over a year now and I won’t ever buy disposable tableware again.
My mom made this incredible cake. Making a birthday cake for each of her grandchildren every year is one of the ways she shows her love for them. Gus LOVES sprinkles, so there were of course sprinkles on the outside and inside as well! I love how this cake is just over the top – in the best possible way!
Thank you for reading about our little gathering. While writing about these details in a way seems odd when there are so many bigger things going on in the world, it feels good to hold on to some normalcy at this time. Journaling, pausing to appreciate the small things that bring joy, is essential keeping me grounded at the moment. Take care!
