The movie WALL-E will be forever etched in my son Oliver’s heart. Every Friday for movie night his vote is WALL-E. We can sometimes convince him to watch something else, but if he could he’d watch WALL-E every time. It’s a sweet movie with an important message. If you haven’t seen it, or if it’s been a while, the movie is about a little robot whose job is to clean up Earth after it has been rendered uninhabitable, covered in trash. He meets another robot named Eve, sent by humans living in space to search for plant life on Earth. Together, WALL-E and Eve fight to show humans that plant life still exists on Earth and as a result, humans return to Earth to start a new life there. Although the story is simplified and can be a bit depressing at times, I think its lesson is a useful one for kids to see. We need to take better care of Earth or we will destroy it. So, needless to say, I was thrilled that he chose this as WALL-E 6th birthday theme!
We celebrated with just the five of us. Although we of course missed the family that couldn’t be there, it was nice to have a quiet, simple day to ourselves. Honestly, the best part for me was not having to worry about cleaning the house! We did have some friends drive by for a birthday parade. The idea of birthday parades has been a fun thing to come out of this pandemic. I was humbled by the love our friends showed Ollie. He felt so special!
Fabric Bunting
You probably know by now that I love to make fabric bunting for birthdays, especially using secondhand or scrap fabric. For this one, I used fabric that my mom had in her collection of leftovers. At this point, craft and fabric stores were still closed, so I couldn’t use bias tape like I usually do to sew the flags together at the top. Instead, I sewed a tunnel through the top of each flag and strung them on twine. I think I might actually like the look of that even more. It felt good not to have to go out and buy anything and not to waste plastic packaging.
Felted Ball Garland
I have been experimenting with wet felting little balls and stringing them up to add a festive touch to another corner of the house. I like to hang another string alongside the ball garland and use tiny clothespins to hang pictures of the birthday boy or girl. It doesn’t take very many balls to make a garland. You could stack them up side by side but you could also just make a dozen and spread them out.
Boot
Adding fresh flowers or greenery is a must for any party! In this case, greens fit the theme since WALL-E discovers a plant growing in a boot on Earth. My husband was nice enough to let me use his beloved boot.
Cake
My mom is a pastry chef and cake designer. Her cakes are always the centerpieces of our kids’ parties. She pours her heart into every cake she makes for her grandchildren, and it shows! I am so grateful for her kindness and for the love she shows my kids.
Crown
My obsession with crown making is growing! This one I made completely out of materials I already have. Like for Claire’s flower crown, I referenced Natalie Trusler’s e-book, Magical Birthdays for Children. There is a section in there about birthday crowns. Since making Oliver’s, I have made one for my son Gus and two for family friends. With each one I learn a new embroidery stitch and get a little quicker at each of the steps to crown making. I find with crafting, whether it is working with felt or paper or fabric, the more I do it, the more comfortable I get with freestyling. At first, I’ll follow a tutorial so closely, then I’ll branch out, and finally I feel free to experiment and trust my instincts. I suppose that’s true with most things!
Favors
These finger puppet favors are from My Rainy Day Designs on Etsy. When I don’t have time to make favors but want to avoid buying something plastic, I love supporting makers on Etsy.
Experiences with the Birthday Boy
Oliver and I did a couple of things together leading up to the party. I found an image on Pinterest that explained the steps to building a WALL-E out of Legos. Building it together took a couple of days since we didn’t have a pre-existing set. We had to search for all the pieces out of our collection and sometimes we didn’t have something and had to just find the next best thing. He enjoyed every minute of it. It was one of the many small ways I tried to show my love for him that week.
On the day of the party, Oliver wanted to add more decorations, so I suggested making a WALL-E out of cardboard. I had thought of surprising him with one already made, but didn’t have time and had to let it go. I have made things out of cardboard before for kid parties, like a spaceship and a penguin. Those I spent quite some time creating, usually late at night. While I enjoyed making those, I found that just winging it and not worrying about the details but focusing on the experience Oliver and I were having together was so much better! It was hard for me to let the details go. You can tell that the WALL-E we made is not proportional. The eyes are way too small for the body! But Oliver loved having a say in the design and watching the process. It meant more I think than if I were to have made it and then given it to him.
A Gift Handed Down
My mom and dad gave Oliver this handmade wallet that belonged to my grandmother. They slipped six one-dollar bills inside. When he opened it, he shouted, “I’ve always wanted a wallet!” I think secondhand gifts are the best kind.
