Molly's deer-themed birthday party

When Molly and I were first discussing her 5th birthday party, I asked her what kind of party she would like. She came right out and said "a horsey party." Which was exactly the answer I wanted to hear as I had found tons and tons of cute horsey ideas and our friends had barns and horses and it was going to be SO FUN.

Well.

The next day Molly changed her mind (a woman's right, y'all!) and said she'd like a deer party instead. (Steve drops them off at the bus stop each morning and will sometimes take them riding down some country roads if they have a little extra time and see if they can spot some deer. I assume seeing these animals up close and in large groups really made them that much more appealing to her.) I would routinely check in with her about this decision to make sure this is what she really REALLY wanted (hoping she would change her mind, again), but every time I asked, she seemed to grow stronger in her conviction that a deer party was where it's at. My old brain strained and creaked and moaned and groaned and finally came up with an attack plan for the deer party.

First, I obviously looked to Pinterest for guidance as I had no clue where to start. Pinterest was little help though, as it seems deer parties are not a thing. And if they are, it's more of a boy's hunting party, chock full of camo. I'm not opposed to this but I ONLY HAVE ONE LITTLE GIRL AND HER BIRTHDAY WILL NOT BE CAMO-THEMED THE END.

I feel like I hit up every thrift store within a 60 mile radius to see if there was anything deer-ish that didn't necessarily involve camo or John Deere. It was not easy, but I think overall it turned out great!

Toadstools and rabbit food

Toadstool cupcakes

Lake water

Twigs

Deer droppings (chocolate covered raisins), forest berries (gummies), and squirrel mix

It started out a little chilly and overcast, but by the time all of our friends arrived, the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful weather!

My parents made Sam's and Will's shirts and I adore them. Sam has been dying to wear his - Molly was so thrilled that he had a John Deere shirt.

I found Molly's shirt on a secondhand children's clothing app (Kidizen). Perfect and sweet.

I (kind of sarcastically) bid on and won Steve's shirt at a silent auction at a church spaghetti supper - he wears it proudly and Molly LOVES IT. She was really disappointed I didn't have a John Deere shirt, but I settled for a floral shirt and my red mud boots.

We played lots of fun games - all deer related, of course. But first we bobbed for donuts.

Korea stick coming in handy

I highly recommend this game for a party as it is extremely entertaining to watch and the kids love it. Other positives include: cheap, not much prep involved, and easy.

We also played Hide From The Hunter.

Pretty much just glorified hide and seek but the seeker/hunter got to wear this sweet hunting cap.

I also had an antler ring toss game planned, but the set I ordered from Amazon was riddled with holes and we couldn't even get it inflated. We did limbo with the Korea stick and that was funny. We did a pinata as well that didn't hold up nearly as long as I thought it would!! The kids had a blast whacking it though. I settled for a "5" pinata (similar to this) because the alternative was either a tractor or a deer strung up by its feet and neither one of those seemed particularly appealing to me for a young girl's birthday party.

After my few attempts at organized fun, the kids just ran wild and entertained themselves, which worked out perfectly with the adults' desire to sit on the deck in the sun and sip on koolaid. Overall the party was a success, with Sam asleep before 7 and Molly telling me it was a really great party. I absolutely love planning birthday parties for the kids and even though the deer theme was challenging, it turned out to be so much fun!

Love you, my big 5 year old!!