Once in a while I like to rearrange the furniture just to make things sort of new and different. It’s kinda fun. I do the same thing with the kids’ toys. If I rotate the toys among the shelves or move them to different rooms, it seems like the toys suddenly get some renewed attention and become exciting and fun to the kids again.
So that’s what I did today, I moved the toy kitchen stuff upstairs and suddenly everyone thought it was the greatest thing in the world all over again. By the time I moved the last thing up, Mary had already set out a table for herself, Eliza, Mini Mouse and Baby Doll.
They pulled out the ‘Birthday Box’ that I made for Mary for Christmas last year. They haven’t played with it for a long time, so it made me happy that it was suddenly so fun again.
Kids love birthdays, so why not celebrate birthdays more often? With as many dolls and stuffed animals we have around here, we could have a party everyday! The Birthday Box was made just for that reason.
When I was putting this together I bought some plain brown boxes from a craft store, then painted them to make the cake box and the little present boxes. I bought the bright birthday-themed fabric to make the table cloth, napkins, and little doll dresses (those are sometimes the gifts that go inside the boxes, or sometimes the dolls wear them to the party). There’s also princess party crowns, plastic plates, and a plastic cake knife in the box…
…Oh, and these cute tiny stuffed animals are also a part of the birthday box (occasionally used as the gifts inside the present boxes).
Here’s Eliza and her Baby Doll opening her presents…
Time for birthday cake! –this was a fun little project in itself. I tried to find a cute cake, but didn’t like the ones that came in the stores, so I made this one out of pink and cream felt, with white felt frosting edges. The ‘sprinkles’ are white and pink beads sewn to the top. The candles are also made of felt and stuck to the cake with velcro circles (there are actually four candles, but apparently Baby Doll turned one today).
The best part of the cake…blowing out the candles.
Serving up the cake.
BTW–I had no idea how to make a felt cake, but you can find most anything online. Look up “felt food” and you will be amazed at what you find!
So Happy Birthday Mini Mouse and Baby Doll!
And girls, keep finding all those little things to celebrate every day! It makes life so fun.
June 8, 2010 at 8:31 am
A Birthday Box! What a great idea. I never thought of kids playing birthday before. I mean, why not? It just never crossed my mind. Half the fun of a birthday anyway is the opening of presents and blowing out candles on a cake. I spent about an hour looking for a set like this online and found nothing. Maybe you should send yours off for mass production.
June 8, 2010 at 10:39 am
Maybe I will have to mass produce this! I would love to create toys! There are some birthday themed toys out there, but they are never exactly the right thing. If you want to create something and don’t sew, just find a rubbermaid box and fill it with stuff from the party aisle–like party hats, noise makers, party plates, a birthday banner, and candles. If you look in the toys section you can find toy food–I’ve seen some plastic cakes and cupcakes before (or a real cupcake once in a while would be fun too!) Don’t forget some little decorative boxes for pretend presents! Good luck and have fun!