We had a party for him on Saturday with about 40 family members and friends showing up. I don't think my baby knew everyone was there for him -- but he had a good time.
It was my husband's idea to have the party at a local wildlife rehabilitation and nature center, where biologists bring out various animals for the kids to touch and teach everyone about them. The nature center asked what my baby's favorite animal is. I told them a giraffe. Heh! Well, they don't have any giraffes, but they do have owls, and he does know what an owl is, so I thought that was great.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi622pMbTbZU2qnwNV_M1HbXQNMTW8kwqiHq7pynA42X3Vgh2Opwck1aa2bbmf0Bo37ZIdR-8Cq_hiWSVF4SG3_e7t4QAbY6hFSy2m8sw1F3X_S1v9Ya63vb7Tri9uSaTpKCza-OyNHXhs/s280/bpowl2.jpg)
Eastern screech owl
And owls are fun fun for a party theme. I started with a blue owl party decor package from the Bee & Daisy Etsy shop. The image files allowed me to make a party invitation:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBROBAJIC0lujxfHPAxrlnP0ffTyaDRKvY6hPNsjUMAFTLh6RS6BqB_mWbrO88p-HeIWHixcIU4YiNxkpa4-stXDu5hBdUtEdXgs_ZrLCjN4uw3CoEec8MiJPVCBC8JzW_ML4GKjfXY7k/s280/bpinvite.jpg)
And candy bar wrappers. I resized and cut out the head of the owl to paste on plain brown paper lunch bags to make the goody bags.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCscshfzr8pKfgP99QTNuzvOarsTsjMPDPGFs8CyhdK5IC_s6hJxsgkVVMNvyHrRp8jDtZCOt_oEaqNxPbBc7Ht6FhdB0Jg7oksS1kkXkCWL-aEQ9fYdZBdQtRcwZIk_-cTvqBYk4ZIGQ/s280/_goodies.jpg)
The goody bags also contained an owl finger puppet (I love finger puppets!) and bird seed ornaments for the party guests to hang in their trees:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3BPSXqeksMM9Eesc87Kz45gRDgnvUXMR3KxJ6FILjiBxQozClBDCZxUFU1D2HTttsImmEPUThyphenhyphen2nZE-jOKybEA6cgOpBQR5zjnn4PHd-ASDHprLG0eXTy-Gm7L1hzV64wATkr2O4VNY/s280/_birdseedornaments.jpg)
This one is in the shape of a shark. There were other shapes, too -- including an owl -- which I made with cookie cutters.
I made a pull-apart cake (a cake made out of individual cupcakes) in the shape of an owl, thanks to an idea by Family Fun Magazine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaTbOiB4fxLOk0zTBG0B-xfkIVAKES97qsMlUt3K_gymU9uEJQzbKYM9PBeiTCyo-8MeuvhoDjdpwtW8J4UaBpOd1VDAdzcOKMGLuDiXWUaYmQKRlbX2gspnSQydIHdlhWWsWYb3RSQg/s280/bpcake.jpg)
And owlets.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRUAlxtDiCu8bk19WxzUj7W-t747zl4q2CJcHbms10smMdyNqF5mZ5fRk749Y4uHkxHPDOLh1TQJAsYxpxmuopb58LYf67F724JPIj06qkxZ9kYfzd8X7dtpNgiCzV3csi8OGCUel0mk/s280/_cupcakes.jpg)
I made some of the owlets wheat- egg- dairy- and nut-free for my preschooler.
The Bee & Daisy Etsy shop decor stash included printables to make a banner.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgh3wQe0-JXvKkb1asY8CuEmpjosobzNbwSMjWCF58elTcnna6AYA0LCTQ3Tz8gNIB_QmmKF0OGnJ3lEdoUQaHCh9_TpMCAOd680XL5CVJ7x_xjDWbTkOqZYo83ATs4TYb0X40C7MWk8/s280/bptables.jpg)
Because the nature center didn't allow balloons (too easy to get tangled in the ceiling fans of the screened-in pavilion and a hazard to wildlife), I had to make something else that was fun. Tissue paper balls it was.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kUF9LEO6Dkw2E9kDZdsZ-Atrvw4NRP8xl_vtv-LqfVLpG8FZBr3XU5YsILGGQYtJTc6MlAYk7Rhds8AeLhPrUCa9hYcx0ph89GEq-nFwECG_9TfhUztyCiNM6dymZzIpkHmBylz4ZAk/s280/_puffs.jpg)
Everyone had a fun time!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiuxZFu3cJcBiOishk70fFDuYrVAUj2SMhPGB8suEeugExwOe_iSlyWgFJjjPYGYLWQFiC9_7J-eznpjpK39bQpmfb2-GRqkQtKm9KzU9l7DjYKP0sAS9-GYWeE1C95SbSDoTGqdLU2Q/s280/bpus.jpg)