Seven!
She’s changed some since this photo from my first ever post.
Two sure was a sweet age. I must say though, I haven’t felt especially nostalgic about a birthday since her fourth. I think once I came to terms with the fact that the baby and toddler years were over, looking ahead has just been exciting. It really does just keep getting better and better. And I can still see that little face in there somewhere…it helps that she hasn’t lost a single baby tooth!
Anyway. I want to share about Lila’s seventh birthday party, and of course there’s a dress to go along with it. She requested a long-sleeved birthday dress this year. I don’t own many long-sleeved patterns, but I’ve been wanting to try this one for awhile now – the Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
I made it from a coral Cloud9 double gauze from Joann. Normally I don’t buy fabric at Joann but I trust anything Cloud9 Fabrics puts their name on. And double gauze never disappoints. The pattern was great, of course. I remember when it first came out I thought it seemed like a little girl dress, and that maybe Lila was already too old for it. I like it on her, though. It looks a lot like a Geranium dress, although it has facings rather than a lined bodice. The sleeves have a dropped shoulder, making them very easy to set in.
I had heard this dress runs big, and aside from height her measurements put her squarely in a size 5, so I went with that, and lengthened everything (bodice, sleeves, hem) to a 6.
But on to the adopt-a-kitty party, which definitely trumps the dress (I was a little disappointed when she vetoed every cat fabric I chose!).
I think I said it about Oscar’s animals-in-party-hats second birthday, but this one was officially the most fun I’ve ever had, party planning-wise. I’m going to link to all the stuff I collected just in case you want to throw a kitty party of your own someday…please, somebody, have one! I’m sad ours is over…I’m telling you, it was super fun.
These are the cats we chose – they came in several different breeds and the quality was good for the price. We only had six guests which helped keep the cost (and chaos) down.
The girls arrived and chose a cat to adopt, then named their kitties and filled out an adoption certificate. Then they chose a blanket (pinked-edge fleece) and a collar (a ribbon with a velcro closure sewn on, strung with a key tag and bell), picked up a bag of kitty food (chocolate cereal), a container of kitty vitamins (gummy butterflies), a little ball of yarn, and an adopt-a-kitty box to carry everything home.
My sister designed the adoption certificates and the box labels – she used this font which came with the flowers, and she added the cat. The certificates were adorned with highly official gold cat seals, and I used the extra stickers on the cups.
The great thing about first graders is that they’re still young and imaginative enough to genuinely enjoy playing on the rug with their stuffed cats, but old enough to have attention spans and skills to do some fun party activities.
In addition to a few games, we water-colored cat faces…
and made little crowns for the kitties from pipe cleaners and paper flowers.
The crowns were inspired by this wrapping paper (found locally), which I used in much of the party decorating.
The girls (and their kitties) snacked on chocolate “cat food” cereal, goldfish crackers, peanut butter and nutella cat face sandwiches,
and strawberry mice (mini chocolate chip eyes and nose, sliced almond ears, licorice tails). I had planned to make the mice ahead, but when Lila and I did a test run we thought it would be a fun party activity, and I think it was.
The kitties themselves were really the party favors, but I made some treat bags, too.
Gummy mice, kitty pens, kitty stickers (these, found locally), and a sugar cookie (I got this set of cutters). I’m still waiting for Jess to show up at my door and teach me how to decorate cookies, but in the meantime, I made some collars out of flattened Starburst and a silver sprinkle.
I used this cat stamp on the bags and the invitations.
Oh, and I ordered these cat headbands too, which arrived from China about 10 days after the party. Oh well.
I will admit that sometimes I get so wrapped up in the little details that I forget the actual point of the party…you know, for the kids to have fun…but it seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves, and I loved all the prep, so I think it was a win. And Lila was so excited about it all. And man, there is no shortage of cute cat ideas out there…it was hard not to go crazy. Here’s a link to my kitty party Pinterest board if you want to see what I mean.
Thanks for reading…posts are obviously sporadic these days but I do still enjoying sharing things every once in awhile š
Update: some of these goodies are now for sale in my Etsy shop, check it out if you like!
And you can download the kitty coloring sheets right here!
i LOVE this party! every single detail – gorgeous! I don’t think it will take much to convince my daughter to have one, and yet, we are committed to a circus party this year which i have also been wanting to do for ages! Well done!
Oh my gaaarrrrrshhhhhhh! My daughter’s name is Kitty so this HAS to be her next party! You did such a gorgeous job with such a unique theme. Love it.
Adorable! I, too, get so wrapped up in party planning. My daughter’s upcoming Paris themed sleepover is taking over! That dress is super sweet!
Oh! What a cute idea! My daughter just turned 3 in February and LOVES kitties. This would have been perfect. Will be using this idea for sure for her next party. Only wish we didn’t have to wait another 10 1/2 months for the next Birthday. š
This party!!!! Why, oh why, has my only daughter betrayed me and chose Star Wars as her party theme?
That party looks puuuurfect! And a playtime in double gauze? Sounds so comfy!
This party is so great! I’ve had a love for party planning for the kiddos, too. I love what you said about their ages. With a 2 and a 4 year-old, I’m teetering between being sentimental and utterly relieved about the toddler years coming to an end.
Ooooh the cuteness!!! So great. My son turns seven in a couple months and I just might plan a party inspired by yours. Lately he is all about his “pet owl” and his dog “Michael” and a menagerie of other animals. A pet adoption party would be so fun!
so cute I love it! my soon to be 8 year old just saw the pictures with me and wants an adopt a tiger party!
What beautiful fabric, though! I too am loathe to buy from JoAnns but sometimes I need to – I’ll keep my eye out for Cloud 9.
My oldest is the same age, and it is interesting how she’s on the cusp of little girl and big girl with her wardrobe. The nice thing about sewing is that I’ve been able to make her some of the things that she wants that evidentially most manufactures think she has outgrown.
The party is incredible! (it’s a tough choice, but I think the invitations are my favorite detail). My daughter’s 7th is coming up soon and I think she would LOVE a pet adoption party. She’s all about pets for her American Girl doll, lol.
Gail, somehow this post never showed up in my Feedly feed so I missed it. I came over from the link from Inder’s blog. AMAZING party! Indigo and I are looking at these ideas together and both so amazed! I’m sure I’ve mentioned that Tia and Lila are almost the same age (Tia turns 7 on Thursday). But Lila looks so much older. Lila is like Indigo – Indigo looks older than she is, too.
Tia would LOVE this party! She would freak if I threw her a party like this. I better not show her this post. hehe! Great job! So inspiring! Maybe I’ll do this for Tia next year!
I’m quite sure I remember posts when she was two! She is beautiful. What a lovely party: )
So adorable! B is obsessed with cats so I’m going to replicate this party for her 6th bday coming up. Thanks for the ideas :).
so so adorable!!! I super love the theme of the party, so clever!!! I know my girls would go crazy for it. š I love the dress, too! I didn’t know cloud9 did double gauze for joanns, will be checking that out for sure.
waaaauw I absolutely LOVE this!!!! I am a total cat lover and hope my daughters will be too, so I just MUST throw them this party too!! thanks for the inspiration š And I love the dress too, but understand you being a little disappointed when she didn’t want a cat fabric š
Oh my gosh, I just saw this for the first time and I LOVE IT!!!! I think I’ll have to steal the idea for Yuki’s 7th birthday (in a year)! Your parties are always sooooo beautiful and fun. Love all the details.
If you don’t if I ask but where are those plastic containers for the kitty vitamins from? Been looking for them and have no idea what they are called
I bought mine at a local craft store so not sure exactly what i used, but these look similar. Search for “craft cups with lids” š
Hi Gail, I discovered your blog after we moved from Portland to Bellingham, but we actually used to be your around-the-corner neighbors! I love this idea for a party and my almost five year old, Claire, does too. We will be using many of these ideas for our own little adopt a kitty (or puppy) party. So, thank youš. I wonder, would your sister be interested in selling any of the stickers and certificates she designed? Many thanks!
Stephanie, I’m so sorry, I never saw this! I hope your party was fun and how funny that we used to be neighbors! Small world. Again, I’m really sorry I didn’t see this until now!
No worries at all! We had a great party and it was good for me to be stretched, creatively.
I love the image they painted! Where did you find it?
My sister drew those š
How did you make the cute little crowns from the piper cleaners and flowers?
The flowers have long, bendable stems, so the kids just wrapped them around the pipe cleaners to make the crowns. š
Can I ask my daughter wants the same party where did you find the cats to adopt?
We used these by Aurora. š
What an adorable idea! Thank you for sharing all the lovelies and adorableness!
Thank you for sharing… my daughter is very excited to have THIS cat party (as opposed to the other party ideas on Pinterest). I love the gift wrap and found it on Amazon. Hopefully I can draw the outlines for watercoloring…Thank you for links, very helpful!
My daughter is turning 7 and wants a cat theme party but I didn’t want it to be to young for all the girls. This is adorable and perfect! What size kraft boxes did you use for the adoption box?
I got the medium boxes – they’re 8 x 4 7/8 x 5 1/4 š
Hi Gail! Thanks for sharing this adorable party. My twins are super excited to have a kitty adoption party for their birthday too now! I wondered if your sister would be willing to sell the adoption papers, stickers, and painting image? I would appreciate the help!
Mollie
Hi Mollie! Since the artwork wasn’t hers she doesn’t feel comfortable selling them, I’m really sorry! Hope your party goes well!
Do you happen to know what size boxes you needed! And how big the stuffed cats were?
The cats are about 8 inches and the boxes are the medium size from the link in the post (8 x 4 7/8 x 5 1/4) š
SUCH an adorable party!what are the jars that you handed out with the kitties? Like are they water jars for the cats? I couldn’t read the label on the top of the jars in the pictures.
Thanks!
Heather
They were vitamins, aka gummy butterflies! š
Hi! Love this party and all of your creativeness! Did you draw the water color pages yourself? Do you still have the templates you can make available? Appreciate it! š
Thanks Sara! My sister drew the water color pages, I’m sorry we don’t have them anymore to share!
Hi there! I love everything about this party! I am in the midst of planni something very similar and even found the same stuffed cats on amazon. I was just wondering what size the boxes are that you used?
Hi Kylie!
The boxes I used are the medium size, 8″ x 4 7/8″ x 5 1/4″. It sounds like you’re already on top of things but I wanted to let you know that my sister and I are about to open an Etsy shop with all the components of this party (and some extras), probably within a month or so š
I found this party through Pinterest and love everything about it! I plan on having a kitty party once we are settled in to our new home. Thank you so much for sharing!