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We celebrated Henry and Marie’s eighth birthday last week with a magical (private) party in the woods. This idea came to me almost immediately after we moved here in March (a story for another post) – we live in the woods, by the lake, on (believe it or not)…Woodland Avenue. As we will most likely only be living here for one of their birthdays, I seized the opportunity and ran with the concept, which by the way, had their seal of approval! While we did some planning together, I kept quite a few things a secret and set it up alone so that they could be surprised (their reaction was priceless). I’m so very thankful that we had (and have) this beautiful setting for our celebrations and get to call it home for the time being…

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The Woodland Fairy scavenger hunt idea came about only a few weeks prior to their birthday when I happened upon this cool printable on Etsy. It added another element of fun, and I’m such a sucker for a theme. I wasn’t sure it could happen given the timing, but I found this amazing woman in England who crafted our beautiful custom fairies and accessories. I’ll share a full list of sources below – thank goodness we live in a world where we can so easily connect and support amazing creatives. I bought feathers and gold glitter and painted the rocks + pinecones, but the rest of the items were lovingly provided by mama nay. The kids loved the hunt, and have been keeping their woodland finds beside their beds ever since.

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Their birthday gifts got the biggest reaction of the day, of course! Ever since they were toddlers, they’ve loved The Walnut Animal Society books by Lauren Bradshaw (who happens to be a lovely friend of mine on social media, even though we’ve never met in person). The house we live in feels like a treehouse, and even looks similar to the one in the book – and the Henry the Fox character is a tinkering, bow-tie wearing sweetheart…just like my Henry. I was able to track one down on ebay (they were handmade by Lauren but she is no longer making them) but couldn’t find Magnolia the Bunny. As luck would have it, we were doing a Mer Mag craft for homeschool when Marie spotted Edie on the site and instantly fell in love. The dolls make the cutest couple, non?! That log lives there by the way…no trees were harmed for the photo, lol.

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Tattoos always seem to work their way into our celebrations, and I had fun selecting woodland-themed ones from Tattly. They’re a blend of a few different artists + packs – there was something for everyone (and by everyone I mean mom + dad too). The paper moths (above) are a beautiful craft from Mer Mag, which I printed at home on card stock and let the kids put together, foraging from the woods for the materials. As far as food, we didn’t require much more than cake but we did make a few fun snacks, to include this bear mix which I put into Bonne Maman jars (which we always have around), acorn chocolates, and pretzel sticks. I also put our collection of La Fermière pots to good use for water (which, like Bonne Maman, can serve so many purposes). It should come as a surprise to no one (ha) that I worked in some French elements.

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The cake was a labor of love, and by that I mean we drove four hours roundtrip (or rather, my husband did) to pick it up from the bakery in the town where the kids were born. The cake wasn’t pricey but obviously the gas + mileage was a bit of an indulgence (although when you factor in that we’re driving/going nowhere else these days it’s much less of one). It was worth it, and meant a lot to all of us to celebrate with the same delicious carrot cake they had for their first birthday (don’t even get me started on that video…cue the ugly crying). Seven years later and it’s still our absolute family favorite. While birthdays might be more solitary and simple this year, that doesn’t mean they can’t be memorable. I hope this one will be a beautiful reminder of how special our time here is, and how healing nature can be. Happy birthday my beautiful babies.

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marie’s dress | henry’s crown (similar)| cake figurines | cake stand | lantern | moth craft | edie doll | wooden twig pencils| scavenger hunt printable | fairies + accessories | fairy wands| brown bear mix | acorn kisses | temporary tattoos