Mabel’s Second Birthday Paw-ty Plans

In early May, we will be approaching Mabel’s second birthday, and much like every other little holiday during this past year, I am planning to celebrate in any special way we can. Growing up, we never had elaborate birthday parties, but always had special meals and gatherings with family. I don’t think my grandparent’s ever missed an opportunity to celebrate our special day with us and simply being with the people I loved always made me feel celebrated and special. For that reason, we are going to forge ahead and celebrate Mabel and the beautiful little person she is, even if we have to do it in a “safe” and “distanced” way.

I don’t think birthday gatherings need all the special gimicks to feel intentional, warm, and special. The most important mood to establish is one of joy, love, and celebration and that can be done with or without a theme, balloon arches, and oversized cakes. I talked about this more in my video for her first birthday celebration, but I genuinely enjoy putting thought and intention into these types of things, and so I am planning to make her second birthday special with some decorations, food, and activities. But it doesn’t have to be done that way. I never want this space to be one that puts pressure on others to drive yourself crazy with perfect little details and over the top plans. I find deep joy in using my hands to plan, create, and carry out special experiences and moments for the ones I love and that’s why I do it - not because I have to or because I’m trying to impress others. I’m sharing these plans because it makes me happy and because I want to show you that it doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive to be meaningful and fun.

With that said, I decided to plan a simple puppy themed pop-in driveway party for Mabel. She absolutely adores dogs and so I thought she would enjoy the sweet little puppy touches. Where we live, we are currently in our third wave of lockdowns, so gathering together in a traditional way is just not an option. Instead, we hope to send out an invitation to a small guest list of family to drop in between a set time for a few snacks out front on our driveway. Here’s what I’m thinking in terms of details:

Decorations

I love decorating. It just makes any space feel so happy. I’m going to do a few simple decorations. First up, some rosy pink balloons (I already have this pack left over from Valentine’s Day) with maybe a few sage green balloons thrown into the mix. Maybe I’ll do a trailing balloon arch like last year or maybe I’ll just blow some up in bundles and hang them around our front porch and garage (I’ll see what nap time allows on the actual day). I may even draw some paw prints on a few with permanent marker if I have the time. I’ve also been thinking about creating a puppy bunting out of paper by cutting really simple shapes out of fun coloured cardstock. I created a few little illustrations (down below) in the colour palette that I may base the cut-outs off of. If I don’t assemble them into a banner, I may just tape them to our garage door to bring some whimsical fun to the driveway party. I also love the idea of simply drawing some big paw prints up the driveway with sidewalk chalk (bonus points that Mabel will love helping me colour them in).

Food

I need to sort out exactly how to go about this to avoid multiple people interacting with the food, but generally I’m going to keep it very simple with just a few treats for drop in guests to enjoy. As a special treat, I decided to order a set of puppy shaped macarons from a local baker - they are going to be so cute! Other than that, I will probably just bake a batch of boxed cupcakes and (with gloves on) decorate them with chocolate peanut butter cup paw prints on top. I also thought about making a big batch of puppy chow, but I may save that as a pre-packaged “doggy bag” favor for guests to take home instead. I’m also thinking about serving hot dogs, but haven’t quite figured out if there is a safe way to serve them to people, so we may decide not to do that at all.

Activities

You have probably seen this all over Pinterest, but the main activity I have planned is a little puppy adoption area for the kids. I first want to say that this sounds a lot more complex than I plan to make it, as there will only be Mabel and one to two other kids who may show up. Basically, I picked up a couple of these cute (and inexpensive) puppy stuffed animals from IKEA and am going to put them in a little spot where the kids can “adopt” one. They’ll be able to pick a name and do a simple craft to make them a collar and tag and that is basically the extent of the activity. Other than this, which I know will be an exciting highlight for Mabel, we’ll just let them roam and play while the adults socialize in the open air. It’s meant to be a drop-in party, so I want to keep any planned activities to a minimum.

Once again, I’m planning to keep it really simple and as safe as I can. I want Mabel to feel celebrated and special, but definitely don’t want any guests to feel uncomfortable or risk making our gathering unsafe. These are such strange times, but I think it’s important to still continue living, celebrating, and finding joy in any way we can. Maybe I won’t end up getting to half of these plans and I already resolved to be totally fine with that.

I’m excited to share about this special day celebrating our special girl. I’m planning to document my process and create a Youtube video, much like her first birthday. Be sure to subscribe and follow along to our channel if you’re interested!