On Friday our little “Bud” turned 2 years old! He loves watching the deer in our yard, so this year I decided to give him a “Deer in the Woods” themed birthday party. We had such a fun day with a reindeer themed pancakes, presents for our little dear, and cake! We even finally found a Christmas Tree, which tied in with the O Antiphon for the day and made a perfect gift for O Root of Jesse.
.: A Birthday Banner :.
Even though I did need to simplify my original plans, I still was able to make a little banner! I don’t think his godmother would have let me get away with not having one for him! 😉 It came together so quickly with my Cricut. I used the Winter Woodland cartridge for the deer, squares and circles, and the letters and number 2 were cut with the George cartridge.
.: Reindeer Pancakes :.
When I saw these rudolph pancakes I knew I had to make them for Bud’s birthday! I wasn’t able to make them for breakfast so I served them for lunch instead. They were easy to make and all the children loved them!
While I made the pancakes, Twinkle Toes cooked all the bacon for the antlers and Chiquita washed the strawberry noses!
Bud’s favorite part, of course, was the whipped cream and chocolate chip eyes and he kept pointing to the whip cream bottle and asking for “MORE, pleee!”
That big lunch tired him out and he snuggled up with his favorite dear for a nap while I got busy decorating his birthday cake.
.: “Deer in the Woods” Birthday Cake :.
I really wanted to make Charlotte’s White Chocolate Cream Cake, but after burning the white chocolate in the microwave and not having enough left to start over, I simplified and just baked a yellow cake and topped it with a can of Fluffy White Frosting from the cupboard.
For the decorations I used the same method I used last year for his Snowman Cake, and made candy deer out of Light Cocoa Candy Melts using some silhouettes of deer that I had found online, resized, and printed. I also made some trees with the leftover cocoa candy melts and some green melts as well. I made those freehand and they all turned out interesting! 😉 Over all I thought the cake turned out really cute!
.: Birthday Gifts :.
December is the perfect time of year for a deer themed party! It was so easy to find deer decorations, wrapping papers, fabric, candles and more! (And most of it was 70% off already!)
Most of his gifts incorporated the deer theme, with the exception of his Melissa & Doug Car Carrier! This little boy of ours points out cars every time we leave the house, and his daddy ordered this toy when he saw it on one of Amazon’s lightning deals. He knew he would love it and he was right!
Bud also received a few books (My Wonderful Christmas Tree, Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek, and That’s not my reindeer… ) as well as a pair of pajamas and a few more toys including a Woodland Wooden Puzzle, a Forest Friends Block Puzzle, and this Tree Finger Puppet Play House! He also received a card and gift from his grandparents and some adorable Forest Friends Wall Decals from his ever thoughtful godparents!
.: Two Candles on the Cake :.
The cake ended up being perfect for Bud and he LOVED his little deer!
Happy Birthday Little Man!
It all looks so amazing! I love the cake!!! It is exactly the way I pictured it but even better! Happy Birthday, Little Bud! We love you so much!
Oh what a wonderful party you had for him! And he looks so much like you Jessica, especially when he smiles!
Thank you, Shaina! He does look like me, especially as a baby! (you can see me – #6 in this post – here) I was a little chubbier though 🙂
Thank you Charlotte! I was really happy with how it turned out! It turned out better than I thought it would, and even all the imperfections make it even more perfect 🙂 I was dying to show you a picture!
Happy birthday precious child!!!! Way to go mama!!!!
I can't believe he is two! Happy birthday!
I love the idea 'Deer in the Woods' and the cake is truly perfect as well as beautiful! Happy Birthday to your little guy!
That cake is beautiful! I never thought you could just make any designs from printed pictures that way. Are they very delicate?
We have that car carrier too…big favorite here. 🙂
Wow…I started reading your blog last year (actually, it was the feast of St Nicholas! The first post that I saw was the one where you made the St. Nicholas cookies. 🙂 And you continue to impress me with all those amazing cakes and everything you do! I have never been very creative but someday I hope to try some of these ideas…if I have the guts to…lol!
Also, I love seeing all your kids crowded around Bud watching him unwrap his gifts. I miss that! 🙂
Merry Christmas! You are an amazing mother.
It depends on how thick you make the chocolate, Mel, when you are piping it onto your design. The ones I made were pretty sturdy, though I did have a little trouble with some of the trees (branches) being very delicate.