Bunny Party

On a dark and stormy afternoon in June, Kate had her Bunny Birthday Party.

And thus began the 2014 birthday party season at Chez Ikatbag. 

The Bunny Party was intended to be an outdoor one, but the weather did not cooperate. Which was unfortunate. But not catastrophic, because we've run so many parties under so many ridiculous conditions and constraints that nothing fazes us anymore. We've become so adept at Pessimistic Planning that we have contingency plans for everything, even the decorations. We live in Minnesota, after all, where the weather is seldom your friend and even summer - unlike the winter - is never a guarantee.

So indoor party it was. This year, we used the garage. Which we hadn't used in past years because all our indoor parties were winter parties and our garage was so cold that we used it as a spare freezer for food. 

The girls and Grandma had a blast setting up the partyphernalia among bicycles, lumber and power tools. I watched them and remembered - yet again - that parties are so much more about the preparation leading up to the event itself than even the actual two-plus hours when the guests are in attendance. It may be one sister's party, but it's everyone's festival of fun.

We had the minimal-est decorations - the traditional poster, featuring Kate in her current favorite outfit,

and paper bunny bunting, which Kate made with me.

Her guests arrived to lunch 

and cookies.

Then the activities began. Our usual outdoor-party sequence was reshuffled to accommodate Wet Weather Indoor Traffic Movement. Instead of continuing to cake-and-presents as we usually do, we played some games. 

This segment was run by Emily and Jenna. Emily (wo)manned an origami station, at which kids could make origami bunnies and bunny heads. I gave her the official Party Assignment some weeks ago and she gleefully went off on her own to gather supplies, select simple projects, print out instruction sheets and make signs. 

Jenna was delegated the job of Carrot Patch Manager,

the Carrot Patch in question being a burrow-for-treats game

to harvest loot

without the stress of having to smash a pinata to bits.

Then we headed indoors for two games. The first was a group activity in which the kids were divided by lot into two teams, each of which had to build a bunny from disparate parts,

using twist ties

and cooperation.

This was followed by the rowdy Steal The Vegetables, which involved balloons impersonating produce - tomatoes, 

 carrots -

and cucumbers,

which the kids - as bunnies - had to pilfer from a field, using only their legs, without being caught by the irate farmer or plundered by the other bunny-players. 

Had we good weather, this would've taken place in our yard, with balloons being herded towards individual safe zones, 

but we played this indoors, from one room to the next, and it was a little more contained (but just as raucous) as had it been out on the lawn. Alternative venue aside, the kids' ingenious use of their lower bodies was quite the sight to behold. 

Then we rested while watching Kate unwrap her gifts,

while Grandma was out in the garage, hiding bunnies for a Flush Out The Rabbits hunt.

We made bunnies for everyone,

and the kids were set loose in the garage to find a bunny to keep.

There was a lot of squealing.

The tables, now cleared of food, became craft stations.

Now, every child has his/her own interpretation of a Bunny party theme, but this party is for Kate, and if you've been following her adventures, you might remember that Kate loves her bunnies in very specific ways. 

We set out green and orange air-dry clay and the kids made carrots and other vegetables for their bunnies.

Then we brought out cardboard hutches

which open along one side of the roof to hold a bunny,

and shut with the help of a fold-down flap from the handle.

We also supplied markers and stickers

so the kids could personalize their hutches.

Everyone named their bunnies.

The girls picked names that conjured up images of softness, gentleness, whiteness and beauty, while the boys . . . well, I'll tell you in a later post.

We ended the party with gelato pie, which my kids invariably pick over cake/cupcakes for all their parties. Happy birthday, Kate (and Bunny)!

We also popped one of these carrot cracker cones in their goodie bags along with their bunnies-in-hutches to take home.

And it was still raining :(

And everyone still had a good time :)

Except Bunny herself.

Ironically, we forgot to invite her. Such a travesty, isn't it? That's why she's missing from all the photos. Did anyone notice?

Coming up next are the individual party-elements posts: food, games, crafts, etc. Stay tuned!