We spent this past summer building my kids’ dream treehouse, so it is no surprise that they have been missing it over the winter.  Missing it so much, in fact, that my oldest decided that she wanted to have her 11th birthday to be treehouse themed.

I wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted out of a treehouse party, so I set up a treehouse board on my pinterest account and set her loose to search for inspiration.  I love that she is old enough to plan her own parties now.  Big kids rock!

Eleven is an interesting age.  They are young enough that they want to run and play, but old enough that they don’t always want to admit it; creative in every way, capable of taking care of themselves, and able to use logic to figure out solutions to their own problems.  Jumping randomly between trying desperately to act mature, and throwing herself headlong into mud puddles may just be my favorite thing about this girl.  I love this stage!

Treehouse Invitations

My girl chose to make some adorable bark wrapped invitations and added printable leaves with flower seeds to the pull tabs.  I put the printable version at the bottom of this post, feel free to use it if you’d like.  The original logo came from a free source called ClipArtLord.com  Isn’t it perfect?

Treehouse Games

The kids started the party with a game based on a scavenger hunt.  I told them that there had been a fire in the forest, and the treehouse kids were call on to help the firefighters rescue animal babies that had been separated from their parents.  They were 1 by 1 given a close up photo of something in our house, and needed to go find the animal.  It involved a lot of running around and climbing into corners(I really should have thought about how much cleaning is involved when you intentionally send guests to the far recesses of the house.) and they all seemed to enjoy helping one another out.

Treehouse Crafts

Crafts were my girl’s priority request for this party.  In particular she wanted to make something with animals and metal.  A girl after my own heart.

For craft time the kids made habitats for the “rescued” creatures from our game.  Terrariums are really easy, but very messy.  Bits of moss and soil were all over the table despite my best efforts to have everything divided up ahead of time.  If I were to do it again, I think I’d set up a table in a separate room where we weren’t planning to eat.  Oh well, the kids didn’t even seem to notice and they had fun regardless.

I wasn’t sure what to use for the clear top of the terrariums, but while gathering up our glitter tape (yes, I have a collection of glitter tape, doesn’t everyone?)  I found the leftover shrinky-dink film from our Chihuly project.  It worked perfectly – easy to cut, and perfectly clear.  I love serendipity.

We used my new Christmas gift to emboss metal necklaces for the girls, and the boys surprised me in wanting to do the project too.  They used the charms  as identification tags for their terrariums.  It was a bit time consuming, but with patience all of the kids took their turn.

Treehouse Food

We had a lot of food allergies and preferences to contend with for this party, so my girl decided that she would offer a salad bar.  It was a much bigger hit than I expected.  Some people put their salad in wraps to make sandwiches, some added meat, and others simply picked out their favorite two items and skipped the rest.  I loved the ease of this too – no cooking involved at all!

The table was a mess after our craft time, and the adults were busy moving things about so some of the kids decided to eat “treehouse style” on the floor with a fresh tablecloth rather than wait.  Resourceful and adorable.

My little lady decorated her own cake (with a bit of help) this year.  I think she did a fantastic job!

Treehouse Favors

We found these fun free printable gift boxes at MarthaStewart.com, so my girl spend a few DAYS cutting them out and filling them with treats for her friends.  Thank goodness for audiobooks and quiet afternoons.

The only thing we were missing was the treehouse itself.  Hurry up spring!  We are looking forward to adventures in the treetops.

Happy Birthday Miss. A!

There’s another party post coming next week!  Subscribe so you don’t miss out on the fun!

Free Treehouse Party Downloads:

• Blank Treehouse Invitation and Invitation Wrapper
• Water Bottle Labels
• Terrarium Instructions
• Welcome to the Treehouse Sign
• Treehouse logo
• Squirrel Favors