Charlie Turns 1! Yep, We Threw Our Cat a Birthday Party!

Charlie turned one yesterday, so we had a little celebration. He was not a fan of his party hat.

Isla first began asking if we could throw Charlie a birthday party MONTHS ago. She is so my child. We had the best time dreaming up ideas and creating some simple, crafty party details together.

The decor was either handmade or items repurposed from around the cottage. And no, I did not buy that wooden “1” for our cat party. Ha! My mom gifted it to us when Isla had her first birthday, and for some reason we had stored it here. How perfect!

The idea to transfer Isla’s drawing of Charlie onto a shirt came to me a few weeks ago, and it is one my favorite craft projects ever! I asked Isla to create a portrait of Charlie and emphasized that it not have too many tiny details. I photocopied the drawing, meticulously traced over it with a sharpie, and then used our Silhouette Cameo to create an iron-on vinyl cutout. Isla was absolutely thrilled when she saw her finished Charlie shirt. In fact, she loved it so much she asked to sleep in it and is wearing it again today. This shirt will be a keepsake for sure!

For Charlie’s festive hat we rolled a little cone of glitter paper, sealed it with a line of hot glue, topped it with a pom pom, and attached a rubber band chin strap.

Both kids drew portraits of Charlie to display. Isla also made a sign to wish Charlie a happy birthday– in cat language, of course! We put the kids’ artwork in frames we already had at the cottage.

The kitty face bunting was 100% Isla’s idea and creation. I just helped her tape twine on the back and hang it. Besides being unbelievably adorable, the bunting actually holds quite a bit of sentimental meaning for us. Our beloved kitty, Miller, shared the same birthday with Charlie. He was also an orange tabby. While creating this bunting, Isla explained to me that the larger kitty faces represented Miller and the smaller kitty faces represented Charlie. She wanted to ensure that we celebrated our Miller as well. Cue the tears. I am so grateful for her tender, thoughtful heart.

Is it really a birthday celebration if sprinkles aren’t involved? We bribed Charlie with a dab of whipped cream and sprinkles to take these photos. Most of his treat ended up on the floor, but the little bit he did get earned us a few minutes of cooperation.

And speaking of food, Isla requested we keep the menu “cat themed” and chose tuna melts for dinner. We gave each of the cats a spoonful of plain tuna as their treat.

Isla and I whipped up the most delicious carrot, zucchini and apple cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese glaze. This recipe made 12 cupcakes and a full loaf (which we used for french toast this morning– YUM!). Cole kept sneaking little tastes of the cupcakes all afternoon, and this morning he managed to sneak the whole tupperware of leftover cupcakes into his room and licked the icing off of three before we found him!

After dinner and cupcakes we gave Charlie his gift. Isla specifically requested we get him a mechanical cat toy that moved. This was the only one I could find at the grocery store when I went to pick up a few staple supplies the other day. Good news! It entertains both cats and kids!

Oh, Char-yee Bar-yee, we love you and are glad you’re part of our family. Happy birthday, little buddy. Here’s to many, many more happy years together. We hope you aren’t too traumatized from that hat!