I wanted to create a magical handmade party for my little one’s fourth birthday. I knew that I wanted to incorporate storytelling and infuse wonder and magic to the party. One criteria was to find a way to give out handmade goodies to the children. So I came up with a fairy treasure hunt where the children received clues and messages from fairy friends. To prepare I put all of the treasures in place in advance of the children arriving.
We walked around my little backyard and discovered small but special handmade treasures, and I read the clues and messages along the way. Each child knew that they were receiving something very special and embraced the whole magical experience.
The Fairy Treasure Hunt began with discovering needle felted wool bags under the “natural umbrellas.” Each child was given a bag to hold all of the treasures to come.
“There was rain in the fairyland, but when it stopped and the sun shone its warmth, a beautiful rainbow appeared.
Our fairy friends captured the rainbow in these jewels for you to keep!”
Then it was time to finally meet our fairy friends dancing in the trees~ They were dancing and waiting in rainbow of colors!
“Please take me with you so that we may play in your home, said the fairies…”
My little helper (nine-year-old Mason) passed out the fairies and also “fairy invitations” from the fairy mailbox at the last stop of the treasure hunt. The invitation is for a special birthday story inside by the rainbow circle.
You can see a different bag design here, which is a heart needle-felted bag for the little sibling.
All the treasures that the children discovered.
Here is a list of the treasures we prepared for this special Birthday Fairy Treasure Hunt. Of course you can modify them to suit the tastes and needs of your child and their friends.
:: Needle felted wool bag with twizzle. I have a tutorial for a similar bag here.
:: Stamped bug wooden coin
:: Rainbow jewel
:: Silk fairy friend
:: Fairy letter and envelope (I bought these handmade at the local Waldorf school fair.)
:: Silk parachute (It is used in the above picture as a background.)
My son Ryker LOVED his fourth birthday party… this mama is tired but oh so grateful and content.
I hope this provides you with ideas and inspiration to create a natural and magical birthday party for your little one.
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Melody Park Shin is a homeschooling mama to four boys in NJ. She loves to create something useful everyday with her family, and shares handmade tutorials and inspirations on her blog, melodyparkshin.