Capybara Birthday

Recently my youngest daughter turned seven and requested a capy birthday party. Here is how we got our home party ready using simple supplies, little expense, and time as we celebrated big brother’s 14th birthday just a week prior. I also made some free themed templates that are available to download below.

Decorations:

I used kraft paper to cut out large capybaras and created a template for their snout. It is free to download above for personal use and is best printed out onto white cardstock. We used double sided painter’s tape to hang them all up around our house and added party hats (cut out of construction paper) and party blowers (purchased from the Dollar Tree). I also filled our shelves with my daughter’s capybara stuffies and books.

I cut simple swirls out of pink construction paper and taped them to the ceiling throughout our house. I made a capy birthday banner for my daughter. I really enjoy creating banners for my kids’ birthdays and special occasions as they are a simple and inexpensive way to decorate. The banner is available here and can be customized for any event. The party signs I made are available here with the details for each activity explained more completely below.

My daughter requested capybara lanterns. We recently celebrated the moon festival and she was disappointed she couldn’t find any capybara lanterns so of course we had to make some. To make the lanterns, you just need construction or kraft paper and my free template that is free to download above for personal use.

If you use kraft paper, the colors will perfectly match. However if you make your lantern with brown construction paper, I recommend using my template to cut the head and arms out of the same colored paper so everything will more closely match. We ended up stringing our lanterns up with clear fishing line to decorate our kitchen for party day.

In my kids’ play room, more capybaras were cut out of kraft paper. I made a template for the capybara face that can be downloaded above for personal use. I ended up not using the pink cheeks in our display. I added more light and dark blue paper plates to create waves to further complete the space and also as a nod to how capybaras are great swimmers like my daughter.

In the kitchen, I taped more paper plates to create a capybara face. One week ago, these same gold paper plates were a trophy for big brother’s soccer themed birthday. This easy decoration could also work for a teddy bear party.

Party Activities:

I found some adorable coloring pages at Coloring Bunny and set up a coloring area for the kids.

I used my projector to make a few larger coloring pages to make use of our hallway space.

I purchased these white poster boards inexpensively from Walmart and used double sided painter’s tape to secure them to the wall. This is always a really easy to prep and low cost activity that the kids enjoy.

My daughter really loves both capybaras and boba.

I used a thick black Sharpie to make all the outlines and pinned cups of crayons right to the wall.

It really is such a simple but engaging activity for kids of all ages.

I purchased these adorable capybara charms here from Amazon as well as these duck charms and set up a little invitation to make necklaces and bracelets. I included a set of alphabet beads, colorful pony beads, and elastic string. My daughter and her friends really enjoyed this activity and ended up making a lot of new jewelry.

I gathered our toilet paper rolls, some yarn in light and dark brown (from the Dollar Tree), and made a template for the kids to cut and either glue or tape to create their own fuzzy capybaras.

I added this simple sign to our giant Lego stash to invite kids to build their own Lego capybara. The activity signs I made are available here.

My daughter requested gingerbread cookies shaped like capybaras. I used this recipe from Sally’s Bake Blog. I purchased the capybara cookie cutter here.

Setting up this activity was as easy as setting out vanilla buttercream, these gingerbread capybara cookies, along with some paper plates, plastic knives, and some Fruity Pebbles cereal, and letting the kids have at it. My favorite recipe for vanilla buttercream frosting is this one from Two Sisters. My kids really enjoy decorating cookies for all the holidays and their birthdays.

I found the cutest capybara tattoos here. Including a little area for kids dedicated to temporary tattoos is another inexpensive and low prep activity that is always such a hit. There were so many really adorable ones to choose from. I also appreciated that they came already precut.

I made these simple signs to work my kids’ existing play kitchen into the party theme. They are free to download above and are meant to overlap a bit.

The kids also played Creature Crash. They just take turns rolling the dice and placing that many capybaras on the wobbly tree, trying not to make the tree fall over.

Instead of purchasing blank canvases, I found this watercolor paper at the Dollar Tree. You get 24 sheets for just three dollars which is way cheaper than purchasing blank canvases. I found the adorable coloring page here and projected it onto each sheet, tracing the outline with a black Sharpie for kids to later paint in. When it was time to paint, I just added little cups of water. I also provided kids with Faber-Castell connector watercolor paints as well as a black Sharpie to sign their paintings.

Many of the kids spent quite a lot of time here and were so proud of their finished work.

We made a ginormous capybara pinata together from cardboard. This is an easy and wonderful way to make larger, sturdier pinatas, that can fit into any party theme. You just need to cut out the shape of your piñata twice, add 3-4 inch cardboard strips to the sides, and tape everything up with masking tape. We use masking tape as it can be painted or easily covered up with tissue paper and won’t show through.

We then covered up our pinata with light brown paper streamer and glued some black construction paper and my printable snout for added detail. My kids always enjoy helping me to make and fill these pinatas. As the cost of making these are minimal, we get to splurge on filling them. We filled ours with the birthday girl’s favorite candy treats as well as a mix for her family and friends.

Here is the birthday girl taking the first swing! When asked about their birthdays, my kids always tell me that the pinata was one of their favorite parts.

Food:

We included the birthday girl’s favorite foods as well as a lot of homemade kid friendly favorites. My daughter loves corn, mac and cheese, and baked beans. I doubled this recipe to make the mac and cheese but skipped the bread topping.

My daughter really loves beans and requested green beans too. The cute food signs are available here.

We enjoyed some twice baked potatoes. I sliced each potato in half, drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked them for an hour at 400 degrees then scooped out the filling and added melted butter, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. I then refilled the potatoes, topped them with more cheddar cheese, and placed them back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes for the cheese to melt on top.

I just warmed up a bunch of Costco chicken nuggets in my roaster oven and kept it on warm for the duration of the party.

The birthday girl is a big fan of won ton soup. Soup is always a good idea for fall parties.

We enjoyed deviled eggs. I wasn’t able to take a proper picture before they were mostly eaten.

We had shrimp chips. My kids love having shrimp chips at all their birthdays. It’s a special treat I always had at my birthday parties growing up. My husband fries them a few weeks in advance and we store them in the refrigerator in ziploc bags, ready to pull out on party day.

My parents made their delicious fried rice. We also made traditional Vietnamese egg rolls but I wasn’t able to take a proper picture before they were all devoured. The egg roll recipe handed down from my mom can be found here.

The birthday girl also loves chips and salsa.

My daughter requested a chocolate ice cream cake like the one her sister had for her Matilda birthday but requested it to be shaped like a capybara. I used this recipe to make the chocolate cake and this recipe from Sugar Spun Run to make the stabilized whipped cream frosting.

Here is my oldest daughter helping to frost her little sister’s cake. She wants to own a bakery some day and loves helping me to bake and decorate. We had to add a lot of extra cocoa and brown icing gel to achieve the darker brown color for the snout. We also used mini chocolate chips to make the eyes and nose. You have to work really fast with the whipped cream frosting, refreezing, then piping more until finished.

I used this recipe to make the WASC cupcakes and this mold to make the milk chocolate capybaras.

Lastly, we mixed two cartons of vanilla ice cream with a three bottles of root beer to make a self serve root beer float station.

Favors:

For favors, I purchased these kraft bags from Amazon. We filled them with these adorable capybara notepads, stickers, and sticker craft. The kids also filled them with pinata candy and crafts they made at the party. The party bag toppers are available here.

Here is the birthday girl proudly wearing her new capybara hat with the ears that flap along with some of her favorite presents. She was blown away by all the thoughtful and fun gifts she received that were so on theme. We really had so much fun putting this together. It felt like unchartered territory as we have never attended a capy birthday party before. I also really enjoyed helping my kids to see how we can easily make decorations and fun activities from simple everyday supplies.

I create more printable activities for kids here.

To see my other kids’ parties click here.

If you use these printables or party ideas, I would love to see it! Please use #sodangfun on social media, tag me @sodangfun on Instagram, or post to my Facebook page.

I hope this post helps you to create something fun for your capybara loving kiddos!