Do you have a family member with a birthday that usually gets overshadowed by the winter doldrums? TABLE’s fabulous North Side team of Meg Van Dyke, Leah Hohman Esser, and Katie Long create a woodsy winter birthday celebration that also aligns with the season, dazzles with its very own sense of style, and is eminently achievable. Is the idea just for kids? No way. Who doesn’t love Where the Wild Things Are? We’re sure there are a few bear-ish wild things out there who would also enjoy a grown-up version of this fête.
A Where the Wild Things Are Winter Birthday Party
When our cold, squishy climate has slowed the imagination, celebrating a winter birthday with as much gusto as a fair weather one can feel daunting.
What better way to meet the challenge than to bring favorite fireside books and stories to life via a destination birthday party. For a few hours at Seedbed Farm, just twenty minutes from Pittsburgh, “wild things” will embrace their creative side, celebrate with friends, as well as mark the milestone of getting one year older. It is an extra special day for kids and beautifully attainable one for their loving party-planner parents.
Taking Inspiration from a Literary Source
Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is the perfect jumping off point for this storybook birthday. Paging through it with a dose of muddy chocolate as well as a regal nod to the rambunctious main character, Max, and his devoted monster pals, a party came to life. With freedom to celebrate in the spirt of the book rather than with direct references to it, planning food and activities feels lighthearted and flexible. The final product is also a testament to the beauty of simplicity and to the happy embrace of a range of local resources.
Inside the enchanting log cabin retreat, a towering cake dressed in edible bark, woodsy meringue mushrooms, and cake-crumble moss, draws attention. The nature-inspired design, from BB & Bur Pastry Kitchen and Bakery in Edgewood, tricks young eyes and requires wondering inspection. The Max crown cookies elicit an “I’ll eat you up” frenzy thanks to Jeanette Urbanek of SGR Cookie home bakery of Mt. Lebanon. Just to ensure partygoers exit with evidence of a successful romp, Spring House chocolate milks are stacked and also ready to send friends away with sticky milk mustaches.
Birthday Party Activities for All
To help friends get into character, Theo, as host, directs buddies to join him at a long rustic table for Wild Thing Mask-Making. Plain brown paper masks scattered atop a covered table wait for small hands to embellish them. A choose-your-own-adventure of nose shapes, horn bends, hair squiggles, as well as teeth awaits, and pallets of watercolors paired with small paint brushes are at the ready for final touches. A Wild Thing March is the perfect opportunity to place a no-nonsense newspaper crown on the birthday boy’s head.
Post-parade, appetites run high. A timely Wild Rumpus Ramen Bar radiates from the kitchen, where even food becomes a canvas, and then a birthday bar keeps guests engaged and caters to a wide range of tastes. Twins Clara and Everly demonstrate their individuality, garnishing colorful bowls of warm broth and noodles. Choosing from shredded carrot, red cabbage, a rainbow of sweet peppers, green onion, hard-boiled egg, basil, as well as cilantro, all are treated to their own custom-made meal. Seated on the small cabin porch where sleepy nature at Seedbed makes rousing chirps and whistles, young friends toast the day and with wild noodle slurps answer the call.
Story and styling by Leah Hohman Esser
Cake by BB & Bur Pastry Kitchen and Bakery
Cookies by SGR Cookie
Chocolate Milk by Spring House Market
Balloons by Party On Butler
Production by Meg Van Dyke
Photography by Katie Long
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