If you’ve been following along with the Rock My brand for a good few years you may remember Mabel’s “Twinkle Twinkle” themed 1st birthday party that was featured on Rock My Style.

I went all out on the decor and styling front, entertaining a house full of family, friends and little people. It was a great day, lots of cake was consumed and by 6pm I was bloody exhausted. It turned out to be a whole lot of work.

Her second birthday party was the other end of the spectrum, we went to a farm just the three of us and we had an equally as enjoyable day.

Roll on another year and I could tell you all that Mabel had a “woodland themed” birthday party. Which she did. Sort of. Although apart from the epic cake made by Lottie at Buttercream and Dreams there was absolutely nothing styled about it. Quite the opposite. Think wellies, waterproofs, mud and a party that was held literally in the woods.

My friend Becky whom I met via NCT some years ago had mentioned the best party her son had ever been too was run by The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. They have two locations, Brandon Marsh Nature Centre in Coventry and the Parkridge Centre, Solihull, which is where we held Mabel’s. They offer a plethora of themed ideas from a pond party, to den making, to dinosaur discovery to getting “arty” in the wild – depending on age range and perceived weather conditions. We chose a “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” for Mabel which consisted of plenty of role play, make believe and hide and seek.

The party begins with 15 minutes or so of craft and play indoors and then the next hour and a half are spent outdoors to enjoy your chosen party type led by a qualified ranger. The adults of course go along too and mainly have the opportunity to chat and drink coffee whilst the kids have a thoroughly wonderful time digging for worms, making porridge out of leaves and finding hidden treasures within the woodland. There is then a sit down packed lunch for each child once the outdoor play has finished. You also have the option for pass the parcel and serving your own cake – should you want to bring one along. (We chose to do both).

The party costs £90 for two hours which allows up to a maximum of 20 children, with all fees going to The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Food per head starts from £3 and you can also opt to have various add ons such as goody bags and the aforementioned pass the parcel.

I’ve got to say it took minimum effort from me personally, the team at the trust were so helpful, as was the ranger on the day and the staff at the Dragonfly Tearoom who provide the catering. All the children had a thoroughly marvellous time and Mabel was so wiped out that she fell asleep by 7pm and didn’t wake up until 8am the following day. WINNING.

Please do take a butchers at the pictures taken by Lisa at Little Beanies in the header image above, I would highly recommend the Trust as a birthday party option – I appreciate there is a considerable financial investment but I loved the fact I know it goes directly to an amazing charity. Not to mention for us it was worth it – the whole event worked out at less than £10 per child.

What are you doing for your children’s next birthday? Ever been to a party run by a local wildlife trust? Do let us know in the comments box below.