When McKinney mom of three Larrah Bolten set out to plan her son Wes’ second birthday, she was initially intimidated by the thought of entertaining 10 of her son’s friends (in addition to Wes’ older brothers, ages 6 and 3). But the solution proved to be worry free: Bolten enlisted the help of Party Pets, a traveling petting zoo-like animal show that serves up hands-on activities for kids of all ages.
To take advantage of the cooler temperatures, Bolten hosted the outdoor bash in the morning, inviting Wes’ friends and their parents for a birthday breakfast. Despite the early roll call, the party-ready tots enthusiastically munched on muffins and sipped on orange juice while parents enjoyed a hot cup of coffee.
After having their fill, the kids and parents took off to tour the adjacent table landscape set up by Party Pets. Cage upon cage lined the tabletops, displaying slithery and cuddly pets alike — everything from a python, prairie dogs, ferrets, a rabbit, a flying squirrel and an African Pygmy hedgehog (to just name a few). But the party didn’t stop there.
After eyeing the caged creatures, partygoers took a seat and readied themselves for the animal show. The Party Pets instructor brought out each animal for the kids to pet and hold while he cited fun facts about each creature.
“He brought out everything from the cute to the creepy-crawly,” says Bolten. The boys were most impressed with the Texas Brown Tarantula as well as the slithery Ball Python.
Parents got busy snapping photos of the kids holding birds, snakes, lizards and more—it was hard for some to keep their cool (particularly when the instructor opened the tarantula cage!). “I was impressed by the presenter’s in-depth knowledge of each animal and his calm demeanor with the pets and the kids,” says Bolten.
The Party Pets instructors have years of training and experience around the animals; the company’s owner, Mike Lewis, was a local zookeeper for 30 years before starting the traveling zoo with his wife.
In addition to the expertise, the party was budget friendly with a total cost of $150 for the animal entertainment and about $50 for food and beverages.
Overall, the kids approved of the party-animal bash: “The kids were fascinated by the variety of creatures, most of which they got to touch or hold outside of the cages,” says Bolten. “The real prize was watching their discovery of each pet.”
