Pat the Bunny -2yr-Fuzzy Bunnie Craft

Pat the Bunny 2 yr. old  For my daughter's 2nd birthday, we chose one of her favorite books for the theme:  Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt.  This classic activity book was first published by Golden Books in 1940 and was a favorite of all our children.  For reference, the text reads Here are Paul and Judy.  They can do lots of things.  You can do lots of things, too.  Judy can pat the bunny.  Now YOU pat the bunny.  Judy can play peek-a-boo with Paul.  Now YOU play peek-a-boo with Paul.  Paul can smell the flowers.  Now YOU smell the flowers.  Judy can look in the mirror.  Now YOU look in the mirror.  Judy can read her book.  Now YOU read Judy's book.  Paul can put his finger through Mummy's ring.  Now YOU put your finger through Mummy's ring.  That's all.  Bye-bye.  Can you say Bye-bye?  Paul and Judy are waving Bye-bye to YOU. 

INVITATIONS: I used American Greetings CreataCard to make the invitations that were designed to look like the book (but you could easily use another software program).  The card was made with a half sheet of peach cardstock.  I folded a small strip of aqua-colored cardstock and glued it to the folded edge of the card to create the border.  I cut a bunny out of white card stock and glued it to the front.  Above the bunny, in arched lower-case letters (like pat the bunny), it said ôyou are invitedö.  The font I found that most closely matched that of the book cover was called Century Gothic.   Below the bunny (where the book says BY DOROTHY KUNHARDT) it said TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY, in all caps.  I used the font called Modern for that section. 

Inside the card I glued in two rectangles of white cardstock.  I used peach and aqua colored pencils to make the dot border around the outside.  The inside left side said Camille can party.  The inside right side said Now YOU party.  Then I listed the date, time, address, and RSVP information.  The back of the card said That's all.  Come to the party.  Can you say I'll come to the party? All of this was done in the Modern font.   It took a bit of time to make these, but since I already had cardstock in the right colors, it didn't cost anything to make them. 

DECORATIONS: I bought party supplies in the colors from the book:  peach and aqua with some yellow accents.  I went with aqua dinner plates, peach napkins, and yellow plasticware.  For the cake I reversed the colors and went with peach dessert plates, and aqua napkins.   For the centerpiece, I asked a florist to create floral centerpiece in the peach and aqua color scheme.  I also requested that it be highly scented so that the kids could smell the flowers, just like Paul in the book.  I also hung some peach and aqua streamers and some yellow balloons.  Some of the supplies I was able to find at local dollar and party store, but others I purchased at an online retailer. 

ACTIVITIES AND GAMES: Although the birthday girl was just 2, the siblings and party guests ranged up to age 6, so I did plan a few non-competitive activities.  As the guests arrived, I greeted them with a Pat the Bunny puppet that I purchased on eBay.  I also gave each of the guests a set of bunny ears that I purchased at a dollar store around Halloween (they might be available around Easter too).  While we waited for all the guests to arrive, the kids colored Pat the Bunny coloring sheets.  I downloaded these for free from www.patthebunny.com.  Then I read the children the Pat the Bunny book. 

The next activity was a time of exploration.  I collected a bunch of different materials with different textures for the kids to touch.  A funny coincidence was that my husband had just had neck surgery and was unable to shave, so we had a genuine Daddy's scratchy faceö.   We also played peek-a-boo and smelled the floral centerpiece.  I gave each kid a mirror to look in.  I got these at a dollar store and let the kids keep them as one of their favors.   We also played with different sized rings, starting with a hula hoop and ending with my wedding ring.  I used anything I could find, like inflatable swimming rings, canning rings, bracelets, etc.  The kids saw how their whole bodies could fit through the biggest and only their finger through the smallest. 

For the craft, the kids made fuzzy bunnies.  I cut the bunny shape out of contact paper and stapled it onto peach and aqua cardstock.  Adults were needed to help the kids peel off the backing, then the kids stuck on cotton balls.  This could also be done with glue, but I found contact paper to be much less messy for toddlers!  While the kids were making these, some adults I recruited to help were hiding stuffed bunnies around the house.  We had a bunch of these that had been given as Easter gifts to my kids.  After the craft was completed, the kids went on a bunny hunt. 

Next I read the kids the book Pat the Birthday Bunny.  After that I put a Pat the Bunny:  Sing with Me video (purchased on eBay) in the VCR and let the kids watch it while I got dinner ready.  For dinner we had pizza (not only easy, but also theme-related because pizza is in the Pat the Birthday Bunny book).  After that we had cake and ice cream, then watched the birthday girl open her presents. 

CAKE: I made a cake in a 9x13 pan, then cut it out in the shape of the bunny (which fortunately isn't too hard to copy because of its blobby shape!).  I used the scrap pieces to make the ears.  I frosted the cake with white icing, then sprinkled on shredded coconut. 

GIFT IDEAS: This year I decided to start a new tradition and give each of the kids a Christmas ornament with their birthday theme.  I thought this would be a fun way to remember their birthday parties.  Hallmark made a Pat the Bunny ornament in 2001 and I was able to buy one on eBay.  As you can tell, I found several things on eBay for this party!   There are lots of other Pat the Bunny books, stuffed animals, etc. that would also make good gifts.