Boys Bug Party -2yr- Caterpillar Cake

My son turned 2 years old and we threw a bug themed bash! 

Invitations: I used a bug jar clipart of fireflies floating in a jar and printed in on cardstock. I cut out the jar shaped invitations and dressed them up with glitter so the bugs sparkled and tied a raffia bow around the top of the jar lid. On the back we printed:  Have you heard the buzz? David's turning 2!" along with the party details including date place and time. We hand delivered most of the invitations to the neighborhood children and mailed the rest. FYI: Be sure if you use ribbon on your invites to use 2 stamps!

Decorations: I ordered a giant vinyl banner for very cheap at bannersonthecheap.com (I've used them many times before for custom banners). I uploaded 4 cute pictures of my son playing in the garden and park getting dirty onto a lime green background and surrounded his pictures with the site's clip art of fun bugs (not too scary!). The bottom was lined with ants there was a smiley spider and some dragonflies and a praying mantis! All in blues and browns to keep with the theme and pop off the green. Of course it read "HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY DAVID!" and it cost $20 with shipping for a 2'x5' custom banner!

We made a TON of homemade dragonflies from clothespins we got at the 99cent store and used cardstock for wings and old buttons for eyes then hung from ceiling with fishing wire. I also made a tableclothe using different shades of green colored crepe paper and tiered them down the ends of a plain tableclothe and hot glued on little plastic bugs from oriental trading. I got the idea from parents magazine.

Then since my son LOVES balloons I decorated the plain cheap balloons with felt and cardstock to look like ladybugs bees dragonflies and butterflies using the variety pack of balloons with some long skinny ones for the flies and round red with black felt spots yellow with felt stripes taped on. Inexpensive and custom!

Activities: The first thing we did was decorate our bug jars with the parents help. The plastic bug craft kit in ladybugs and bees I got from oriental and it was cheap gave the kids an activity and a favor! Then we went on a bug hunt with magnifying glasses (oriental)and nets that were made from stockings and wire hangers. It was so fun!

Then we made catterpillar and snake necklaces from ribbon and tube pasta with construction paper for the face. They loved wearing them around! I also printed out free bug coloring pages (again nothing scary!) and got crayons from the 99cent store. We also had a movie corner with a bugs life movie when the kids needed a minute to relax. 

Party snacks: I continued the bug theme and served ants on a log "ladybug" shaped watermelon grape "beetles" chocolate covered raisin "rolly pollys" "caterpillar pop" kettle corn and served them in big containers that looked like the bug jars and labeled them with cute cutouts. We also served butterflies 2 pretzels stuck in gumdrops and gummy orange slices then decorated with icing and sprinkles. So cute! We also served hot dogs and chips as the main lunch.

Cake: I baked a plain old bundt cake then cut it into 4 equal slices. I pieced them back together alternating direction so it looked like a worm or snake then decorated with green and yellow icing stripes and added m&m eyes and made a super cute caterpillar cake! We also served dirt cupcakes on the side chocolate icing topped with crushed oreos and gummy worms. These cute treats added to the décor and were cheap and easy to make and the kids (and parents!) love to eat. We served them on plastic leaves from oriental to add to the outdoor bug theme.

Favors: In addition to the bug jars and magnifying glasses the kids took home I made favor bags too. I got some plain brown gift bags from michaels and lined the front bottom half with green cardstock and cut the top to look like grass. I stuck on a few bug stickers and printed out a picture of my son David with a bug border and put it on the top with a line under it saying "Thanks for coming to my party!" all printed at home like the invites.

Inside I gave each kid a bug activity book bug sketch pad and crayons (kits from oriental) bug bubble jars (oriental) and a big oatmeal raisin cookie placed inside leftover paper cd holders then around the cutout clear cd circle I drew little legs and antennas so they looked like bug cookies without melty icing mess or having to give candy to the little ones. Oatmeal and raisins are good for em! Hope this gives you some frugal ideas for a fun and lavish bash!"