Butterfly Birthday Party - Butterfly Conservatory

Butterfly Birthday Party Ideas:  I work at a Butterfly Conservatory and have seen dozen of GREAT ideas! 

Costumes: Wings can be made out of strong wire or hangers, and white nylons.  It may take a bit to get the hang of it, BUT when done, the kids can decorate with glitter.  Have them prepared before the kids get there! Wings can be made out of Craft foam too!  Make this into a craft for the kids to glue fun shapes on their wings!  They can be worn with extra large elastics, or ribbon for each arm.  Headwear: crowns, can be make with fancy wire…you may even find some with butterflies on them!  You can find the wire in your gift ware section.  Create a crown large enough for each child's head and tie on curling ribbon for a whimsical effect.  Antennae, can be made with an old head band, pipe cleaners and pompoms on the end.  Assessories: wands, purchase dowling at your hardware store and wrap tinfoil around it.  For the star, you can use crafty foam, or bend wire in the shape of a star, and cover with tin foil.  Attach curling ribbon. Butterfly net, I have seen them for dollars at a dollar store.  I have also seen them made out of cheese cloth! 

Craft Ideas: suncatchers can be made out of tissue paper and card stock.  You can also melt crayons to create a stain glass effect.  Online, I have seen some printable butterfly masks that can be colored and worn. You can also make butterflies out of coffee filters.  Use paint, or markers to color the coffee filter, gather in the center with a pipe cleaner.  You can also buy wooden butterfly shapes at your craft store that can be painted, or colored on and made into necklaces. Salt Doe Crafts are a lot of fun!  Use cookie cutters for butterfly shapes.  There are LOTS of salt doe recipes on the internet!  Butterflies need flowers…you can make flowers with pipe cleaner and coffee filters, tissue paper or just plain construction paper.  

FACE PAINTING!  Kids can have their face painted like beautiful butterflies! OR painted tattoos!   Buy plain white t-shirts or caps and let the children paint, stencil, stamp or draw with crayons, butterfly designs. If you use crayons, you can melt into the t-shirt with a neat effect with an iron over top!  Put a piece of paper between the shirt and iron! You can also buy plastic visors and decorate with puffy paints!  Food: Again, gummy worms in Jell-O.  Butterfly shaped cookie cutters can be used for cookies, brownies, sandwiches, grilled cheese.  Butterfly cakes can be in LOTS of fun ways!  Cupcakes can be decorated by the kids. Juice with straws…explain that butterflies suck up nectar like we would suck through straws.  Cookies shaped as flowers.    Gifts for games:  A bug box the kids can collect their own bugs.  A butterfly net.  A pass to a Butterfly Conservatory. A book.  A kite. 

Education:  You can read a book from the library to teach about butterflies before the party, or use the book to wind down the party.  You can teach about the scales, and how they make up their pretty colors.  How they suck nectar, how Monarchs migrate, the four stages of a butterfly.  You can make the education part of a game! The internet and library are GREAT place to look for butterfly facts.  

Decorations:  Coffee filter butterflies can decorate trees in the yard for low costs!  HUGE butterflies made out of Bristol board with streamers attached will look beautiful blowing in the wind.  You can use these ideas for inside too!    

Party Favors:  If you have a Conservatory in your area, they will usually have a gift shop.  You can find plastic bugs, nets, butterfly eyes, stickers, bookmarks, pencils, erasers, stencils, tattoos, funky straws all in a bug or butterfly theme.  The dollar store is GREAT place to start looking!  Of course their crafts become their party favors too! 

Games: Create a big butterfly out of Bristol board.  Cut out symmetrical circles.  Have a bean bag toss through the butterfly.  Have a bug eating contest,  Have gummy worms in Jell-O. If you party is at a Butterfly Conservatory, have questions prepared, or some places will have questions already make up for an education program.  The questions would be like…Find the Blue Butterfly…what is its name?  The questions would be age appropriate.  Of course the answer COULD be a Morpho Butterfly.  

Have a contest, the first person to find a caterpillar outside in the garden.  You can make "fake" ones to hide.  Misc.  Instead of balloons to show guests where the party is outside, create a butterfly for your mailbox, hang on your door, etc.   If this party is for an adult who LOVES butterflies, check the conservatory gift shop for a gift, or if you can sew…you can make a pillow out of butterfly material. You can also make the beanbags too! 

You can also search for the nearest Butterfly Conservatory and make it part of your party!  Some will give special rates for birthdays and access to a party room.  Some will make up party bags for you, or let the birthday child release a butterfly into the conservatory after it hatches.  You can also check if there is an onsight restaurant, or picnic facilities!  Some places may have an outdoor meadow as well! 

Goodluck on planning your birthday party...I hope its a butterfly success!