Butterfly Bash 5yr - Butterfly Net Scavengers

5 year old butterfly birthday bash.  This party was a smashing success!  My daughter wanted a butterfly birthday cake and I took it from there. 

Invitations:  I started off with an invitation made on the computer, on card stock, that said Flutter on over to Mina’s 5th birthday bash complete with all details and the RSVP of respond to the momarch by the date (great idea I borrowed from this website).  I printed butterflies (the same graphic butterfly) all over the invitation with polka dots and a cute script writing.  I printed a larger version of the same butterfly on a separate card stock, cut it out, bent up the wings and glued the center of the body at an angle at the top center.  It was a 3 dimensional butterfly looking like it landed on the invitation.  These were mailed in envelopes that had the same butterfly printed on the outside of the envelope.  I used this same butterfly graphic throughout the entire party in various places for a tie in to the invitation. 

We rented a moonwalk/slide combination so that was the main attraction. 

Decorations:  Our yard was decorated with pink, purple and orange latex helium balloons at the mailbox, on a path leading to the backyard (I found cute pinwheels at the dollar store and I tied a balloon to each pinwheel and stuck the pinwheel in the ground to anchor it) and at the food table (a large cluster of the 3 colors were tied to a watering can).  

Activities:  As the guests arrived, they received a butterfly washable tattoo and then went to the moonwalk.  This party was from 10-12 but being in August in the South, I had set out spray bottles with water and individual small hand towels for them to dry off as they got hot.  I think at times they enjoyed the spray bottles as much as anything else (spraying each other and themselves).  We had a huge industrial fan that blew and kept everyone cool as well. 

Costumes:   All the girls received butterfly wings that I had made out of pink chiffon that attached to each arm with pink pony tail holders (I cut each wing with a scallop on the outside edge to look like a real butterfly wing.  I then had to use fray check to keep the material from fraying but when dried, it gave it a white band that went around the entire edge.  It helped define and protect it.  One pony tail holder went around the top of the arm and the other at the wrist.  My daughter’s wrist band was the special one as it had a butterfly attached to each band.  I found these also at the dollar store.) and the boys received antenna headbands that I made from dollar store headbands and pipe cleaners. 

Games:  The scavenger hunt.  I called the guests over to tell them of a fun activity.  I had printed from the computer on card stock and cut out 6 different images (a caterpillar, a cocoon and 4 different color butterflies..just like they metamorphis into butterflies) for each guest there.  I scattered these around a different part of the yard.  They looked cute on the grass as if they had all landed there.  I then handed each of them a butterfly net (purchased at the dollar store.  Each net had a butterfly on the end of the handle and the frame of the net was shaped like a butterfly.  I had great luck at the dollar store that day.)  and explained the game.  On each net handle, I glued a card stock scavenger card with the child’s name at the top of the card that showed a picture of each image they needed to find.  (I had cut the card itself with a scallop edge and each image on there was individually cut with a scallop edge and glued onto the card.  It helped dress it up).  They were to find just one of each image.  This way, they all collected the same amount and it wasn’t a grab for all. 

They were so excited and cute as they raced off with their wings flapping in the wind (and antennas bouncing) to look for their items.   When they finished, I had them turn over a particular butterfly they found (it happened to be the same butterfly that was on the invitation) to see a number on the back.  They then went to the table where the prizes were laid and matched up their number to the number on the prize.  Each guest received a colorful pencil, a butterfly eraser and a colorfully wrapped blow pop.  I wrapped them in saran wrap, tied a purple ribbon around them and made stickers on my computer with the same butterfly graphic from the invitation and scavenger hunt with a number.  This way all guests were winners in the game and their prizes were the same but in different color combinations. 

Food:  Now it was snack time.  The table had a yellow table cloth with the large cluster of balloons tied to the watering can in the middle.  I had purple plates, butterfly napkins (that had the pink, orange and purple colors to tie in to the balloons) and special party food each with a cute label and graphic on pink card stock that was cut with scalloped scissors.  There were grapes on skewers with the sign caterpillar grapes and a graphic of a caterpillar, bugles chips labeled cocoons/chrysalis, cheese pizzas that I cut out with cookie cutters into butterflies and flowers labeled butterfly and flower pizzas with the same invitation butterfly graphic.  The food was arranged so you had the caterpillar first, then the cocoon/chrysalis then the butterfly to show the stages they go through.  Then to drink, I had made a special lemonade (lemon & lime juice, raspberries and sugar) and labeled this flower nectar with our same butterfly graphic.  This was at the end, of course, because this is what the butterflies drink.  

I also made flowers out of chenille (pipe cleaner) stems that slid over the flexible straws for all of the children.  (these were easy and I got from parents.com for decoration ideas.  You twist one green stem into 3 small loops to form the leaves with a loop in the center to slide over the straw.  Then take a half of a stem (I did pinks and purples), twist it around a pencil to coil it and slide it over the straw to sit on top of the leaves.)   These were in a small flower pot next to the lemonade.   Scattered all across the table were beautiful butterflies (oriental trading company).  Their wings were a transparent plastic but colored.  They almost had a stain glass effect.  There were red, blue, purple, green, pink and orange ones.  This was just the perfect touch to the table.  It looked like they had all landed for the party and tied in all the colors. 

After this they jumped some more in the moonwalk and then it was time for cake and ice cream.  Remember the huge fan mentioned above well the kids loved to stand in front of the fan with their wings on and let them blow.  The wings were a huge success as they didn’t want to take them off for the rest of the party.  Also, we live on a large wooded lot and have a garden in the area we had the party that has flowers to attract butterflies.  This same large yellow butterfly kept flying over the party.  Just before we went in for cake, it flew right down and across the yard over our heads.  All the kids grabbed their nets and tried to catch it.  They were so excited and having so much fun and that wasn't planned at all.  But that didn't keep him away as he flew around the rest of the day. 

Cake:  The cake I made was a flower cake mold and then I did an icing butterfly on top that matched the butterfly on the invitation.  I then had vanilla ice cream cut into shapes of butterflies and flowers (slice a carton of ice cream into thick slices and then do the cut outs with cookie cutters, cover and place in freezer to refreeze.  I put them on wax paper so it was easy to peel off.)  

Favors:  After this, we opened presents and then it was time for the kids to leave (which none of them wanted to).  As they left they each received a sheet of the washable tattoos and a butterfly foam frame (that I made from oriental trading company) to go into their butterfly nets.  They could also take a butterfly off of the table.   So their take home gifts were butterfly nets that had captured butterfly frames, butterfly tattoos, butterfly erasers, pencils, a sucker, either wings or antenna headband, all the scavenger hunt items and a butterfly from the table.  I even managed to snap an individual picture of each child and am planning to have that developed and send with the thank you note so they can put it in their butterfly frame as a keepsake of this special day.  It was a lot of work, a lot of planning but worth it to see all the kid’s joy and especially my daughter's excitement.  I have even heard that the kids have been running around in their wings at home all weekend.