Cat In The Hat Party -3yr- Fish Crackers

INVITATION For the invitation, I drew a Cat in the Hat hat similar to the one in the book.  On one side I colored the hat in red and white, on the other side, I typed the invitation:  Do not sit.  Sit. Sit. Sit. You won't like it one bit. Look! And see him! The Cat in the Hat! And do not sit there like that!  Whether it is wet Or the sun is sunny, We can have Lots of good fun that is funny!  Come celebrate [Child's] birthday On the 30th of May. From 3:30 to 5:00 That is the way. At [Address] Road Come on over.  Don't be a toad. Give us a call XXX-XXX0 If you're coming, just so we know.  Hooray! For [Child] is now three! Come and have fun and leave in glee. 

DECORATIONS I used minimal décor.  I set the table with a red and white checked tablecloth.  I bought a lifesize poster of the Cat in the Hat and books and taped it to the house.  We took foam insulation tubing and taped blown-up medical gloves to the end, and taped the tubes as arms to our little red wagon to look like the Cat in the Hat's vehicle.  We made a shady sitting area under the trees and put out all our Dr. Seuss books for a reading spot.  When the children arrived, they each received a paper Cat in the Hat hat bought online with his/her name on it.  They had free play in the yard to read, run around, or ride in the vehicle until all the children arrived. 

ACTIVITIES & GAMES Our first game was Pin the Hat on the Cat.  I drew a hatless Cat in the Hat on butcher paper.  The children each received a hat and we played the game.  Next I explained that in The Cat in the Hat, the Cat makes a big mess, and that was what we were going to do.  I had a large red box and explained that the Cat had such a red box.  I opened it and I distributed paint smocks to all the children. 

My mother-in-law had bought large white t-shirts at the dollar store, then spatter-painted them and signed them all with fabric marker, Love, the Cat in the Hat.  I explained that the Cat in the Hat had sent these shirts especially for them so they could make a mess.  We then walked over to the garage doors where I had taped up white butcher paper.  I laid out washable paints and distributed paint brushes and the children painted on the garage.

Once they started to tire of the painting.  I left out chalk for them to draw in the driveway or they could come over to another spot in the driveway and blow up the volcano and make a big mess.  I bought a $10 volcano set at the discount store and added more baking soda and lemon juice so that we could erupt the volcano over and over again.  Each child had at least one turn to erupt the volcano and make a big mess.  It was quite the hit of the party.   

COSTUMES My three-year old was going to dress as the Cat in the Hat, with a black suit with a tail and a real Cat in the Hat red and white striped hat, but he chickened out.  I was hoping his older brothers would dress as Thing 1 and Thing 2, but they chickened out too.  So my husband and I both donned red t-shirts and put nametags on the front saying, Thing 1 and Thing 2.  I bought blue hats and fuzzy knitting yarn from the dollar store and glued the yarn to the hats to make fuzzy blue hair, easier than a wig. 

PARTY SNACKS While the children were participating in the games and activities, they could come and get a snack.  I put cheese-flavored fish crackers in baby food jars to look like the fish in his bowl from the book. 

CAKE After we made our messes, we congregated around the cake table.  I made cupcakes with purple frosting (like the cake in The Cat in the Hat movie).  I put the cupcakes on a tiered cupcake stand and put silly curvy candles on the top cupcake for my son to blow out.  I then passed out the cupcakes and on a child-size table I placed different colors and shapes of sprinkles and different colors of icing.  The children then could continue with the mess-making and decorate their own cupcakes.  After cake, we sat in the shady spot, and the children either watched my son open his presents or they read the books. 

FAVORS For party favors, we had found Cat in the Hat plush toys at Kohl's for half-price.  Every child went home with their very own Cat in the Hat.