Garden & Bug Party 5yr - Bug-erific Bee Hive

For my daughters 5th birthday party, she had a Garden / Bug Party.  

INVITATIONS read Join us for a Bug-erific Garden Party!!! Hannah’s turning 5!!! Buzz on over, Saturday, April 16th. We’ll be flying around in the <<last name>> garden from 1:00 until 4:00pm. Please call the Head Gardener and let them know if you’ll be buzzing over!! Xxx-xxx-xxxx. I printed this out on the computer, cut it out and placed it on to green construction paper. I then cut that out to fit packets of seeds that I had purchased at Big Lots for 10 cents each. Once attached to the packet of seeds, I decorated around the wording with bug and flower. Party guests raved at how cute the invitations were!  

DECORATIONS: For weeks leading up to the party, I colored larger than life flowers and bugs. All different sizes and colors. I staple gunned those to the fence. That was a huge hit! One of the flowers I made a lot bigger than the rest of the flowers for an activity. The tables had green tablecloths with 3 pots of flowers. In between the pots of flowers I put caterpillars that my daughter and I made using egg cartons (paint, attach wiggly eyes, and pipe cleaner for antennae). I placed dragonfly stickers on the tablecloths. I hung a beehive and bees in the nearby tree. I got the idea from Danielle’s Place (http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/bugs.html). Also in the tree, I hung the coffee filter butterflies that we made (color coffee filters, scrunch up in the middle, and put a clothes pin for the body, use pipe cleaner for antennae). What’s a party without balloons?? I got a huge Mylar butterfly balloon and several plain red and plain yellow latex balloons. On the red balloons, I drew and colored spots on (a ladybug balloon). On the yellow balloons, I used black crepe paper (attaching with double sided tape) and made stripes (a bumblebee balloon). Those were hung throughout the party zone.  For the paper goods, there are many patterns you can use. I used a simple flowered pattern that I found at Big Lots really inexpensive. 

FOOD/SNACKS: Because this party was after lunch, I didn’t feel the need to offer lunch or main food, but offered snacks. I had Critter Crunch (mixture of goldfish crackers, pretzel sticks, yogurt covered raisins, M&M’s, and animal cookies) served out a clean terra cotta pot. To inform our party guests of what this mixture was, I printed a label out on the computer and then cut it down to size and decorated it with bug stickers and attached that to a skewer and then stuck it in the pot. I also served Ants on a Log, celery with peanut butter and cream cheese spread on it with raisins atop. I also made a little label with ant stickers marching across the label. I also offered baby carrots and broccoli with dip. Miscellaneous bowls of gummy worms, flowered hard candy (like Runts), a bowl of flower shaped marshmallows. Lemonade was served out of a new (and clean) watering can with a big flowery ribbon tied to the handle. I made two cakes, one a butterfly cake and the other a caterpillar cake. The pattern I used for the butterfly cake I found on Birthday Express (http://www.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/planning/butterfly cake.asp).  I used this site primarily for the pattern in how to cut my cake. I then decorated it how I wanted. The idea for the caterpillar cake was taken from the Betty Crocker web site (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeid=34327). Everyone commented on how adorable the cakes were!And how yummy they were! 

ACTIVITIES: One of the flowers I had made, I made a lot a bigger than the others. The kids played Pin the Bumblebee on the Sunflower. I found bumblebee post it notes and wrote each of the kids’ names on a post it note. The kids then got to plant their own flower. Again, at Big Lots I found little peat pots really inexpensive. I bought flowers at Home Depot for the kids to plant. I originally was going to have the kids plant seeds, but what fun is it for a kid to have to wait to see their plant grow??  Prior to the kids arriving I hid 60+ plastic bugs and insects all over my backyard. The kids had a bug hunt and collected them in the bug jars I had made. I found half pint mason jars on clearance. I attached a tag to the ring of each jar with the child’s name, for example Hannah’s Bugs with a cute foamy bug sticker. I had precut squares of tulle. When the kids had finished hunting for bugs, I placed a piece of tulle over their bug jar and screwed the lid on the jar. There was a tiny party favor magnifying glass in each jar to go bug hunting with. Each child went home with their planted flower and their bug jar as party favors.  The birthday girl and all her guests had a great time!