All ready for her Garden Butterfly Party
In the few months before K’s 3rd birthday, I frequently asked her what theme she wanted for her party. Her answer was quite consistent: she would look down at her shirt and declare that her theme would be whatever picture was displayed on her shirt (star, Hello Kitty, tree, heart were a few). Therefore, I felt fully justified in picking my own theme for her party. I just dressed her in butterfly decorated shirts for a few weeks in a row and there you go! She decided to have a butterfly party (which I expanded to “Garden Party”)!
Big flowers and butterflies, but what happened to that poor ladybug’s spots?
I purchased some blank cards that were green and had pretty ivy like swirls on them. I printed out the invitation details and pasted them inside the card and placed butterfly stickers on the outside of the card. It was simple and pretty. We decorated the fence with a variety of large bugs and flowers. I found some pink butterfly themed “Happy Birthday” banners and decorations I hung at the table and over the porch.
X, the Bee, is all ready for the party too
Little hostess checking on the painters
When the guests arrived, they were given a little headband with curly pipe cleaner antennae. Then they were ushered over to the table under the tree to paint a flower pot (which they took home). Then we played some fun games. We played bug tag where I was a bee, chasing after all the other bugs. If I caught one, I took them to
The bee is chasing the butterflies!
my “hive” (which was my porch). To make sure we were all in the mood, I wore a bright yellow shirt striped with black tape and a black tape stinger on the back (my mother made this many, many years ago as a costume for my brother). The kids screamed and giggled. We had good times with this game. Next, we took all the kids (with their parents) on a walk down to my backyard which is a wild tangle of a hill. When we were there, the kids were sent out to search for “bugs” (which were actually little rubbery bug finger puppets and I found them in my yard for months and months after this!). When we arrived back in the front yard after our bug hunt adventure, the kids pinned the spot on the ladybug. Then they drank nectar (fruit juice) out of their straw like butterfly mouths (actual straws).
Cute butterfly cupcakes
After the games, it was time to eat! We had butterfly sandwiches and butterfly crackers. The guests could enjoy grapes and strawberries and for the adults, we had spiral sandwiches and salad. Then we sang to the birthday girl and served butterfly cupcakes (made with yogurt pretzel wings and M&M bodies). Also for desert, we had “dirt in a cup”… chocolate pudding covered with Oreo crumbs, a little sour gummy worm tucked inside the “dirt” and a flower
Yummy Sandwiches
lollipop (or a bug lollipop for the boys) sticking up out of the cup. It was a very fun little treat!
Since K’s birthday is in July, it was pretty hot that day, so after the festivities, we turned on our wiggly worm sprinkler and everyone cooled off! It was a beautiful day of celebration for our big 3 year old girl!
Happy 3rd Birthday!
Following Footprints 