Many of you know that we recently celebrated Little E's 2nd birthday. This posts includes all the details that went into planning her Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party.
The idea for the party all came from one of Little E's favorite books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle. This is a book she wants to read just about every night. Once we decided on that theme, we searched all over Pinterest for ideas. Our goal was to have fun, while being mindful of our budget. With that in mind, we made a lot of the activities for the party.
The Activities
The idea for the party all came from one of Little E's favorite books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle. This is a book she wants to read just about every night. Once we decided on that theme, we searched all over Pinterest for ideas. Our goal was to have fun, while being mindful of our budget. With that in mind, we made a lot of the activities for the party.The Activities
- Read the book.
- Egg on leaf spoon race
- Feed the caterpillar game
- Cocoon race
- Butterfly catch
We made a lot of the supplies for the activities. In fact, I didn't have to buy anything! Here is the rundown of our lifecycle activities:
- For the egg on leaf race, we cut out a leaf shape and taped it to a large spoon from our kitchen. We used a plastic Easter egg.
- The Feed the Caterpillar game was made from a diaper box! Basically, we cut the box into a triangle so it would sit on the ground. Next we made openings and decorated it to match our theme. I meant to make beanbags with the extra fabric after making the Hungry Caterpillar dress, but I ran out of time. Instead, we used some balls from one of our toys.
- Next we had a cocoon race. I got feed sacks from the local feed store. I guess I asked nicely, because they gave them to me for free! Even the littlest kids had fun with this...some adults helped them jump.
- Finally, we had a butterfly catch. We made butterflies by coloring coffee filters with markers. Then we sprayed them with water and let them dry. Once dry, we folded a pipe cleaner in half and wrapped it around the filter so it looked like the body and antennae of a butterfly. For the game, an adult threw butterflies into the air, and the kids tried to catch them in butterfly nets. The kids picked out butterflies to take home with them at the end of the party.
The Food
Planning the food was pretty easy since the Hungry Caterpillar eats a lot in the story. We used that as a starting point, and then filled in some other things to make it a meal. Because of some special dietary restrictions, our party was gluten free (with the exception of buns and cones). Any of these recipes could be made with or without the gluten, depending on what is needed for your guests. Food is where the majority of our party budget went to.
Because I couldn't find affordable Hungry Caterpillar party supplies, I used Happy Birthday napkins from Target that looked "Eric Carle-ish." We used a variety of solid color plates and red cups.
On the menu we had:
- Fruit salad which included fruits the caterpillar ate (strawberries, blueberries, apples, oranges, and pears)
- Salami, pickles, and salami/pickle rollups
- chips
- watermelon
- Slices of swiss and colby jack cheese
- hot dogs and chicken/pineapple kebabs...The kebabs were a huge hit!
- chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
- vanilla cupcakes that looked like cherry pies
- cake pops
- marshmallow ice cream cones
- Drinks: 2 liters of soda, water, and juice boxes
The Decorations
There weren't many decorations since we had the party at a local park. We had white tablecloths and a green mesh runner that I bought on clearance after Christmas. I made centerpieces for each picnic table by printing off images from Google. I cut them out, pasted them to construction paper and added a dowel rod. I stuck the dowel rod through an upside down styrofoam cup and hot glued that into place. Once it was set, I put the cup into a pail and added tissue paper. I got the pails from the dollar spot at Target, and used the Cartwheel app to get them for $0.80 each! I'm not sure why we didn't get a picture of them at the party, but I took one today so you could see them.
The Favors
Big E made soap for her preschool teachers end of the year gifts. She really liked making it, and wanted to make more for the party favors. Each child got butterfly shaped homemade soap, bubbles, stickers, and tickets to ride the carousel.
The soap is pretty easy...Go to your local craft store and buy a soap base and essential oil to add to it. Melt it and pour it into a mold. We already had all the supplies to make this, so we didn't have to buy anything. We also had the bubbles from a previous birthday party. We did have to buy 4 more bottles, which are $0.15 each at Party City. We bought the Hungry Caterpillar stickers at the Dollar Tree.
We made cocoons to use as gift bags. You probably already have the supplies on hand. It's time consuming, but simple and such a cute way to stick with the theme! To make the cocoons, you'll need to make a paste by boiling 2 heaping tablespoons of flour and 2 cups of water, stirring constantly. After it comes to a boil, remove from the heat and add some green food coloring. While the paste is cooling, blow up some water balloons. I like the size and shape of water balloons for the cocoons. Once the paste is cool enough for you to handle, brush it on the balloons and use it to stick strips of green and yellow tissue paper onto the balloons. Allow these to dry for several hours. Then, repeat the whole process to make a strong cocoon. Once the second layer is dry, pop the balloons and remove the pieces. Fill with goodies and string and tags.
We didn't spend a whole lot of money on this party, but we had a blast! Be creative and look for things you can make with the supplies you have on hand. Kids will remember having fun, whether you spend a ton of money or just have cake at a park and let them run around like crazy people!
Happy 2nd birthday, Little E! We love you!
