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By Shelly Radic
 Invite preschoolers to "bee" your guest and "crawl" on over for a bug-themed birthday party.
Invitations: Colored card stock with assorted bug stickers.
Decorations: Green table cover with dirt and plastic bugs in the middle, bug-shaped balloons, purchased spider webs and large plastic spiders in room corners.
Food: Small servings of foods from The Very Hungry Caterpillar served to children while reading the book, spider cupcakes. (Spider cupcakes: Frost cupcakes with dark chocolate icing, add six three inch pieces of black licorice for legs and two small red jelly beans for eyes.)
Costume: Using inexpensive plastic headbands, pipe cleaners, and 1-inch Styrofoam balls, create antennae for each guest. Use spray paint or glitter to decorate.
Craft: Bug jars. Purchase clear plastic storage jars. Before the party, poke 5-6 small holes in the lids and write guest’s names on jars using a paint pen. Give guests bug stickers to decorate jars.
Activities:
- Worm Wiggle- Divide into 2 teams. Team members take turns getting into a sleeping bag and wiggling along the ground from one spot to another.
- Bees in the Honey Pot- Place 10-12 inch terra cotta pots 3-6 feet from guests. Have guests take turns trying to throw yellow ping-pong balls (make bee stripes with black marker) into these pots.
- Pin the Fly in the Spider’s Web- Spread white “spider webbing” across a piece of black poster board. Glue a large spider somewhere on the web. Give each guest black stickers (to represent flies) and see whose fly is the closest victim for a spider lunch!
- Ladybug/cricket hunt- Purchase a supply of ladybugs and crickets at a local nursery and let the guests watch as they are set free in the garden. Help guests collect these in the bug jars to take home for their own gardens. (For younger preschoolers, hide big plastic bugs.)
- Cocoon wrap- Place guests in pairs and give each team a roll of toilet paper. See which child can cocoon her partner first.
Favors: Bug jar, plastic tweezers, magnifying glass, and antennae.
Planning a birthday party challenges the time, money, and people resources of many moms. Here are Shelly’s easy and inexpensive suggestions for Gathering Party Resources.
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Shelly Radic is the Director of Group Life at MOPS International and also the author of The Birthday Book: Creative Ways to Celebrate Your Child’s Special Day. Having hosted more than forty children's birthday celebrations, and attended countless others, Shelly is delighted to provide parents with a wealth of birthday planning ideas.
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