A Big Bugger Birthday Party!

Well, he wanted bugs- so he got bugs.

 

I fell in love with these amazing invites from LuvBugDesign on Etsy. Ashley was super easy to work with and I couldn't have asked for a better product.  I uploaded it to WalMart and had them printed on cardstock for a fraction of the price of the other printer sites. I even chose the option to print a collage of his pictures on the back, and they cost a whopping $0.59 cents each and were at my door with envelopes in three days.  They came and we loved them, so it seemed pretty smart to take those elements and run with them for the rest of the party.

 

 

The favor bags included a plastic mason jar to catch bugs, a bug net, plastic and sticky bugs, plastic bug Easter eggs filled with candy, and a beanie baby bug. At the end of the party I stuffed chocolate covered bumble bee pretzels, chocolate covered frogs and a popcorn cup into each treat bag. No one went home without treats, for sure. Also when it was time for cake, I may or may not have delivered a piece to each child with a cup of dirt. Because we didn't have ice cream.

 

 

Grayson wanted a gym class party, which I mentioned was tough because most gyms don't allow food other than cake. Well a local YMCA came through with this amazing gym class set up, complete with bars and ball pits and fun things to climb all over. The kids LOVED it and they all got to run around until their hearts were content.

 

As for food we were sad because the place we ordered from last year closed down. So we decided to go easy and order pizza and a sandwich ring. It was delicious and easy and I loved it so. I also made some peanut butter sandwiches and cut them into butterflies using a cookie cutter for the non-pizza eaters. Ants on a log, chips, grape caterpillars and bug juice rounded out the food menu.  

 

Then it was time for cake. If anyone remembers last year, Grayson pitched a FIT when we sang to him. So to say I was nervous was an understatement.

 

But no worries at all this year, he loved it! Im pretty sure he asked if we could do it again.

 





I still cant believe my little boy turned three. Of course he is already asking about his next birfday party. I cant wait to see what he comes up with next year!

This Year the Boy Wants Bugs...

This year the boy decided he wanted his party to be all about the bugs.  What can I say? Hes a typical boy, through and through. He kept calling it his big bugger birthday party. So before I reveal the actual event, I want to share with you my inspiration for the party.

 

First things first, I hit up Pinterest and came up with some ideas.

 

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

 

So bug food, bug cake, bug favors. I thought, I can do this.

 

After Pinterest I knew my next stop would be Etsy for the perfect invitations. Followed closely by a Google search for bug jars and nets on the cheap because the dollar store was already out of them and it was August.

 

In the past I have DIYed a lot of elements for Grayson's Parties (check out the Super Why Party and the Thomas Party from years past!) so I knew this year wouldn't be any different. I wanted to make the favors, food tags, and a lot of the elements myself. I usually start early planning these events and try to have most of the elements finished before I go back to work in the fall.

He also wanted a Gym Class birthday party, so I had to find a gym that would allow us to bring in food. Most places only allow cake and juice boxes, and I knew I couldn't sugar up a bunch of toddlers and then not feed them any real food. Plus, I like having food for the parents as well. Its kind of my peace offering for all of the junk food I will shove into their children for the two hours of the party.

 

Grayson was actually really specific about his cake.  His Godmother said she would order the cake from a bakery right by her work and she was nice enough to ask Grayson what he wanted. My only requirement was that it was covered in bright colorful bugs so it would be cute enough to actually want to eat. Grayson told his Ashey he wanted caterpillars, ants, spiders and ladybugs.  He was so adamant on what he wanted, it was really kind of cute.

 

The place we ordered food from last year had gone out of business, so we decided to make it easy and order some pizzas and a sandwhich ring. I also wanted to make peanut butter "butterfly" sandwiches for the kiddos who don't like pizza. I wanted bug juice, grape caterpillars, dirt and some type of bug cookies. 

 

So I had a plan, I just had to get it all to come together. Check back tomorrow to see if I pulled it off!