The Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

I have been a little MIA on the blog lately. Hopefully this will explain why.
I apologise in advance, this is a long and photo heavy post.

I dont want to step on any cultural or religious toes with this. Birthdays are a very personal thing and whether you choose to celebrate them or not is completely up to you as a family. There is no right or wrong. This is just our way!

With that being said we celebrate BIG!!!!!!!!

A lot of this stems from my own upbringing. As a child we didn't have a lot of money. My parents worked very hard for what we had but there was not a huge amount of disposable cash around, my parents ALWAYS made a big deal of birthdays. It always felt special to have my parents celebrate the day we came into their lives and now I have children of my own I realise the kind of emotions and memories their birthdays bring.

It was Peanut's first birthday this weekend and I knew I wanted a Very Hungry Caterpillar party almost as soon as she was born!! I loved the book as a child and with all of the wriggling and eating that she did it seemed the perfect fit for our own little caterpillar.

I have this habit of having all of these ideas but leaving it till the day before to get them done, and this party was no different. Which meant that the quiet, 'just us' evening I had planned for party eve, turned into finding jobs for family members who were very calm in the wake of my crazy requests!!!! I am grateful.

The day was perfect. Just as I imagined. Perfect weather, my favourite people, gorgeous kids running around, (insert content sigh here). Yep I was one happy mumma!!!

I like parties with a theme. It makes the process a lot easier to organise and I have a lot of fun scouring the internet for inspiration. There are some amazing Hungry Caterpillar sites and plenty of party ideas, you just have to google and it's all at your fingertips.

This was the food table. I wanted to have the cake as the focal point, so I made sure the rest of the table wasn't too busy.  We had cake pops, chocolate mousse, popcorn, lollies and of course, Fairy Bread. It is the only thing my husband insists on having. Sprinkles on bread! Such a manly treat!!!!

I fell in love with these little baskets but they were so tiny I didn't know what to put in them. Lolly raspberries were the perfect size.

These choc dipped strawberries were a hit!!! Not the prettiest but very popular.
We also had party pies and sausage rolls supplied by my fabulous father-in-law. Another party must-have!!!

Cute chocolate wrappers from Party Mommas Check them out on ebay if you are planning a themed party. I found them great to order through and they were really speedy too.

 

The Cake!!!!!!!!!

The cake was INCREDIBLE!!                                                             

I wish I could tell you I whipped this up myself but alas I am quite kitchen challenged. A few months ago I saw a cake on facebook that had been made for a 30th. I clicked on the photo and was taken to the Covered Cakes page. As I scrolled through the photos I knew I wanted Libby to make Peanuts birthday cake.
I just sent her a pic of what I wanted and she created something better than I could have imagined.
It perfectly suited the table and decorations and was the talking point of the party.
Please check out her facebook page if you need a cake made. She is very talented but also very busy so make sure you book in advance.

 As far as decorations went I had a beautiful felt banner made for her high-chair and a line of bunting with all of the food the hungry caterpillar ate for above the food table. Both of which were made by Sweet Tashie. Also found on facebook. I asked her for something Hungry Caterpillar-ish, and she came up with the ideas. I really like supporting creative people doing what they love. She also made the most adorable party hat for the birthday girl. So cute!!!!

This was just a little wreath I made to go on one of the bare walls. I added one of Peanut's toy caterpillars and it filled the space perfectly.

I ordered all of my balloons from Hullabaloo in Launceston. (I couldn't find a web link for this one)
They created the cute caterpillar balloon and filled a few plain ones for her high chair.

The wishing tree was my favourite part of the decor. I collected some old twigs and put them in a jug. Guests then wrote a wish for the birthday girls future. I had a few tears as I read them later in the evening. Something very special to keep forever.

We didn't play any games just mingled and watched the kids entertain themselves and each other.
My Dad borrowed a jumping castle from a work colleague, and the littlies had a great time on that.

The party bags. So easy to make!

The smash cake was not smashed but the strawberries were delicately picked off.

It was such a happy day resulting in one very tired little one year old.

Now time to start planning Big Sisters party!!!!

No mess painting!

I get a little frustrated with people who tell me that creative experiences for babies are a waste of time. From a personal perspective, my Peanut has loved each of the activities I have done with her. Does she NEED them for her development? Nope. She would develop quite beautifully without them. Does she enjoy them? Yes. 
That's good enough for me!

Here are two different mess free painting activities to do with very little littles.

Our first activity was another way to re-use those plastic drinking bottles. 

To set up you need some plastic bottles, paint and a few marbles.
I didn't have marbles on hand so used rocks instead. Not a great substitute but we went with what we had. 
You need to put a small amount of paint in the bottom of the bottle along with your marble/s and then screw the lid on tightly. If you are concerned about your little one being able to undo the lid you could glue it to the bottle. We didn't do this and didn't need to.

Just give the bottles to your littlies and let them shake away. 
As they shake them the paint covers the bottle.
If your paint is a little thick add a few drops of water. 

For our next activity I cut a few sheets of paper small enough to fit inside a couple of snap-lock bags and popped a few blobs of paint on them.

Zipped them up and handed them to Peanut. She could poke at them, squish them, splat them and not make a bit of mess. Yay! 

Fun, easy, mess free painting!!

Colour yourself

If your child loves colouring-in they will love this.

I stumbled upon this website while I was looking for pages for my daughters upcoming birthday party. ( Nothing says 'settle down sugar filled, hyperactive toddlers' like a colouring-in table) 

Check it out http://www.coloringpagecreator.com/ 

They turn your own photos into colouring in pages.

My 11 year old, who insists she is to old for colouring-in now, LOVED them.

The quality isn't amazing, but it is free. (Love) The only cost to you is printing them out.

Your child will love a colouring book full of themselves. 

Messy Twister

The most fun you will ever have with your kids EVER!!!!!

Yes, I said 'ever' twice in that statement because it is just that much fun.

Remember Twister???  Of course you do.

Every household owns one, and if you don't own one you have surely played it with friends.

Here is a super fun, but messy, version of the twisting sensation.

Simple right?????
Just add colour to your mat, and get twisting!!!!

My tip???
Don't get precious about how messy the kids (or adults) get.
Half the fun is in not caring and letting loose!
Giving them a license to get grubby is the best gift you can give your child.

Oh and believe it or not, the paint hoses right off the mat. No scrubbing. Yay!!!!

Enjoy, have fun, get messy!!!!!

Melted Crayon Rainbow

This idea has been floating around the internet for a while now and a few months ago (in the 30 degree heat of summer) we gave it a go.

This is a super fun thing to try and relatively cheap.

We bought a cheap canvas from Chickenfeed and hot-glue gunned some crayons to the top. You can put them in any order you like. We put similar colours together but you might like a different method.

We did the next bit outside as it can get a little messy.

Heat the crayons with the hairdryer and they melt down the page looking sooooo pretty.

You can heat them for as long as you like.

If you want the crayons to melt further down you just heat them for a little longer. Most of the ones I have seen have been melted for longer but Big Sister liked to see the spattered pattern on the bottom. My suggestion is to stop whenever they are happy with how it looks. It is their artwork after all.

I was surprised at how quickly it works, which is great for younger kids. There is no wait for the crayons to start melting which makes it a great activity to do with most ages. My daughter is 11 but kids as young as 3 could try it (some help is needed to glue the crayons on though as it is crazy hot).

                                little sister preferred napping on Nanny's lap

Turns out great. Something that makes quite an impact but is simple enough for kids to create themselves.

I would recommend a cooler day to try it though!!!!!!

Barbie's first kayak

So this is not entirely her first kayak. I googled and found this amazing design, but there is no way on earth this crafty mum is even slightly capable of creating this masterpiece.

This version is made in 5 minutes from 2 or 3 plastic water bottles (points for recycling people!!!!), a sharp knife and some duct tape. That’s it!!!!

Begin by cutting a hole in the plastic drink bottle, big enough for Barbie to sit comfortably. We all know how high maintenance that girl is.

Then tape a drink bottle to either side and you're done!!

I kid you not. It’s that easy.

We tried out a version with just the two drink bottles so that she could take Snow White with her (you know how girls need to go everywhere together) and that floated well too.

It’s not a craft I recommend you do with littlies. Although once you have cut the holes they could certainly help tape them together. There is also no reason you couldn’t decorate them either.

It’s a cheap way to entertain kids in the bath.

Oh and please tell me other people have Barbies that look as disheveled as ours. If not…. What is your secret?????????

and off they sailed ..........