Bug Themed Birthday Party for Boys

“Of snips and snails and puppy dog tails that’s what little boys are made ofâÂ?¦” I would add a few more things like baseball, bicycles, and bugs. Little boys play hard with dirty faces, jeans torn at the knee, and dimpled grins that tug at your heartstrings. The world is a fascinating place to active kids. Spending long minutes watching a ladybug with the intensity of Einstein figuring out the theory of relativity amazes grown-ups. And once a year there’s a special celebration that calls for special ideas and plansâÂ?¦ it’s time for a bug themed party: the Buggy Birthday Bash!

The Buggy Birthday Bash is all about small, crawling, flying, natural things. It’s about bugs! Choose a color scheme that is bright and bold like the red and black of lady bugs, the green body and iridescent wings of a dragonfly or the orange, black and blue of monarch butterflies. An alternative to the bugs being your guide is to use bright primary colors. Whatever colors you choose, be bold and daring! For the sake of example I’ve chosen the ladybug’s colors, red and black.

The Bug Themed Birthday Party Invitations:
Plan to send the invitations at least three weeks in advance. It is recommended that children’s party invitations be mailed or delivered at homes rather than hand delivered at school. Be aware of all children’s feelings when it comes to parties and other festive occasions. A simple and fun invitation to make requires the following: blank white note cards with envelopes, an assortment of buttons in lots of colors, hot glue, Sharpie markers in green and black, and tiny black beads. On each card draw in lots of green grass with the Sharpie. Don’t be stingy with the grass you’ll want your bugs to crawl in the grass. Begin by hot gluing a bright colored button to the outside of the note card. With the black Sharpie draw legs and antennae. Glue on black beads for spots. Glue on a different sized button and place it above the grass. Draw in legs, wings and antennae. Continue gluing bugs on your note card until you’re satisfied. I discovered that 3 bugs per note card worked well. Besides bugs you can make crawly critters by lining up the buttons from large to small in an up and down manner. Add teeny legs and voila! On the inside of the note card write the invitation.

The Bug Themed Birthday Party Decorations:
There are all kinds of fun bugs in the stores. Buy a bagful and use them in lots of different ways. Use them on the cake and food table. Hang some from the ceiling or a light over the table with nylon string. For the table covering use a green piece of fabric and cut the edges with pinking shears, giving it a “grassy” look. Use red and black felt to cut out ladybugs of various sizes to lie on the fabric. A large balloon bouquet of red and black balloons is the centerpiece. Remember to get a weight to hold the balloons down. Hang some of your bugs low enough so they’re flying amongst the balloons. The table ware for this party would be solid black and red, unless you’re able to find some bugware out there.

The Bug Themed Birthday Party Menu:
For a group of little boys prepare finger foods like homemade salsa (recipe below) with nacho chips, a vegetable tray with a yummy dip, a cheese and cracker tray and a plate of sandwiches using a family favorite filling. Decorate the trays of food with plastic bugs crawling onto the trays. Frozen punch, Buggy cake and your child’s favorite ice cream round out the menu.

Manda’s Homemade Salsa
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, chunked not diced
1 green pepper, chunked not diced
1 red pepper, chunked, not diced
1 clove of fresh garlic
cilantro, a small handful
1 tablespoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend. Do not puree! Make a day or two before party to allow ingredients to meld together for a delicious salsa.

Frozen Punch
2 packages cherry Kool-Aid
3 small boxes of cherry Jell-O
16 ounces Real Lemon
6 cups sugar
8 cups boiling water
1 large can unsweetened pineapple juice
1 gallon cold water
Mix and freeze in 2-1gallon containers. Take out of freezer prior to serving and thaw to a slush consistency. Add a 2 liter size of 7-Up or Sprite to each gallon of slush just before ready to serve. This punch can be made well in advance, just remember to take it out in plenty of time to get to the slush consistency.

The Bug Themed Birthday Party Cake:
Bake your child’s favorite cake in a loaf pan. Put on to a board purchased from a cake supply store. Frost it and now the fun begins. There are two ways to decorate this cake.

1.Crush up Oreo cookies to create a top that looks like “dirt.” Use gummy worms and bugs to “crawl” around the cake. Find wild and crazy candles such as trick candles that come back to life after blown out or strange shaped candles and set them into the cake.

2.Color coconut with green food color and sprinkle over the cake. Use gummy worms and bugs to decorate. Find wild and crazy candles as in the above.

Bug Themed Birthday Party Fun:
Play some old fashioned lively games if the party is in good weather. Games like red rover, 7-up, hide and seek. Choose games that keep the boys active and laughing. A raucous game of pin the stinger on the bee promotes belly laughs. A pi�±ata in the shape of a giant bug will be a smashing hit! Forget the party hats give the kids flopping antennae to wear. (Try looking at specialty party stores like Party America for antennae) Instead of singing Happy Birthday, purchase a kazoo for each child and let them kazoo happy birthday to you! Provide a fun colorful bag for take home items.

Use the suggestions and come up with ideas of your own. Choose a theme, plan ahead and leave nothing to the last minute. The Buggy Birthday Bash has the potential to be a wild and crazy sort of birthday party that will tickle the boys to their funny bone.