Summer Bug Party

Summer Bug Party
by Poppie

I am not a bug person.  In fact, if it was up to me, bugs would be eliminated from my life forever, with the exception of butterflies since they are pretty and don’t bother me.  My kids, however, do not share my sediments towards these small (or in some cases big) creatures.  They love to dig in the dirt or look under a rock to find different bugs.  And of course, they have to show me their find; which despite my queasiness, I smile and say, “That’s great, hun!”

Needing a summer party idea that hadn’t been done before, I decided to put aside my feelings and have a Summer Bug Party.  It’s an easy party to do and works for all ages and genders.  It can also be tweaked into a great children’s birthday theme as well.

I wanted the decorations to create that summer picnic ambience.  First I hung some danglers with assorted types of bugs on the end.  I used a gingham table cover and napkins and placed little plastic bugs all over the table. I put utensils and napkins in a picnic basket and added a butterfly to it.   As a snack, I put out “ants on a log” which is celery, peanut butter, and raisins.

As the kids arrived, I gave each child antennas instead of a party hat along with some bug eyeglasses so they could see like a bug.  Each child also received a sheet of stickers with lady bugs on them to decorate a poster my children had made announcing our Summer Bug Party theme.

As a party favor I filled ice cube trays with water and placed a toy bug in each cube, then let them freeze overnight.  The next day, we added one bug ice cube to the kids’ drinks along with regular ice cubes.  I added a butterfly straw to each drink as well.  The kids enjoyed the “surprise” in their drink and got some neat take home gifts as well.  You can also buy readymade fake bug cubes as well and strategically place where you would like.

I wanted something easy for a cake, so I created a simple, yet unique, caterpillar cake.  Bake any number of cupcakes frosted with green frosting and place them into a hump-shaped line, with one red-frosted cupcake at the end for the caterpillar's face.  Add eyes, black antennae and many small, black feet.  A double row of cupcakes works great for a large party.

Of course our activity was to take a bug net and magnifying glass and catch as many bugs as we could find in an hour.  Since I didn’t want to find actual bugs, I hid plastic bugs around the house and outside for the kids to find.   I labeled a clear jar with each child’s name and added a gingham ribbon to go with the theme.  Whoever found the most bugs got a prize.

Even though the idea scared me at first, it turned out to be one of the best summer parties we have ever had and was surprisingly easy to pull off.  Nobbies had everything I needed to make this party happen so I didn’t have to spend tons of time planning it either.  So kick off your summer in style and host your own version of this easy to do summer party.