Need creative ideas for ladybug party

[PJB]

My daughter's 3rd birthday is approaching and she wants a ladybug party. I am really excited and want to get very creative with it. Does anybody have any really fun ideas? I am looking for snacks, cakes, cupcakes, and any other ideas anyone has. This could be a dangerous but very fun obsession for the next month or so.

Thanks!

[kcmo727]

I did a ladybug theme for my daughter's birthday last year and it was both fun and easy. The party was outdoors so I bought bunches of red and black balloons, hung ladybug windsocks (I think that is the right name?) from trees and had a ladybug cake with twizzzler-type licorice legs, junior mint spots and skinny licorice for the stripe down the back and antennae. The only problem I ran into was dyeing the icing: the red bottle of food coloring yielded a coral red rather than a true red (despite using the whole bottle)and my black was more of a dark gray. Since then I have discovered Wilton gel/paste icing, the kind that comes in little tubs and gives you great color. You can also get "no taste" red icing.

There are lots of ladybug cake recipes on the net, I am sure you will find one you like. I remember seeing one that consisted of a sheet cake dyed green and cut out in the shape of a large leaf surrounded by ladybug cupcakes -- really cute.

You can buy ladybug partyware at party shops or online or just use black and red paper plates. Also, buy individual m&m's in those colors as favors or to put in bowls. I had great plans for the centerpiece, but ran out of time. I was going to paint a good-sized terracotta pot red, sponge it with black polka dots and then fill it with yellow flowers. Maybe you will be a little better with your planning than I was! :) Good luck and have a great party!

[HealthyinMN]

Here are a couple Family Fun recipes

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_ladybug/
http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/Cakes/recipes/special/ladybug.jpg

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_lbug/
http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/Cakes/recipes/special/alphaJtoL_I.jpg

[jellyben]

Not food related, but my son's preschool class made ladybugs out of rocks. They painted them red, added black dots and googly eyes. Could be cute if you are looking for an activity!

[Terri_A]

My daughter's 2nd bday was ladybugs and I think the hit of the party were the favors - I spray painted the lids of baby food jars red, punched holes in them and put about 5-10 live ladybugs in each with a green construction paper leaf attached to each with a poem...don't have the poem anymore, but it was something about ladybugs helping a garden grow and that they should release these bugs into their gardens at home.

[Kathy B]

.... and put about 5-10 live ladybugs in each ....

Where in the world did you find so many ladybugs? :confused: (That does sound like a really cool party favor!)

[ande]

My son's 3rd birthday was a ladybug party (he saw that picture of the ladybug cake at familyfun.com and had to have it!). We played a pin-the-spots on the ladybug game that I made from felt and velcro...the kids loved it! I'm trying to remember what else we had...I don't think it was much because the kids were all so little. We read a book about ladybugs from the library. I wanted to get live ladybugs (you can order them from a garden center) but didn't find out about that option in time. We were going to just release them in the yard, but I like the idea of giving them as party favors even better.

Have fun!
ande

[Terri_A]

I bought the ladybugs from a local nursery...they sell in multiples of like 500 for under $10.00.

I will say I had ladybugs everywhere after putting them in the jar, so if anyone tries this....make sure you do this OUTSIDE!!!! Please, learn from my mistake!

:D :D

[bekki]

You can usually buy or order huge bags of ladybugs through your local garden store.

When I worked in a preschool, we did a unit on ladybugs, and the kids really dug getting to bring them home. At age three, unstructured, but organized, activites work really well. Maybe you could buy some magnifing glasses and put them near the "ladybug station." Somewhere else you could have red and black tempra paint, with brushes, and see what the kids come up with.

[angelamaria]

i made a ladybug cake using a wilton bug cake pan i saw at michaels. i ran into the same problem with icing colors - my bug was more hot pink than red- but it was awful cute! love the baby food jars idea!

[cangoss]

One tip for the red icing that looks like a sure thing in your future -
use maraschino cherry juice to help get the red started, and use the Wilton gel mentioned earlier. Also, the color will dry darker than it looks when it's wet. (I have made Elmo cakes twice, so I'm a veteran of red icing and I've sworn that my own someday-children won't be allowed to like a red character!)

[stefania4]

Watermelon seems like a natural snack, I would think - black seeds and all! And I would think you could do really cute ladybug cupcakes. Perhaps little flowerpots with planted seedlings as a favor?

Have fun and please post pictures when you have them!

[buddie]

ohhh go to home depot or some garden store and get a pack of ladybugs!! you can then pour them in the kids hands and they can let them go!

[PJB]

Wow, great ideas! I love the live ladybug favors. I think I will do mini bagel pizzas with red sauce and black olives, the ladybug cake and I'll see whatever else I come up with. Will post photos but the party isn't until October. If you think of other ideas in the meantime, please post.

Thanks.

[mbrogier]

I did a church picnic decorations, and we did terra cotta pots with silk red geraniums. I bought styrofoam half eggs--flat on the bottom. I painted them red with acrylic craft paint and sponged on black dots. I used pipe cleaners for legs and antenaes. They were so cute! Everyone loved them, and the church used the arrangements again for ladies functions.