19699

Butterflies & Blossoms 4yr - Butterfly Bucks

April 2009

Christine in Amissville, VA

Runner Up

For my daughter's fourth birthday we had a Butterflies & Blossoms" party. 

INVITATIONS:  I made the invitations by using basic blank pastel cards butterflies that I had cut out (two toned - to different colored pastel scrapbooking paper) and bodies of the butterflies made out of a line of scrapbooking flower stickers.  The antenaees were made out of ribbon and the info about the party was printed on the inside. 

DECORATIONS:  I made a floral scene that I taped to our fireplace - grass that was made from bulletin board paper and cut mostly to the bottom to make it spray out twisted bulletine board strips for the stems of the flowers and large cut out flowers.  I bought 10 large brown plastic flower pots at the dollar store - 4 of them I planted with tons of different colored spring flowers and tied a large ribbon bow around the pot to add color.  I bought some feather butterflies and had them sticking out around the flowers.  I put two of the pots on the fireplace with the other decorations and two of them were used on the food table as centerpieces.  These were really lovely and I was able to reuse them on my porch after the party.  Besides that we kept the decorations simple - cut out flowers on our french doors to the porch balloons and flower and butterfly tissue garland that I got from the dollar store. 

CRAFTS:  We made our crafts first.  Since the kids would be earning "butterfly bucks" for each game that they played we made purses (for the girls) and wallets (for the boys).  I cut two large butterflies out of foam for each girl and punched holes around all of the edges for lacing (except for about 6 inches along the top).  I had string for them to sew their purses ribbon for the purse strap foam bodies pipe cleaners for antennae and lots of decorations that they could use to customize their butterfly - sequence foam shapes beads etc.  I cut out patterns of wallets for the boys out of foam that they had to lace up.  I gave them velcro strips to open and close their wallets and I gave them sports themed foam stickers to decorate.  When the kids were done they could also make flower necklaces. 

FOOD:  The party was at lunch so we kept it simple.  We had butterfly and flower shaped peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (made using cookie cutters).  We also had homemade chicken salad and egg salad for the adults.  I had a fruit salad that I put in a decorative watermelon half - I cut slices of kiwi put out small flower shaped cantelope pieces and blueberries on top of that held together with toothpicks and placed all along the edge of the watermelon half.  The fruit salad went inside.  We also had pringles (my daughter's favorite) candy kisses pasta salad and an assortment of drinks. 

GAMES:  After lunch we went outside for the four games that they would play to earn their "butterfly bucks."  They used the bucks at the end of the party to "buy" their items for their goodie bags. 

Game #1 - Butterfly flutter - I took a large round plastic table cloth and taped on flowers of different colors around the outside edge.  The kids all got to put on butterfly wings (beautiful little ones that I'd gotten at the dollar store!) and they were told to flutter around and be butterflies while they heard music.  (I used Chopin - some of his livelier songs)  When the music stopped the butterflies had to land on a flower.  I then pulled out a matching flower and if they were on that flower they got their butterfly bucks.  We played until everyone got their bucks. 

Game #2 - Blossom Picking - My husband runs a preschool so had access to a die-cut machine and cut out hundreds of flowers for me.  I taped the flowers onto popsicle sticks.  I used a different color for each child at the party.  Each child was given a flower of their color at the beginning of the game and told to go pick their 8 blossoms in the flower garden.  On each of the flowers I'd written letters that they had to unscramble to make a word.  I just used their own names for the littler kids but for the older kids I taped a clue onto one of the flowers and they had to unscramble a word that had to do with butterflies.  Once they showed me their unscrambled word they earned their bucks for that game. 

Game #3 - Buttefly Hunt - this was my daughter's favorite.  I made 8 small green posters that had a picture of a type of buttefly taped onto it.  It also had a green envelope that had a matching smaller butterfly inside.  Each child was given a chart and told to find the 8 posters hidden throughout the yard retrieve one of the buttefly pictures and glue it onto their chart.  I gave the older kids charts that actually required them to label their butterflies by their names.  The kids all loved hunting for the posters that we'd hidden around the yard.  Once they finished their chart they got their butterfly bucks that they kept inside their purses or wallets. 

Game #4 - Butterfly & Blossoms Relay Race - I took two of the brown plastic pots and filled them half full of fake flowers (not the stems).  I put about 10 small plastic butterflies in each pot and mixed them into the flowers.  I also decorated the pots with wide fabric ribbons.  I divided the kids into two teams and they raced down to the pots one a time with a buttefly net.  They had to find a butterfly put it in their net and race back to put it in a butterfly basket for their team.  We played this twice since they liked it so much and there were no winners - everyone got butterfly bucks. 

PRIZES:  Towards the end of the party we let the kids shop two at a time at the Butterflies & Blossoms Store.  We gave them each a gift bag and they got to pick out their own items - we got a lot of clearance toys and made them worth more and then had typical goodie bag items that were only worth $1.  They LOVED shopping at the store!! 

CAKE:  As always I made my own cake.  I made a layered round cake that I frosted pink and decorated with edible flowers and butterflies that I'd made.  I made the flowers out of fondant and the butteflies out of melting candies.  For the butterflies I drew a design of a butterfly on a piece of paper put wax paper over it and drew the butterfly with the candy.  The two wings hardened quickly and I put them together propped them up with a marshmallow and made a body for the butterflies out of candy that also served to glue the wings together.  The marshmallows helped them look 3-D.  They turned out lovely as did the fondant flowers that were really bright and realistic looking.  The kids loved the cake and they all got a piece with a butterfly and a flower (I'd made extra so I could add them onto the cake pieces). 

We finished the party off with a butterfly pinata and presents.  I think my little princess enjoyed herself as well as her two older brothers!  Have fun planning your Butterflies & Blossoms party!  "

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