While I was in the States, I bought as much as I could think of to put together a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party. I came up with idea from the book and how much we love to read it as a family and how hungry Graham always is and then when I searched for ideas I was inspired by this party by Pink Pistachio and this party featured on Hostess with the Mostess. I also searched on Pinterest for other ideas and also a web search for crafts that teachers have used in their classrooms with the book.
I went with lime green and red as the main colors for the party and tried to incorporate as much as I could from the book into the day.
Here are some pictures....
One of my favorite decorations of the day and a project that took a long time was the caterpillar banner which had a picture of Graham from every month this past year. I made all the alternating green circles and tied together with green ribbon and then made the head. I loved seeing all the pictures of Graham and how much he has grown.
On Saturday the caterpillar ate through a lollipop...so we had lollipop flowers in the grass.
I had every intention of making a cake for him but with John working so much and he wouldn't be at the party I didn't want to the added pressure to have the cake to do so I found someone on camp who did it for me. I originally wanted his head to be red but I still liked it and it was pretty tasty....and I had an insane amount of cupcakes left that John brought to work the next day.
Entry way with lanterns and the goody bags that had a thank you note attached with sparkly green pipe cleaner. Inside were fruit roll ups, Graham's favorite cracker...Ritz crackers, a lollipop, silly straw, bubbles and sunglasses. Most of the items were brought back from the States.
This is my sad picture of the food area. With John working and me being solo doing the party and still watching my two kids, I did awful at getting as much pictures as I would normally. But...you get the idea. I took off the huge painting that is normally there and did the wall in streamers and we had an assortment of food that the caterpillar ate through on his journey. I was going to make cute little food labels to help with the storyline but that project got cut....also not included was swiss cheese as apparently that is hard to find here....white cheddar did the trick.
Since the party had a large amount of bigger kids (all of Peyton's friends) I had planned a couple of crafts to keep them busy although the playroom and the toys outside were more of a hit. We had finger print caterpillar book marks and then also butterfly/caterpillar party hats (idea was from Pottery Barns kids). You can see Peyton's and Graham's hats in the next couple of pictures. It was not fun cutting the many circles for the caterpillars or tracing and cutting out the butterflies but it was worth it.
The birthday boy ready for cake! He was so excited and you could tell he knew what was about to happen!
I am so beyond thankful for these two little ones! Seriously two of the best kids (and such different personalities) and I can't imagine what my life would be like without them. Wish that Daddy could have been in our family picture though! How did I get so lucky....seriously!
Graham was trying to put his party hat back on his head....instead he got icing in his hair!
The big kids hanging out and eating cake...and showing each other their green tongues!
After the party...and after nap time....we opened presents. I thought with all the bigs kids, the craziness, that I just didn't want to add opening presents with all of that. I know it is different but I have been to a couple of parties where parents have done that here and it works. We were able to open them slowly, talk about who gave him what and it was so much calmer. Mostly Peyton opened the gifts and Graham loved the cards. And then afterwards...Peyton kept trying to play with all the toys while Graham watched!
A wonderful day celebrating with our friends here who all make life so much easier by their company! I wish I took more pictures but it was crazy with two kids, hosting a party and not having my other half. Happy Birthday Graham and hope you had a wonderful first birthday celebration!
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