Those of you who read my publisher's musings this week know that I am simultaneously writing this newsletter, preparing for Halloween and planning my daughter's 2nd birthday, which, per her request, is an Itsy Bitsy Spider party. I've spent many hours on the internet getting ideas for the party, and although they are not all finished yet, I thought I'd share some of the plans with you! The spider theme has turned out to be a fun one, and many of these ideas could be used for a Spiderman (or girl) event, a bug-themed party, a "Miss Spider's Tea Party", or a Halloween bash. Ahh, gotta love the versatile spider!
Lollipop Spiders
We're using these as part of our gift bags (and possibly as decoration). VERY easy and super cute. All you need are:
Tootsie Roll Pops or some other kind of spherical sucker. I used both the full sized pops and the minis, to make "baby" spiders.
Pipe Cleaners
Google Eyes
Glue
Directions:
Take 4 pipe cleaners (for the mini pops I cut two pipe cleaners in half and used the 4 pieces). Wrap the pipe cleaners around the stick of the pop, so that four "legs" are on each side of the stick. Glue on the google eyes and voila! A sweet, egg-legged treat.
Styrofoam Spiders
These are part of our party decorations, and a fun craft my 5-year-old helped with to get ready for her sister's party.
You need:
Styrofoam balls of varying sizes.
Tempura Paint (black is typical, of course, but we used all different colors for a more cheerful bunch of web crawlers)
Toothpicks
Pipe cleaners (whatever colors you want to use for legs)
Google Eyes
Glue
Yarn (optional)
Directions:
Paint an even number of foam balls with tempura paint (2 per spider, one smaller and one larger for each).
Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours.
Connect the two balls with a toothpick, making the smaller ball the head and the larger the body
Poke pipe cleaner legs into the body. You can use full sized pipe cleaners or cut them in half, depending on the size of your spider. Bend the pipe cleaners to create "knees" and "feet" for your spider
Glue on the google eyes
If you want to hang your spider, you can use a small piece of pipe cleaner looped in half and poked into the spider's back as a hanging loop. Thread your yard through the loop to hang.
Spider (and other creepy crawly) Edible Treats
Because I haven't actually made these yet, I will simply share the links to the items I plan to use for the party menu. I'll be sure to share pictures of our finished products on Facebook!
Spider Pizza. I published this article last year, but have never actually made it myself. Looks super easy and very fun.
Spider Cupcakes. There are many different versions of these, but I want them to be CUTE rather than creepy. I think these fit the bill.
Other Creepy Crawly Snacks. This page has lots of bug-themed ideas, including some fun, buggy snacks. I am planning to do at least one of the versions of "Bugs on a Log" for a healthy snack, but there are several really cute ideas to choose from.
Spider Crafts and activities
I got a little lazy and picked up a spider craft kit from Target to use at the party. However, the craft in this article would be great for younger children, too.
Since this is a party for a 2-year-old, we may not worry about games, but if we were going to play some games, here are some I thought would be fun.
1. Pin the spider on the web. Self explanatory and easy!
2. Spider races. Remember the "crab crawl" from elementary school PE class? Teach the children how to do that, only call it a spider walk. Do relays or straight races...a fun way for them to work off some of the sugar!
3. Spider web game. This game, which requires tossing yarn around the room and getting tangled up in the resulting "web", sounds like chaotic fun for a slightly older group of children.
4. This blog has several suggestions for bug/spider themed party activities that look like they would be a blast!
Have you ever done a party theme like this? Have some ideas that I missed? Please share in the comments below. Heck, I've got a little more time until E's big event...maybe I'll even use them!
