Ladybug Birthday Party Ideas

Ladybug Birthday Party is perfect for younger kids who love nature and its creatures.

The following ladybug party ideas will make your party preparation simple and fun.

Resources:

Decorations

Anything red and black - balloons, streamers, a tablecloth - will set the stage for ladybug party.

Put pinwheels that look like sunflowers outside along the front walk, and tape plastic or paper ladybugs on them. Have your birthday child help you color the driveway with chalk. (Draw flowers, ladybugs, and other garden insects.) Decorate the front trees with red and black paper streamers. Hang a sign at the front door saying "Ladybugs Welcome!"

Cut out many black construction paper circular spots (about 12-15 inches in diameter) and tape them all around the party room: under the furniture, on the walls, etc. (Use the spots for party games - see "Musical Spots", "Spotted Relay" and "Spots Removal" under Ladybug Birthday Party Games.)

Spread out plastic ladybugs or other critters around the floor. Hang ladybug theme posters on the walls. You can also have butterflies hanging from the ceiling on clear fishing strings.

For other ceiling decorations, you can add red paper streamers and black paper circles to make spots for an upside-down ladybug. Put out any nature theme toys or bean bags that you might have.

Cover your ladybug birthday party table with red table cloth. Add black construction paper spots (diameter depends on the size of your table). Create a "ladybug head" out of construction paper, and tape it on the side of the table where the birthday child will be sitting.

You can make a line down the "ladybug's back" on the table with a black streamer. There you have a ladybug birthday table! Place several flower pots for table centerpieces.

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

*Cute as a Bug: Greet ladybug birthday party guests as they arrive. Paint their cheeks with face paints, put stickers on their arms. Provide each child with ladybug antennae headbands.

*Guess How Many: Fill the jar with black and red jelly beans (count them as you do). Label the jar "Birthday Bugs." Let the kids guess the number of "bugs" in the jar. Write down everyone's guesses. At the end of the ladybug party, the one with the closest number wins the jar.

*Colorful T-Shirts: Have t-shirts for all the kids or ask them to bring their own. Using fabric paints, pens, or sponges, get the kids to draw ladybugs and other creatures on their shirts. (If somebody says that he or she can't draw, invite them to mark the t-shirts with black ladybug spots only.)

Favors

For ladybug party favors, give out ladybug bean bags, notepads, rings, blowouts, sticker sheets, magnifying glasses, and birthday bubbles.

Ladybug Birthday Party Games

*Stick the Spot on the Ladybug: Create or purchase ladybug poster. Cut out black paper circle spots out of construction paper. At game time, blindfold the kids and get them to pin black paper spots onto the ladybug poster.

*Spot the Bugs: Before the ladybug birthday party, hide plastic ladybugs (or red buttons) inside or outside the house. At game time, give everyone a bag and have them find as many bugs as they can. Children may work individually or as a team. Let them take their bugs home at the end of the party.

*Grasshopper, Grasshopper, Ladybug: Turn "Duck, Duck, Goose" game into ladybug birthday party version. It's a classic and always gets good response from kids!

*Musical Spots: Here is where you can use black construction paper circles (see Decorations). Tape them on the floor, forming a circle, and invite the kids to stand on the circles.

As you start playing music, ask the kids to walk from one spot to another. While the music is still playing, remove one spot. When it stops, every child must try to occupy a spot. The player without one is out of the game. Continue playing until there is only one player left.

*Spotted Relay: For this ladybug birthday party activity, you'll need four ladybug spots from the previous game. Divide the kids into two teams and have them form two lines. Give first players in each line two spots.

When the game begins, the players can only step on the spots (without touching the floor) as they travel from one side of the room to another side, around the chair, and back to the starting line. (The kids must place a spot in front of them, step on it with one leg, then put another spot in front and place their other leg on that spot.)

When the players finish their leg, they must pass the spots to the next players in line. The game continues in this manner, and the team to finish first - wins the game!

*Bubble Fun: Prepare bubble solution for every child. Have them blow bubbles with different size wands and accessories. Let the guests take their birthday bubbles home at the end of the party.

*Colorful Bean Bag Toss: You can make or purchase a bean bag toss board decorated with flowers. Get the kids to toss their bean bags through the holes for prizes.

Ladybug Party

*Lively Ladybugs: Purchase live ladybugs via the internet or at local garden store. At game time, provide the kids with magnifying glasses so they can take a closer look. As a variation, release the ladybugs around the environment, and allow the children to "hunt" for lady bugs.

At the end of the ladybug birthday party, put some ladybugs into the baby food jars (with holes poked in the lids) for every child. Add water-soaked raisins for ladybug nourishment.

Encourage the kids and their parents to release the ladybugs into the environment the next day. (Ladybugs need to be kept cool and to be released early in the morning or late at night.)

*Dance the Jitterbug: Put on some tunes and let the kids dance and make up their own moves as they go.

*Spots Removal: As you decorate your ladybug party room with construction paper spots (see Decorations), write "Winner" on the back of one of them. At the very end of the party get the kids to help you collect all the black spots. The person who "finds" the black circle with "Winner" written on it - receives a small prize.

Ladybug Birthday Cakes:

*Ladybug Cake: Bake a dome cake (make it in 6" sphere or in 1 1/2-quart bowl) and a cupcake. The cake will represent a body and the cupcake will be a head of the ladybug.

Arrange the cake and cupcake side-by-side turning them upside down. Frost them both with red icing. Place 12 Junior Mints on the body for spots. Add two green gumdrops for the ladybug's eyes, and insert two licorice strings for antennae.

*Bug Cake: Bake a sheet cake and cover it with chocolate icing. Tint shredded coconut green with food coloring and sprinkle it on your bug cake.

Make colorful flowers and leaves using frosting tubes. Arrange gummy worms, spiders, and other candy bugs on top. Tell your ladybug birthday party guests to watch out for bugs inside the cake, too!Ladybug Birthday Party Food Ideas:

*Ladybugs-on-Bread: Shape slices of bread into large circles or ovals with a knife. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter. Add a layer of strawberry or raspberry jam, and top with raisins for ladybug spots.

*Lady Bug Salad: Spread lettuce leaves over individual plates. Set a canned pear half in the center of each lettuce-covered plate. Top the pears with Red Hots candies or pimento pieces to make spots.

Set two canned apricot halves on either side of each pear to make wings. Make antennae from strings of celery and top the antennae with cherries or grapes. Make legs using raisins.

*Spotted Fruit: Create watermelon balls using melon scooper. Add raisins for spotted effect. Mix in a selection of your child's favorite fruit with watermelon balls for a delicious fruit salad.

*Chocolate Ladybugs: Get a container of strawberries and a package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Wash the strawberries and dry them well.

Microwave chocolate chips in a bowl for about 30 seconds. (Since the microwaves have various voltage power, monitor the process closely.) Remove from the microwave and stir. Repeat microwaving process 2 more times. Stir until all the lumps have melted.

Serve while the chocolate is still warm (but not hot enough to burn). Have the kids dip their strawberries into the chocolate and lip-smack away!

*Cookie Bugs: You'll need Oreo� cookies, mini chocolate chips, and shoe string licorice. Carefully split an Oreo cookie in half. Cut the half (without filling) into two pieces to make ladybug wings.

Frost the wings with red, orange, and yellow icing. Top with mini chocolate chips for spots. Add the wings to the other cookie half, pressing them into the white filling to help them stick.

Place the wings colored side up, far enough down from the top of the body to fit eyes and antennae. Be sure that the flat sides of the wings are facing each other, and separate them to make the cookie look like a flying ladybug.

Press two mini-chocolate chips into the white filling at the top for eyes. Add shoestring licorice as the antennae by pressing ends into filling at the top.

*Butterfly Pizzas: Cut pizza into butterfly shapes using cookie cutter.

*Chips & Dip
*Hamburgers
*Gummy Worms (and other edible candy bugs)
*Ice Cream

Ladybug Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

*Buggy Ice Cubes: Place edible candy bugs in the bottom of an ice cube tray, add water and freeze. When ice cubes are frozen, add them to your ladybug birthday party drinks.

*Lemonade

Fun Ladybug Birthday Party Ideas