Butterfly Party

We did a butterfly themed party for my 5 year old. We were able to be outside and the party easily accommodated a lot of kids; however, many of these ideas could be used indoors as well.

OPENING ACTIVITY: I had an oblong portable table set up on the back patio and some fun music playing as kids arrived. The girls ran around the backyard until we had enough to start. I had made copies on pink card stock of a butterfly I had drawn with a sharpe marker. I cut the butterflies out before the girls arrived. I also had 2" thick strips of card stock on hand to tape to the back of the butterfly and circle around the girls' heads when they were finished decorating. Staples work too but they tend to irritate the skin or get caught in hair - I like to use masking tape or packing tape. On the table were bowls of crayons, jewel stickers, and butterfly stickers. The girls colored and giggled and pressed stickers all over their butterflies. Because there was no glue involved the girls could wear them right away. Be sure to attach the 2" inch strips nearer to the bottom of the back of the butterfly so the girls can still see when they wear their Butterfly Crown!

GAMES:

1 - What Time is it Mrs. Butterfly: Kids LOVE this game (usually called What Time is it Mr. Fox?). Once person is Mrs. Butterfly and stand at one end of the yard or room. Everyone else lines up on the other end. The players yell, "What time is it, Mrs. Butterfly?" Mrs. Butterfly then gives a time between 1 o'clock and 11 o'clock (use only on the hour times). If Mrs. Butterfly says, "2 o'clock" the players take 2 steps towards Mrs. Butterfly. If she says "8 o'clock" the players take eight steps. At anytime she wishes, Mrs. Butterfly can yell, "Midnight" and chase the players in an effort to catch one or more. You play rounds until there is one player left and she becomes Mrs. Butterfly. Caught players can either sit out or become butterfly helpers/chases with Mrs. Butterfly.

2- Butterfly Freeze Tag: This is the classic freeze tag game where one child is it and the others run like mad avoiding being tagged by 'it'. If tagged the child freezes until another child (not 'it') unfreezes them by tagging them or crawling under their legs. In our butterfly version my husband was 'it' and the butterflies 'flew' around, waving their arms like wings, avoiding 'it'. If tagged the butterflies wrapped their arms tight around themselves, like a cocoon, and waited to be tagged and turned back into a butterfly by a fellow player. This game makes for one pooped dad at the end of the game!

3-Pin the Spot on the Butterfly: My daughter helped me draw a big butterfly on a piece of poster board which we then attached to our back fence. She also helped me cut out colorful spots. Each girl had two chances to be blindfolded, spun around once, then pointed in the direction of the butterfly. There was a loop of masking tape on the back of their spot so it would stick to the butterfly when they pressed the spot against the poster board. You could also use spot stickers if you wanted. The butterfly (and part of our fence) were beautifully spotted when the girls were done with this game!

DESSERT: My daughter wanted ice cream cones but there are a bunch of fun butterfly themed ideas as well. I thought this Butterfly Bounty idea from Family Fun magazine was especially cute and the girls would LOVE decorating their own clothespins and choosing from a bunch of fun goodies to fill their wings! Here's the link http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/butterfly-bounty-841052/