Eli's Bug Themed Birthday Party

I survived yet another birthday party. You know how these parties make me a nervous wreck, but I can actually say that I remained quite calm, cool and collected at this party. I tried not to over-plan anything. I put "smile" as number one on my to-do list instead of the last thing and I think that made a world of difference. Hubby said he could actually see "Buddha Mom" coming into play as he knows I've been trying to take a whole new approach to my parenting and, well, life in general. But, I digress.

Let's talk about Bugs, Bugs, and more Bugs!

The invitation was made using Microsoft word and clip art. We (meaning Dennis and I; I told him what I wanted and he made it happen all while I was breathing down his neck.) put four invitations on one 8 1/2 x 11 card stock. We cut them into postcard size and mailed them.

The cake was a 9x13 cake (from a box) with green tinted frosting (again, bought). The dirt was crushed Oreos without the creme filling. The grass was made by tinting coconut using 2 T. milk tinted with food coloring added to 1 1/3 cups coconut and stirred together until it was the right color. (I thought this looked a little too much like lettuce.) The bugs and other decorations were made using marzipan tinted with food coloring and sculpted like you would with play-doh and then painted with corn syrup to stay glossy. The animals turned out cuter than I expected and were also much easier than I anticipated. The cake inspiration came from here, here, and here.
Party favors were bug keepers and nets purchased at the dollar store.I had several games planned, but it turns out that 3 year olds are not that into games so we only did one. We played "pin the antennae on the butterfly" our buggy version of "pin the tail on the donkey".
The highlight of the party was the caterpillar pinata lovingly made by my very talented neighbor who graciously volunteered to make one for Eli. Isn't it too beautiful to whack with a bat? We destroyed it anyways. It was a great day. The weather cooperated. We ate simple picnic food. The company was good. The kids played hard. And most importantly, Eli had a fabulous birthday.