Before the party, freeze “bugs” (raisins, mini chocolate chips or other tiny candies) in ice cube trays filled with water. Then, prepare your child’s favorite flavor of Kool-Aid according to package directions (or use juice). At the party, drop a few ice cubes into each child’s glass and add Kool-Aid or juice. Your guests will giggle when they discover bugs in their drink.

Be sure to also check out all of our Butterfly Birthday Party Ideas and our butterfly birthday invitation designs for more ideas to make your party special! Graphics courtesy of pcHugWare

Nursery Rhyme Game - Version 1:

Write down parts of old Nursery Rhymes or children’s songs and see how many of your guests can remember the missing parts.

1. Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the dish ran away with the ___________.
2. Georgie Porgie, puddin’ and pie, Kissed the girls and made them __________.
3. Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no ____________. And so betwixt the two of them, they licked the platter clean.
4. This old man, he played one, He played knick, knack with his _____________, With a Knick, knack, paddy whack, Give the dog a bone; This old man came rolling home.
5. London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, Falling down. London bridge is falling down, My________ ___________.
6. Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, Had a wife and couldn’t keep her. He put her in a __________ ___________, And there he kept her very well.
7. This little piggy went to market, This little piggy stayed home, This little piggy had __________……
8. Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With ________ and __________, And pretty maids all in a row.
9. Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he ‘live, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my ____________.
10. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. merry, merry __________ of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Koookaburra, How Gay your life must be.

The answers:

1. Spoon
2. Cry
3. Lean
4. Thumb
5. Fair Lady
6. Pumpkin Shell
7. Roast Beef
8. Silver Bells and cockleshells
9. Bread
10. King

Be sure to also check out all of our custom Baby Shower Invitations for your event ;).

• An octopus or fish bean bag toss game can usually be found on clearance at a party store or through Oriental Trading Company.
• Pin the Pearl on the Shell - make a shell shape and use velcro strips on the back of styrofoam craft balls for the pearls. You can also pin the flower on the mermaid.
• A toddler scavenger hunt with pictures of objects in which they have to find - a sea shell, a scuba mask, sun glasses, a fork & other ocean themed items. They will bring their “treasures” to the treasure chest - which can be made out of a Styrofoam cooler covered with aluminum foil and with construction paper on the top for handles. Inside, there are “jewels” for the girls and sea creatures for the boys, larger balls (to avoid choking issues) and rubber squirting fish.

Be sure to also check out all of our photo birthday invitations for your party, any of which can be customized to suit a mermaid or under the sea theme (just request your customizations in the “design notes” field when placing your free digital proof request).

• Organize a bug hunt. Hide lots of plastic bugs, ants, ladybugs, etc, in your yard or party area. Give the kids “bug jars or bags” and tell the kids to find as many as they can in a certain amount of time. The prize is keeping the bugs they find!
• Play Buzz, Buzz, Sting! (just like Duck, Duck, Goose)
• Play “Wrap the Caterpillar” ~ organize two teams, give each a roll of toilet paper, then designate one person on each team to be the caterpillar. See who can wrap the “Caterpillar” in the cocoon the fastest!
• Using sleeping bags or gunny sacks, have a caterpillar race between two teams
• Pin the spider on the web
• Fly swatter relay
• “Web walk” (themed musical chairs)

Be sure to check out our birthday invitation designs that can be customized just for your party, including our Bug Birthday Invitation Design, our Frogs, Bugs & A Red Wagon Birthday Invitation and our Red & Black Ladybug Birthday Invitation!

1. $2.00 gift certificate to an ice cream shop with a safety lollipop attached.
2. A simple reading book.
3. Pail and shovel for some summer fun!
4. McArch cards from McDonalds.
5. Coloring book and crayons/washable markers.
6. Bubbles and a wand.
7. Playdoh and a cookie cutter.
8. Kites.
9. Bath squirters (usually found in many different themes, so you can have them match your party theme with ducks or Dora, etc).
10. Fruit snacks (also can be themed).
11. Sidewalk chalk.
12. A small stuffed animal/character.
13. Stickers!

Also be sure to check out our custom Photo Birthday Invitations for your party.

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First of all, call each child “Sir______”, Lord, Lady, Knight, or Princess all day long.

Give the girls princess wands and the boys plastic “prince” swords. They can wear tiaras and crowns - even make their own if you want as a fun activity. They can also make family crests if the children are a bit older. You can tell them how the boys would have used theirs in battle as a shield…. and the girls would have used them to mark their houses.

Boys do not mind pink as long as they are included in the games and prizes and cake. It can also be toned down with more jewel tones or silver and gold (light blue pairs well with pink also so you can mix up the plates, etc.). Also see our decoration ideas for princess parties for more ideas!

Serve medieval fare - giant chicken legs and rolls you eat without forks - always a big hit with boys of all ages :).

They can also decorate their own goblet, then fill it with candy from an assortment as their party favor.

Be sure to check out our royal birthday invitations for both princesses and princes as well!

• Have the kids peel a banana with their feet!
• Monkey see, Monkey Do! (Like Simon Says)
• Build a Banana Split (set up a line of ingredients with bowls and plenty of paper towels to keep things moving).
• Monkey Bean Bag Toss
• Barrel of Monkeys relay - put monkeys in pails, have each player run & pick a monkey, add to the chain and pass to the next player. Continue until the pail is empty.

Also be sure to check out all of our monkey birthday party invitations!

Instead of party hats, buy some pink poster board paper and fake fur material. Cut strips and ears and glue them together. Then, on the bottom of the ears, glue a circle of the fur material to create a poodle look. You could even make fur wrist bands, like poodles have (thin strips with velcro to keep them on).

Cupcakes with pink icing are easy to make into poodles with gel icing for details. Fruit roll ups can be cut to make the ears and pink cotton candy can be the fur. Bake and fill cake pans can be filled with strawberry ice cream to look like a poodle head also.

A perfect match for your party is this custom Pink Poodle Birthday Party Invitation as well.