Google+

Ladybug Girl Themed Birthday Party Ideas

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Have you discovered Ladybug Girl yet? Lulu loves to dress like a ladybug and she turns into Ladybug Girl--a brave girl who can do anything. She and her dog Bingo go on all sorts of adventures and learn many lessons along the way. Ladybug Girl is a series of books written by Jacky Davis and illustrated by David Soman. There are picture books, board books and easy readers as well as a few sticker/activity books and gift sets. We were sent the board book, Ladybug Girl Ready for Snow to review and for inspiration for a birthday party. (Penguin Kids challenged me and anyone else who wants to join to come up with some ideas for book-themed birthday parties and create Pinterest Boards for them.)

http://www.penguin.com/book/ladybug-girl-ready-for-snow-by-jacky-davis-illustrated-by-david-soman/9780803741379
 Now I will admit I did receive an apology for being sent this one with all the snow Massachusetts got this year. Hazel however enjoyed the book. It is very simple and perfect for the younger set. I find it hard to believe a mother would let a child wear a tutu over her snowpants let alone wings and antennae, but it is a book, so we will go with it. The book is about Lulu and Bingo going to play in the snow. 



We also took a few Ladybug Girl picture books out of the library. Hazel enjoyed these even more.  Each one I read she liked even more. I will admit I got the beach one to counterbalance the snow one. 

Now looking on-line there are many ideas for ladybug parties. There are even a few places to get Ladybug Girl items like invitations and cookies. You can find them at my Ladybug Girl Birthday Party Pinterest Board. I came up with a few DIY ideas for the table. I bought some red cups and punched out black dots with a one-inch punch. Hazel glued them to the cups. I also pulled out some Valentine's Day paper straws and put a ladybug foam sticker on them.


I also found a ladybug clip at the Dollar Tree today. I figured it would make a perfect decoration to a serving dish. Then I bought some black utensils and red napkins and wrapped the utensils in the napkin, making sure the black shows. I used a piece of ladybug scrapbook paper (I found it at Michaels) and made a napkin ring for it. Then I topped it with one of the foam ladybug stickers.

With the cups and napkin wrapped utensils I think red plates or alternate red and black plates and the table would be perfect. There are several ideas for ladybug themed food from strawberries, tomatoes, even cheese. Check them out on my Pinterest Board. There are also activities like pin the spot on the ladybug or pin the ladybug on the flower. These are pretty easy to make yourself. 


Now to me every Ladybug Girl party needs some Ladybug Girl wings and antennae. We made some simple wings from red craft foam.  I took two 8.5 x 11 inch pieces and drew the shape of a wing on one. (I used this size because it was what we had the bigger ones would be easier to use.) Then I cut them out. Then Hazel drew dots with a black marker on both sides of each one. 


While she was drawing I cut strips of red polka dot ribbon and glued them into loops and then glued them onto a scrap of the red foam about the same width as the small part of the wings. 

 Then I glued the scrap and straps to the two wings. I glued another scrap to the other side to make sure the two wings stayed together (if you used the larger size foam you could cut the two wings as one piece and not need this part). Then we let the glue dry (somewhat). 

 For the antennae I used a black headband ($1 at Joann Fabrics) and a large chenille stem and two sparkly pom poms (I should have used red, but did not look at the picture when picking supplies). I cut the chenille stem in half. Then I glued the pom poms to the ends of each. Next I glued the other end of each stem to the headband. I used clips to make sure the glue dried well. Hazel was very excited to have the costume!!

 Tomorrow she will try it on (with dried wings that do not fall apart) with her red tutu and her red and white rain boots. While I was making the antennae I had Hazel try a simple ladybug craft.

 We used a large red pom pom, a sparkly black pom pom and a small piece of black chenille stem. She made dots on the red pom pom with a black marker. I told her we could try using a hole punch on black felt, but she thought the marker would be easier. She glued the head onto the red pom pom and then glued on the piece of chenille stem and shaped them how she wanted the antennae. I glued her project onto a clothespin as an after thought. It could also be glued onto a barrette to be a hair clip. It was a very easy craft that would be good for a party. Have you done a book themed party? I would love to hear about it!!

So those are some of our DIY Ladybug Girl party ideas. For other ladybug ideas check out: What the Ladybug Heard, Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!, and Raising Ladybugs from Larvae. For other book-themed birthday parties check out: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and My Garden. For other birthday party ideas check out: Frozen themed party, DIY American Girl Doll Party, DIY Sesame Street Birthday Party, Minnie Mouse Party, Flamingo Birthday Party, Princess Party, and Nursery Rhyme Birthday Party.