Huggable-Bugs Party

Invitations & Decorations

This party's sure to create a "buzz." Smaller kids will love this happy bee-day celebration. For older kids, you can even feature a walk in the woods with a nature center guide, or perhaps an "ant" or uncle who can help identify various insects.

Bug Crazy Invite

To make a colorful bug-themed invitation, use red card stock. Then cut ovals from decorative paper, and glue onto card. Create head, legs, and antennae with a fine marker, and write in the party details.

Giant Grass

Give kids a bug's eye view of the world. Begin with a big roll of green paper and cut deep zigzags along one edge for grass. Tape it along one wall or all around the party area. (You can even have your kids color bugs on the grass before you tape it up).

Decorated Straws

Dress up drinking straws with our simple chenille bugs and flowers.

What you need:

• Chenille stems (standard and thin)
• Pencil
• Colored drinking straws
• Scissors

To make bumblebee:

Wind together one standard black and one standard yellow chenille stem to make one striped chenille stem. Wind striped chenille stem around the top of a pencil, overlapping layers to form a small bundle. Slide bundle off pencil, and place over straw. Bend a small piece of thin chenille stem in half, and insert through bee body to make antennae.

To make flower:

Shape one chenille stem into three petals, leaving a small section of stem free. Repeat. Twist the free end of each three-petal configuration around the center of the straw to form complete flower. To finish, cut chenille stem in half and coil it around pencil top; remove and slide over top of straw to make flower's center.

Activities & Goody Bags

Bug and Butterfly Magnets

These magnets are a charming, easy-to-make craft. Have children glue pom-poms or decorative papers (precut in the shape of butterfly wings) onto craft sticks. Add googly eyes. Then place stick-on magnet strips on the bottom of the sticks.

Crafty Caterpillars

Cut egg cartons into two lengthwise rows of egg holders, and pierce two holes at one end with a pencil point. At the party, let kids push pipe cleaners through the holes to make antennae, and glue on wiggly eyes. Smiles, dots, and stripes can be added, using crayons on plastic-foam carton eggs, washable markers on the paper variety.

Lucky-Bugs Goody Bag

Mini canvas totes, available at craft stores, make great goody bags. To decorate, use fabric paints. Pack the totes with magnifying glasses, bug and butterfly stickers, plastic bugs, and lollipops, which you can decorate in a buglike fashion by adding chenille stems and beads.

Little-Critter Cupcakes

By Jacqueline Plant

Cupcakes are kid pleasers, and these brightly decorated ones feature such friendly-looking ladybugs, bees, and butterflies that children will wish they could come alive.

Prep and decorating time: 1 hour

Bake time: 19 to 22 minutes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

• 1 box (18.25 oz.) yellow-cake mix
• 1 can (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
• Green food coloring
• Froot Loops
• Snack 'Ums Big Boomin' Pops
• Marshmallows
• Pink and yellow sugars
• Red and black licorice strings
• Brown decorating icing
• Candy eyes
• Flower sprinkles
• Keebler Rainbow Vanilla Wafers
• Reduced-fat chocolate Nilla Wafers
• Hershey's candy-coated milk-chocolate sprinkles

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Prepare cake mix according to package directions, and bake 24 cupcakes. Cool completely. Tint frosting green with food coloring, and frost cupcakes.
2. Butterflies: Stand 6 Froot Loops in a row down center of cupcake for the body. Place 1 Snack 'Ums pop at end for head. Cut 2 marshmallows in half, and sprinkle cut side with pink or yellow sugars. Place on cupcake as wings. Cut 2 red licorice strings 1 ½"long, and insert for antennae. Pipe 2 dots of decorating icing onto head, and attach candy eyes.
3. Ladybugs: Roll edge of frosted cupcake in flower sprinkles. For wings, cut 1 red-colored wafer in half, and attach with decorating icing to chocolate-wafer body. Place ladybug in center of cupcake. Pipe small dots of icing onto red wafer, and pipe a circle for the head. Attach candy eyes and a red candy-coated milk-chocolate sprinkle for nose. Cut 2 black-licorice strings 1 ½"long, and insert for antennae.
4. Bees: Roll edge of frosted cupcake in flower sprinkles. Place an orange wafer in center of cupcake. Pipe lines of icing onto wafer. Cut a marshmallow in half, and attach for wings. Using the icing, pipe a circle for the head. Attach candy eyes and yellow candy-coated milk-chocolate sprinkle for nose. Cut a 1" piece of black licorice, and insert into back of bee for stinger.

Inchworm Cupcakes

By Karen Tack

These adorable cupcakes will worm their way into any child's heart.

• 1 box (18.25 oz.) cake mix, any flavor
• 2 cans (12 oz. each) soft whipped white frosting
• Blue, green, and yellow food coloring
• Yellow sprinkles
• 1 banana-shaped Runt
• 1 sour gumdrop, cut in half
• 2 brown mini M&M's
• Black licorice strings
• Blue sprinkles
• Blue flat sprinkles
• Candy-coated licorice pieces

1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions for baking 24 cupcakes.
2. In large bowl, tint frosting to desired color using several drops of green and one or two drops of yellow food coloring. Frost cupcakes.
3. For head: Roll 2/3 of cupcake edge in yellow sprinkles. Place banana-shaped Runt on for mouth. Secure each brown M&M onto gumdrop half with a dab of frosting. Place on cupcake for eyes. Cut 2 licorice strings 3" long, and insert for antennae.
4. For body: With remaining ingredients, decorate cupcakes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

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