Teddy bears’ picnic: great birthday party ideas for kids
Here is everything you need to create a fantastic kids' teddy bear-themed birthday party, says
This is a very adaptable little party because it’s a picnic: you can pick it up and take it with you to the local park if you don’t have a backyard. And remember, this is a strictly BYO bear affair, so remember to make some extra treats for the bears, too.
Decorations
Since this is a teddy bears’ picnic and most teddy bears are small in stature, keep the decorations for this party close to the ground. You’ll need picnic rugs, cushions and a low table for the food.
The bears’ retreat
2 or 3 large sticks or bamboo poles string tissue paper tassels (from party supply stores) This is a cosy spot just for the children and their special guests. Push the sticks or poles very firmly into the ground. Run the string between the poles and hang paper tassels and other bearfriendly decorations from them. You could also suspend the decorations from a friendly tree.
Bear ears
needle and twine small coloured pompoms soft headbands Using a needle, thread short pieces of twine through the bottom half of the pompoms, then tie two pompoms onto each headband for the children to wear as bear ears. Instant cuteness!
Follow the bear prints
chalk Use white chalk to draw bear footprints along the footpath outside your house, heading to the front door (use illustration on the opposite page, top, for inspiration).
Activities
Hand-print bear bear faces: brown card, black marker pen, glue paint in a shallow dish white A4 paper glue washing-up tub for messy paws Pre-prepare bear faces for the party by cutting out a large round card shape for the face and two smaller ones for the ears. Using the image (opposite page, above) as a guide, glue the three pieces together and draw on eyes and a muzzle. Each child takes a turn at dipping their hand into the paint and pressing it onto a sheet of paper to make a bear’s body. Help the children to stick a bear face in position. Remember to write the child’s name on their artwork. Allow to dry – the bear prints should be ready to take home by the end of the party.
Teddy parachute toss
play parachute (or an old sheet) lots of teddies Get the kids to place teddies in the middle of the parachute, ask them to stand around the perimeter: all count “1,2, 3, lift!” and watch them fly. See how many bears are safely caught!
Pass the parcel
lots of wrapping paper little packets of Tiny Teddies little packets of Gummy Bears Prepare the parcel, wrapping alternate layers with packets of Tiny Teddies and packets of Gummy Bears. The children sit in a circle on the floor and pass the parcel around the circle while music plays in the background. When the music stops (an adult should be in charge of the music to ensure it stops at the right time), the child holding the parcel gets to open a layer of the parcel, revealing a small gift. Keep going until every child has had a turn at opening a layer, leaving the very last layer for the birthday child.
Party favours
Teddy bear party bags blue paper party bags white card black marker pen glue small wooden pegs Fold the top quarter of the party bags over. Cut out bear ears and a muzzle from white card. Draw bear’s mouth and nose on muzzle, then glue ears onto top outer edge of paper bags. Position muzzle in the middle of bag and glue in place. Draw on eyes, fill bags and close them with a wooden peg. These bags are perfect for the hang-anddisplay treatment – safe from little hands until they are ready to be handed out. Teddy bear crayons old broken crayons silicone teddy bear mould Preheat oven to 100°C (80°C fan-forced); line a tray with baking paper. Chop crayons into little pieces; arrange in mould. Pile the pieces up a little higher than the top of the mould because when the crayons melt they will take up less space. Put the mould on the tray and cook for 12–15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bear crayons cool completely before removing them from the mould. Sleepy teddy bear small tin or box for the bed teddy-shaped cookie cutter brown felt light brown felt dark brown embroidery thread stuffing scraps of felt or pretty material Measure a small tin or box to make sure your teddy will fit nicely in the bed. Now use a teddy-shaped cookie cutter to trace and cut two bear shapes from brown felt. Cut one small oval from the light brown felt for the muzzle. Use dark brown embroidery thread to sew a nose and mouth onto muzzle. Sew muzzle onto face of one bear shape. Sew on eyes using dark brown embroidery thread in a French knot (there are excellent tutorials on all types of embroidery stitches online if you need to brush up on your needlework). Layer two bear shapes, then, beginning at one arm, sew the whole way around teddy using blanket stitch. Remember to leave a small gap so you can fill teddy with stuffing before you sew it up. Make a comfy bed for teddy by creating a sheet and pillow from pretty fabric scraps.
Bear sandwiches
thin-sliced bread bear-shaped cookie cutter or mould fillings of your choice All you need is a bear-shaped cookie cutter to make simple crustless bear sandwiches.
Teddy fruit cups
cupcake cases card in various colours glue black marker pen blueberries strawberries Turn cupcake cases into friendly little bears. Cut a round face, two small round ears and a little oval-shaped snout from card. Using the image on the opposite page as a guide, assemble the bear with glue and draw on eyes and a muzzle. Attach to the cases and fill them with blueberries and cut-up strawberries.
Teddy racing cars
small amount of melted dark chocolate Tiny Teddy biscuits with legs cut off Tim Tams or any chocolate-covered rectangular biscuit Smarties (or M&M’s) Use the melted chocolate to stick the teddies on the chocolate biscuit “cars”. Using more melted chocolate, add Smarties to the side of the biscuits for the
Old-school biscuits
2 packets of teddy-shaped biscuits (chocolate and plain) small amount of melted chocolate edible sugar flowers (from the cake aisle at the supermarket or cake decorating stores) For larger biscuits, you could make your own, cutting the dough with a bearshaped cookie cutter, and coat half the cooled cooked biscuits in chocolate. Dazzle the partygoers by mixing plain and chocolate-flavoured bears on the same plate. Use melted chocolate to glue on sugar flowers to make girl bears. Fancy.
Bear bottles
coloured card glue black marker pen double-sided sticky tape small milk bottles coloured twine milk or juice Make bear faces from card – see the instructions for teddy fruit cups, left – and use tape to stick them to milk bottles (you can buy bottles with lids and in-built straws to avoid spillages; alternatively, you could get clear plastic cups with lids and straws if you are worried about breakages). Tie a short piece of pretty twine around the neck of the bottle in a bow. Fill with bear juice of your choice.