heidi
Oh this is an easy one - been there!
Oriental Trading Company (Google it) has a huge supply. Go to their website
and search for 'ladybug' and you'll find it all, including a ladybug pinata and
cupcake toppers!
Rather than cupcakes, there are actually a number of VERY simple ladybug cakes
you could do - go to ''Google Images'' and search for ''ladybug cake'' and you'll
see lots of options.
For cake decorations, try Spun Sugar on University in
Berkeley; www.spunsugar.com. I don't know specifically if
they have lady bug cupcake decorations, but I do remember
searching high and low for dinosaur stuff, and then finding
that they have dinosaur-shaped sprinkles (sprinkles!). Maybe
give them a call. Also, there is a party supply store up on
College called Sweet Dreams that has a bunch of party theme
stuff. You could call and see if they have lady bugs.
Chelsea
There are tons of good places to get party supplies, in
almost any theme you can imagine, online. But you asked
for ideas ''other than the Internet.'' So...the local
possibilities I would go to are the Party Warehouse on San
Pablo in El Cerrito (great prices, and a more extensive
selection than you might think from the size of the
place), the Paper Outlet on San Pablo near Virginia in
Berkeley (great balloons, good prices on a decent
assortment of party supplies and stationery), and Party
City in the strip mall on Klose Way in Richmond, near
Hilltop Mall. For cupcake picks or decorations, try Spun
Sugar on University Ave and/or a JoAnn or Michael's store.
With any of these places, you can call and ask the staff
if they have any ladybug themes in stock.
Also worth a try: dollar stores.
Ladybug themes are pretty common so you shouldn't have too
much trouble. Or make your own stuff! You can, for
example, simply use a Sharpie to draw black dots on a red
balloon. If you have more advanced crafting skills you
can make your own ladybug pinata and cupcake picks too.
Have fun!
Partying Mama
Have you tried Spun Sugar (on University near California
St.)? No guarantees, but they do have an amazing assortment
of cake decorating stuff. For decorations - red with black
dots shouldn't be too hard to do-it-yourself, either.
R.K.
Five year old son wants a bug party
June 2006
Hi,
My son wants a bug party for his 5th. I am looking for someone
with a bug collection to come to my house to show to the kids.
Has anyone heard of anything like this? I can find lots of stuff
for shows with reptiles (last year we used the Vivarium, which by
the way was fantastic), but nothing on bugs.
Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!
Mother of a Budding Bug Scientist
Not exactly what you were asking for, but heres a link to birthday performers I've heard
good things about. They dress up in bug costumes and have an Insect Song CD.
http://www.sandiandstevie.com/
anon
Try calling the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. They have a bug program called
''Insects in Action'' that sounds exactly like what you want. My students (1st graders) saw
many different kinds of bugs at the Lawrence Hall of Science and they do reasonably priced
birthday parties there but I think they also can come to you. Good Luck~
anon
My son has been into bugs since he could find them. When he was little he was a member of
''Bug of the Month'' a monthly program from Sarah's Science.
http://www.sarahscience.com/bugs/index.html
Contact Sarah and see if she has an idea. Maybe you can do a bug birthday with her. If you
do it like bug of the month, you get a to take home a bug to raise!
mom of a future entomologist
Sorry, I can't recommend someone to bring bugs, although you
might check with the Vivarium, or with the Lawrence Hall of
Science biology lab or whomever teaches the bug class there. Here's an alternative or
additional activity--when my son was
into bugs, we had a birthday party where we provided little
plastic terrariums and some soil, rocks and small plants. They
each made a terrarium. I had bought a few packages of plastic
bugs. I hid the bugs throughout the yard. After the kids
finished making terrariums, they got to hunt for plastic bugs to
add to their terrarium (I think I limited it to a certain number
each, so that everyone got some). It was a great success. If
your party isn't too big, I happen to have about 10 plastic
terrariums left over from my son's 9th grade science project
(bugs once again) which I would be happy to pass on to you.
k.
I know this isn't exactly bugs, but we did my daughter's 5th birthday at Crab Cove in
Alameda. The naturalists there do a fabulous job (and maybe can focus more on bugs then on
crabs?). You first spend some time looking at exhibits, which I believe do include some bug
specimans. Then they do a crab presentation in a separate room where they dress up the
birthday child piece by piece in a crab costume as they explain the different parts. Then
the kids get to make a crab mask and claws. Then they take you all down to the beach to
look for the little brown crabs - VERY COOL! After that, you can use their picnic tables on
their deck for the cake part. You have to bring your own cake and decorations, but I think
they supplied goody bags that I augmented with plastic bugs, etc. My 12YO daughter still
talks about this party. I don't recall the exact fee, but it was reasonable.
Cathy
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