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Guest blogger Katie Schultz hosted this fun and imaginative book party. She shares with us some of her creative ideas and photos from the party, which is featured on her blog, Schultz Party of Four.
To encourage a love of books and all of the adventures they can offer, we decided to bring the characters, themes and activities out of the storybooks and into our daughters’ birthday party. We chose some of our daughters’ favorite storybooks to start and began to craft the party decorations, food and activities around them.
For the invitations:
We scanned images of the main characters from all of the books we were using and placed them together on the invitation along with pictures of the birthday girls.
Best of all — we asked guests to come dressed as their favorite storybook character. Adults and children alike really got into this part. My husband set up a white backdrop in the corner and shot individual photos of each guest in their costume.
For activities we had:
- Harold and the Purple Crayon: A wall of white paper along with a bucket of purple crayons provided the children a space to be Harold themselves.
- Caps for Sale: A collection of caps was gathered from family and friends and the children attempted to stack them on top of their heads and then walk a path, just as the man from the story does.
- Little House on the Prairie: A scene from the story in which Mary and Laura search out beads at the abandoned Indian camp led to this activity. We cut grocery sacks down to about 2-3 inches tall and then poured in about 1 inch of sand. We sprinkled colorful beads in the sand to give the children the experience of ‘digging’ for the beads. They were then given string to make a bracelet or necklace the way Laura and Mary had done.
- Illustrators Corner: This was a space in which we placed sheets of blank paper and crayons and encouraged the children to make their own illustrations.
- Reading Space: Of course there had to be an area lined with all sorts of books and comfy couches for Mom’s and Dad’s to snuggle up with their little ones and read.
For food we chose:
- Fancy Nancy “King’s Crown Pizza.” All of the tables were covered with red-and-white checked table clothes. We made a large sign that read “King’s Crown Pizza” and set the book open to the page at the pizza shop on an easel next to the pizzas.
- Pinkalicious Cupcakes: For dessert we made pink cupcakes with pink sprinkles on pretty crystal cake stands. We used a pink table cloth and hung pink streamers. We propped the book up on an easel as well, which made a pretty decoration (the cover is adorable).
For the party favors:
Personalized Book Bags: Very affordable blank canvas bags were purchased online (0.99 each) and personalized with the first initial of each child in a large fabric letter adhered with fusible web.
For the gifts:
In lieu of gifts we requested that each guest bring a book for a book exchange. This way everyone in attendance left with a brand new book (tucked in their new book bag). This was a big hit with the children and parents alike.
Though the multiple stations are a lot of work, they can be done affordably — and certainly modified for all sorts of your children’s favorite storybooks.
You can find more photos on the Schultz Party of Four blog.
