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Planning A Worm Themed Birthday Party

As we mentioned for a hot minute back in this post, Clara picked her party theme this year. What does she love more than monkeys, ice cream, firetrucks, and the mailman? Worms.

So the first thing on the party agenda was settling on a date (this Saturday the 12th, two days before her actual b-day on the 14th) and figuring out the guest list (our closest family and friends totaling about 30 people, ten who are kiddos under the age of four). Then it was the fun part. Invitations! We made three versions of them before picking our favorite (yes, making invitations is our idea of a good time). For the first one we used some shots from her 22 month photoshoot and although we loved the shapes and the fabric and that cute smile, it just didn’t have any worminess.

Clara Invite Alternative 1

So we played around some more and came up with this guy, who runneth over with worminess:

Clara Invite Alternative 2

As cute (and worm-ish) as we thought it was, we just kept playing around (yes, we’re nerds, and we only get to do it once a year) and came up with this more graphic – and just as wormy – alternative:

Clara Invite Final

Third time was the charm. Yes, we made chevron worms (maybe worms are the new chevron?). Of course we thought any of the options above would be great (and some folks might prefer #1 or #2 more), but we just loved those three little worms inching their way onto the number two with our smily girl in the middle of the number and the promise that “there will be worms.”

So we ordered just enough to send out to our crew, and even saved $15.77 thanks to googling around for a Winkflash coupon code:

Invite Coupon Code

It ended up being $1.58 per invite including an envelope ($28.54 for eighteen 5 x 7″ invites on matte card stock – not photo paper). Which isn’t  pennies, but definitely was a nice discount from the original price of $2.19 per invite. As for why we went with Winkflash, we used them for last year’s invite and were really happy with them. A lot of services offer templates for folded cards but it’s hard to find postcard-ish offerings that are completely blank (so you can upload your entire design without them putting a frame or some type around it).

And when they arrived? Love! They do such a good job- no weird printing lines or cheap-o feeling – we liked going with the larger size (5 x 7″) and the thick matte card stock paper. So that’s probably more than you’ve ever wanted to know about a two year old’s party invitation, huh? Haha.

Invite Here

But now for the party deets. Of course we’ll be back with a post after this weekend’s festivities, but just like last year, we thought a little sneak peek of our supplies might be fun (here’s last year’s). This is our table o’ stuff, some of which we had around already, like the yellow napkin dish ($2 from a thrift store a few years back!) and the fabric banner I sewed for Clara’s first birthday (we’ll re-use the runner I sewed too) along with a paper one I made for that party as well and some cute bird napkins we grabbed from Ikea about a month ago (birds like worms, right?). Some of the stuff is new of course, like the plates, worm-ish candles, some balloons and streamers, some paper lanterns, etc (all hailing from Party City or Target).

Invite All Stuff

Oh and see that pink arrow in the top left corner of the picture above? It’s pointing to this ice tray that we picked up at Ikea last month, because we thought we could even make some worm-ish ice. Or fill it with jello and make little jello worms.

Invite Ice Cube

So that’s on the agenda along with blowing up some polka dot balloons and some worm ones too (there is close to zero actual worm paraphernalia at Target and Party City, so when we saw worm balloons we couldn’t believe it).

As for all of the worm-related ideas, here’s what’s on our crazy brain dump list:

  • Make pipe cleaner worms to hide outside for a worm hunt
  • Make a grass runner with gummy worms (or plastic worms) on it
  • Collect paper towel rolls for some sort of worm craft…
  • Use streamers taped in little swags to look like worms (maybe across the beams in the living room and out on the patio somehow)
  • Serve apples with a gummy worm coming out and other worm-ish snacks
  • Cut peppers, cucumbers, and cheese into worm-like sticks and serve with dressing (worm crudité? how fancy)
  • Skewer grapes or other sliced fruit onto straws (less pokey for the kiddos than skewers)
  • Worm pizza (we’ll serve regular pizza for adults but put some cooked spaghetti on the slices for the kids)
  • Worm dogs (these are just hot dogs, haha, but we could make ketchup or mustard eyes and a smile)
  • Make white frosted cupcakes with oreo “dirt” sprinkled on top with a gummy worm (we thought about “dirt cake” or “dirt pudding” in a mason jar but it’s just too messy and hard to eat for all the 2-3 year olds)
  • Worm jello (we could just toss some gummy worms into jello sort of like a jello mold but instead of fruit it’s worms…)

Who knows what we’ll end up doing (definitely not everything!) but it’s fun to write down a bunch of things to see which ones stick. Oh and check out the favors I love so much that I assembled them a full week before the party. Nerd alert.

Invites Favors1

One of Clara’s favorite things to play with outside is our watering can (filling it with leaves, rocks, sticks, you name it) so when we saw cute green ones at Ikea for 99 cents we grabbed one for each kid (hoping they’ll like them just as much as our girl does). Then in the toy aisle we came across tiny stuffed worms for 49 cents each! Just kidding, they were snakes, but we cut off the pointy red tongues and voila: happy little worms. We also tossed a bottle of bubbles in each watering can along with an orange or pink scoop from Target (50 cents each). Brown tissue paper (aka: dirt) finished things off and gave us a spot to stick our scoops full of worms. We’re so excited for Clara to see hers. We’ve been hiding them all (I made them during a nap and stashed them all in the guest room) so it should be a pretty good time when she realizes that everyone gets a watering can, bubbles, a scoop, and a worm of their own at her party.

Oh and look at these candles we found at Tar-jay. Wormy, right?

Invite Napkins

This = a typical trip to Target. We thought grabbing two outside balls for kids to play with on the patio might be a good idea. And of course Clara picked her two favorite colors (orange and pink – which are one of the reasons we picked those colors for things like her invitations and her streamers).

Invite Target Balls

So that’s the deal with party planning. The basic gist is that I’m wishing we bought one more watering can, scoop, and stuffed snake worm so I’d get one of my own. I’m totally 30 going on 2.

Invites Favors2

Any party prep going on for you guys? Do you have any tips for keeping it simple and fun? We generally like to order food (something inexpensive but crowd-pleaser-ish, like pizza) so we’re not slaving over the stove all day. But cooking is my mom’s favorite thing, so she’d rather cook for thirty people and just grab ready-made invites. So there’s definitely more than one way to get your par-tay on. Can’t wait to share pics from this Saturday! And we’re building Clara something for her b-day. Something big. Ok, I’ll just tell you – it’s a dollhouse!!!!!!

Dollhouse Started

So excited to share the breakdown with you guys when it’s done (as expected, we’re just getting started so we’ll be working overtime!). And now for the general trite mom statement (but it’s painfully true). Oh my gosh,  how is my baby two already??? Dude, she was just turning one like three months ago.

Psst – You know $herdog loves her some Eminem, Snoop, Dre, and Biggie, but the new Karmin CD is uh.mazing. Seriously. Anyone else in love? I’ve been “YouTube in love with them” for a while (since this) and adored when they were on Ellen. Their new songs make me want to finish that dollhouse double-time (while pausing for a few obligatory dance breaks).

Comments

  1. Mariel Saunders says

    um seriously?! so cute! the invites are perfection and i love the favors! and as always that clara is super cute, especially in the target pic!
    we just had my daughter’s 1st birthday with a “you are my sunshine” theme. we kept it simple by just inviting family and decorating the night before. it was simple but perfect……until we forgot to light her candle AND sing happy birthday!

    Reply

  2. pam says

    Cute ideas!!
    If you take hot dogs and cut them in quarters the long way and fry them or heat them in a skillet, they will curl up and look like worms :) I used to make these on Halloween for my son. Have a great time at the party!!!

    Reply

  6. Kristin M says

    That is absolutely precious!!! You guys have gone above and beyond for this adorable party. I love everything you have picked out. The invitations are so cute. Makes me want to have a worm party. LOL!!!

    Can’t wait to see how it goes.

    xoxo
    Kristin
    theocdlifestyle.blogspot.com

    Reply

  7. Courtney says

    That video is the cutest! Sounds like Clara is going to have an awesome 2nd birthday! We are starting to plan our daughter’s 3rd – going with an ice cream social theme this year. Build your own sundae bar and ice cream cone cupcakes.

    Can’t wait to see the finished dollhouse! Have a blast building. :)

    Reply

  8. stephie2cool says

    What about dirt cake, made with oreos? I had a party as a kid where my mom made small dirt cakes for every kid and they all had gummy worms in them. There are loads of recipes out there. You could even line the waterers with saran wrap and make mini dirt cakes in there. Have fun!

    Reply

    • stephie2cool says

      just looked at other comments. You could make the dirt cake as choco cake with white icing and crumbled oreas as dirt. That way there is no choco pudding to be super messy.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, that’s how we came to the idea of cupcakes with crumbled oreo dirt on top with gummy worms. Just thought each kiddo would love having their own cupcake since they were such a hit at Clara’s first party!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, check out the brainstorm list- we mentioned that we thought about that but thought it was too messy for so many 2-3 year olds.

      xo,
      s

  9. Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says

    I love the worm theme. It is so adorable! And so spring-y! Adorable favors, too. You guys make everything so much fun. It makes me sad that we are done with all that cutesy stuff (since my step son will be 17 in the summer). Can’t wait to see party pics!

    Reply

  10. Joanna says

    Love all of this! Clara will love it I am sure! Have fun :) And don’t get too wormy! Maybe someone should do the worm and film it ;) $herdog perhaps?!

    Reply

  11. Ruth H. says

    Tip alert: if you cut carrots and celery into thin, longish sticks, you can soak them in water and they will bend/curl/spiral. So very wormy!

    Also, have you read Clara any books by Richard Scarry? (Don’t let the author’s name fool you, they aren’t scary at all!) One of the recurring characters in his books is a little worm named Lowly. All the books are darling, but there is one devoted to Lowly, and I found it on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Scarrys-Lowly-Storybook-Pictureback/dp/0394882709

    It looks like it’s going to be a great party!

    Reply

  12. KeLLy aNN says

    That is absolutely BRILLIANT!
    How to Eat Fried Worms was my 8 year old self’s favorite book.
    It really does bring a schmile to the Heart to see Kiddos getting great parties like this. Great job.

    Reply

  14. Megan S says

    Oh my gosh are you kidding?! That is the most adorable themed party I’ve ever seen! Love the color scheme. Is it bad that I wish my girls had birthdays after Clara’s so I can get some ideas from you guys? Hope you all have a great time.

    Reply

  15. Karyl says

    Our daughters LOVE LOVE LOVE worms too. One fun activity for kids would be to freeze a whole bunch of your fake worms (gummy or otherwise) and other things like plastic bugs, etc into Tupperware sized ice blocks then have it set out where the kids can chop away with metal spoons to free the items–a baby pool or shallow tub works well. You can also give them some scoops and rock salt and a turkey baster with bucket of water to help free the worms.

    Reply

  16. Shannon Summers says

    Oh my gosh what a great theme! I’m so happy you let Clara pick something completely original!

    I’m totes in love with Karmin and I have meaning to download her new album, but I’m really in love with some of her hair tutorials mainly her fem-mohawk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqnRUGwIHvA

    I have totally rocked that a time or two since watching it!

    Happy Birthday Clara!

    -Shannon

    Reply

  17. Lauren@FilingJointly says

    Amy totally beat me to the punch, but I second the idea of cutting the hotdogs into strips and then boiling them. If you score the strips a couple of times before boiling they look even more like worms.

    I know this because my mom did a “Bookworm” party theme for me once because I pretty much never stopped reading as a child. I think I actually was upset that I had to stop reading long enough to attend the party.

    Oh also,

    If it’s warm there you can make worm popsicles pretty easily using an ice cube tray, gummy worms, fruit punch (or other juice) and popsicle sticks.

    Reply

  19. Rachel says

    Dirt and Worm cake was my little bro’s fav thing when he was little! The grocery store nearby even made it in their bakery. Hilarious.

    Reply

  20. Darcy says

    Only you two can make worms seem absolutely adorable!! I love your party favors – and I want one too, and I’m not 30 going on 2!! LOL! And, I love all your brainstorming ideas, and I can’t wait to see what you all do and how it turns out!! Sounds like its going to be one awesome B-day PAR-TAY!!!!

    That video of Clara waking up talking about worms is just so funny — and I love how happy she is when she wakes up! My lil man, takes after me, and he is GROUCHY in the morning! Luckily, he gets happy a lot faster than I do!!

    And, best of luck to you both with your upcoming late night, dollhouse – making cram sessions!!

    Reply

  21. Andrea says

    I think it’s so funny (and totally awesome) that Clara loves worms so much. When I was little (like 3 or 4) I had a couple salamanders that I had as pets (for like 2 days) and I was so happy with them. I only had them for 2 days because one night when I went to say goodnight to them (talk about nerd alert!) I accidentally left the cover off the container and they escaped (into our addition that was being constructed)…they were gone, I was sad. But I totally would’ve had a party with a salamander theme!

    And yes, also LOVING Karmin. Sooo good. =)

    Reply

  22. Emily F. says

    Adorable! Love the invite you picked!

    We’re planning our daughter’s 1st birthday (which is also May 14th!), though we’ve decided on the following Saturday, the 19th, so we don’t have a party then Mother’s Day the next day. Our ‘theme’ is pink and gray elephants, since her favorite animal is the elephant and tons of her clothes have been pink with elephants. She totally snubbed the bunny at Anthropologie (Hare-ger) last week in favor of the blue Cordy-Roy Elephant, which she now snuggles every night.

    Reply

  23. Jenny Johnston says

    Have y’all ever see the octopus hot dogs? you slice the ends of the hot dog vertically about half way up the dog (to make the legs). When you boil the dogs, the legs get a bit curly. I wonder if you sliced the whole dog into thin slices and then boiled them if the whole slice would kinda curl up like a worm??? Just a thought

    Reply

  25. Allyn says

    So so SO excited to see the dollhouse! My grandfather made us one when we were kids and it’s a work of art. Someday we’ll all be fighting over it, I’m sure.
    Love the worm theme, and can’t believe Clara is almost two! Time flies…

    Reply

  26. Alice says

    Wonderful party planning – very impressed! If you have plenty of the candles and so are happy to experiment with some that may be discarded then why not try to bend them into more worm-y shapes? I would try dipping (hold by the wick) into hot water and then see if you can roll bends in with your fingers. Just an idea!

    Reply

  27. Lenore says

    Aw! Clara and I have the same b-day! I think you have a budding entomologist on your hands – I, too, loved worms and other bugs as a kid, and I grew up to be a biologist. I’ll be wishing Clara a wonderful and worm filled day!

    Reply

  28. Kim says

    So cute! I loved making the invites and party favors for my kids parties (they are teens now). One of my favorites was a volcano party for my son-we had everyone meet on the beach and we made a huge volcano in the sand and put in the baking soda and vinegar to make it “explode”. I never saw so many 6 year old boys stand still at once. And volcano cupcakes-cupcakes with an inverted ice cream cone on top decorated with “lava”.

    Reply

  30. Jessica says

    The party theme is adorbs…..she’s really going to love it! You guys crack me up, but I LOVE that you’re going with what she loves…it will be so funny to look back on this years from now. She’ll be like “worms??? I was obsessed with worms???”

    I am VERY excited to get the deets on the dollhouse. It’s on my “to do” list for this summer….I always wanted one when I was a kid, so I am going to make sure my little lady has an awesome one! Question….what type of dolls are you planning to have her use? That’s been my biggest issue so far. I can’t find cute dolls so I’m not sure how to scale the house. hmmmmm….

    Reply

  33. Susan says

    Happy Birthday, kid! We share the day…I’m the 14th too! One of the best birthdays ever. The weather is almost always good, schools almost out so people are in the mood to come out and party, and she gets to be a Taurus. Strong willed, confident, and loyal, she surrounds herself with the things that make her feel happiest, like worms. The things she loves most may not always be popular but they will always be special to her.
    Hope she enjoys the wooden doll house. I recommend the “Ryan’s Room” wooden furniture and families. My kids have still play with theirs, and it’s a favorite with every kid who comes over.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, my brother is a Taurus and my mom’s a Gemini, so I remember thinking she can’t go wrong either way (she was actually supposed to be born as a Gemini but she came early). So glad she did though! She loves animals and is super loyal to her worm friends!

      xo,
      s

  34. Nicole says

    SO CUTE!! You guys are so good at planning the details of get togethers. And the invitations are so cute. Can’t wait for the post with pics from the partay.

    Nicole

    Reply

  35. Katie says

    This is totally inspiring me to start party planning for my little girl. I’m sure this is already posted somewhere in your blog, but I was wondering what software you used to create the awesome invitations.

    Reply

  36. sarah says

    who knew worms could make such a dadgum cute party!

    I will be honest – I remember you saying you had to wait two years before getting preggers again – I dont even know Clara but the thought of another bean makes me giddy!

    Reply

  37. Pamela @ Pink Hammers & Sippy Cups says

    What a super awesome party plan, I can’t wait to see how it turns out! I’ll be throwing my own daughter’s birthday party in September and will be going with a balloon theme! Btw for your worm theme have you thought of freezing gummy worms in ice cube trays for drinks?

    Reply

  40. Christine says

    You guys could make wallpaper out of your worm chevron design! That could be first in your line of kid stuff.

    Reply

  41. pam says

    Cute ideas!!
    If you cut hot dogs in quarters the long way and fry or heat in a skillet, they curl up and look like worms. I always made these for Halloween. They really do look like worms.
    Just an idea
    Have fun at the party!!

    Reply

  45. Martha says

    She will love the dollhouse, but I was hoping her present would be a worm composting bin. Clara could have hundreds if not thousands of worm pets and you would have good compost for your gardens.

    Reply

  46. Michele Wesdock says

    Very cute. So glad real worms aren’t involved, though. I have an intense and admittedly irrational fear of worms. Going to mailbox after the rain is like walking through a minefield! Weird, I know. Happy Birthday, Clara!

    Reply

  47. Ty Lee says

    My son is obsessed with slugs.

    …I am not about to throw a slug-themed party. There is NO WAY that would go over well, and there would be nothing cute about it. I mean, slugs. Come one. SLLLUUUUGGGGSSSS. *shudder*

    I could totally get down with worms though.

    Reply

  48. Jenny says

    I love Karmin! I am totally diggin’ Brokenhearted right now. Which CD are you talking about – Hello? I’ve got Brokenhearted and Crash Your Party on a mix – I guess I didn’t realize they have a full CD out!

    Reply

  49. Ashley says

    I love those Spritz candles from Target…I picked up a pack for our sweet Liam’s birthday party (he turns one tomorrow…we had his party last Saturday from 12-2. And planning it was amazingly fun. We used Winkflash for our invitations because of your post last year–they were awesome!).

    But then I realized I probably didn’t really want to stick fire that close to my sweet boy’s face…because he would have grabbed it with his hand. So now we’ll save them for Daddy’s birthday next month!

    Reply

  50. Susan says

    What a cute idea! I just know that Clara is going to have so much fun! I can’t hardly wait to see the details of the party and the DOLLHOUSE! Seriously, what girl (little or big) wouldn’t just love to have a doll house. You and John have so much creativity.

    Reply

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