Who doesn’t love a cute little bumblebee? If you’re getting ready to plan your child’s next birthday, try planning a cute yellow and black bumblebee birthday party. Not sure where to start? Metro Parent has scoured the Internet to find some of the cutest, most creative and fun ideas to help you throw together a birthday party that your friends will remember forever. From striped eats and yummy desserts to balloons, decor, invites and more, you’ll find every last detail to get this bee-themed party planned.
Invitations
Moveable wing invites
What’s a better way to invite someone to a bee-themed party than to send them an actual bee? Simply print your invites on round cardstock, cut another slightly larger circle out of black and yellow cardstock and attach to the top of the invitation with a paper fastener. Then add a head, stinger and wings to finish the look. Send them out as-is or in a cute yellow envelope. Down to the wire? Fret not! You can purchase these invites from Jessie and the Jabberwock on Etsy.
Have you heard the buzz?
This really easy design can be done from home with a printer and a little imagination! Use a piece of honeycomb-print cardstock, or some honeycomb scrapbook paper if you’re in a pinch, and use all the bee-puns that you can find, such as “Have you heard the buzz,” “Bay-bee is turning three,” “Come wish her a hap-bee bee-day!” Use as many, or as few as you like, and don’t forget to add a little buzzing bee decal, or other stickers to make it your own.
Simple stripes
What’s the most notable attribute of any bumblebee? Why his yellow and black stripes, of course! A black, yellow, and white striped invitation is a super simple way to get your theme across, without going completely over-the-top. Add a photo of your child along with the party details, a few bees or a bow, throw it in an envelope and you’re good to go. Add a little pizzazz by shaping it as a beehive or flower. Not feeling super creative? You can download a customizable striped invite here.
Decorations
Bee-loons
Every party store across America sells packs of balloons. Find some yellow ones, fill them with helium and paint on some black stripes. Cut some wings and a face out of construction paper, and add them to the balloons with a glue stick or double-sided tape. Glue a bit of fishing wire to the bee’s belly to make him fly, add your string and boom! Bee-loons. Too intricate? Wrap some black tulle or lace around a yellow balloon for a similar, but simple, effect.
Honeycomb runner
Add a little flair to the traditional solid tablecloth by making a DIY honeycomb table runner. Start with a canvas drop cloth from the hardware store, and make sure that it’s clean. Take a new house sponge and cut a hexagon from the center. Mix your paint to the desired yellow and stamp on rows of hexagons to get the honeycomb effect. Use different shades of yellows to make it your own.
Antennae for all
Make sure that all of your guests feel like part of the hive with this simple DIY. Head to the dollar store and pick up some of those cheap black headbands. Grab a yellow and black pipe cleaner, wrap them around each other and then around the headband (make sure you do this twice). Glue a yellow pompom at the top of each antenna, and you have a cute party favor to add to the décor. Just be sure that you have enough for everyone.
Party treats
Sweet treats
This is a fun activity for you and the “bee-day” boy or girl to do together before the shindig. Buy some strawberries, pretzel rods and other fun treats, chocolate, yellow sprinkles and other decorations. Melt your chocolate and dip your treats in. Make sure your tot has washed his hands, and let him dip the still-melted chocolate into the sprinkles. You can add another element by using yellow chocolate and dark sprinkles. Be sure to wrap them in plastic to keep them from sticking together.
Bee stingers
Just because it’s a party doesn’t mean you only have to serve junk food. Take a shish-kabob skewer, some pineapple and purple grapes, and layer them on the skewer every other one. When you’re done, you’ll have a cute and healthy bumblebee stinger for your guests to enjoy.
Bumblebee pizza
Everybody loves pizza, and you can turn this party favorite into a bee-themed snack by topping it with black olives and cheese, pineapple or banana peppers in a striped pattern. You can also do this idea with bean dip, using corn and black olives. Just be sure that you have a pepperoni one set aside for the pickier eaters.
Games and activities
Pin the bee on the hive
Or pin the stinger on the bee. Either one of these “pin the tail on the donkey” spin-offs will add some traditional fun to your bee-themed party. You can either buy a corkboard and draw a beehive (or bee) on it, and use an actual pushpin to play, or use a kid-friendly magnet board, attach a magnet to your bee (or stinger) and play that way.
Flower hunt
Buy some plastic flowers and small prizes. Write a number on some of those flowers and a corresponding number on the prizes. Hide the flowers in your backyard. Set your little bees loose to pollinate (find) as many of the flowers as they can in a certain period of time. After the hunt, they can turn in their flowers for the prizes that match the numbers.
Beehive landing
It’s like musical chairs, but with beehives! Cut some huge hives out of poster board before party time. Make sure they’re decorated and ready to go. When it’s time to play, lay the hives out a significant distance apart, and make sure there is one less than the amount of party guests. Play and stop some music in bursts. When it stops, they have to get to one of the hives. Remove one hive after each round. The last one standing gets a prize. In another version, you can put out the same amount of bees as guests and play a certain number of times. Label each hive with a number and a prize with a number. When the last round is over, the number hive they have is the prize they get.
