Real Birthday Party: Hungry Caterpillar First Birthday Picnic

In Kimberly’s house, The Very Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle is a favorite read. The story and colors are so beautiful. And since she runs Kimberly’s Kitchen, she loves that it’s about food. “I was trying to think of something that worked for spring, that wasn’t a “character”- our kids don’t watch TV so it wouldn’t mean anything to them. I also wanted it to reflect their ages. They both enjoy the book right now and read it together. I thought it would make a great theme for the day.”

Since green is Kimberly’s favorite color, choosing the hue played a factor. “Given that I have two girls I figured I should get a green party in while I can. Pink and purple parties are my future, I’m sure.” Since Kimberly  also loves yellow, she went with Grass Green and Lemon Yellow for direction. “After deciding on colors I thought about what types of decorations we could use at the park and what would work on the tables.”

Kimberly sent a call out to designers and Brigitte of The Posh Event designed the invitation. “She sent it to me to print, which I did on cardstock, and it looked beautiful. I wanted a banner that invited everyone to the picnic site, done by Bella Grey Designs, one at the table by Sweet Stella’s, and the sweets and loot bags were the décor as well.”

Using the book for inspiration- the sweets table was decorated with a fruit basket of all the fruits that the Caterpillar eats. “I used the loot bags as a background on the table and the green and yellow paper plates and napkins brought color to the picnic. Simple details work best when you are outdoors and managing kids.”

While Kimberly’s first thought was to use foods that the caterpillar ate on a Saturday to fit her party day, sausages and lollipops didn’t seem like they would work. “I am a huge fan of Southern BBQ and it is my go-to entertaining inspiration. I also needed easy picnic food. We had pulled pork on buns, coleslaw, bean salad, and potato salad. Easy to put together and enjoyed my all. For dessert, we had caterpillar cupcakes, my gourmet marshmallows from Kimberley’s Kitchen, cookies from iBakery and Em’s Gems, fresh fruit- watermelon and strawberries.”

“Without a doubt, my favorite part was the banner created by Shannon of Sweet Stella’s. Hand stamped with Happy Birthday and embellished with removable paper pieces- the caterpillar and all the fruits from the book. It was a perfect example of being inspired by a theme without trying to re-create the artwork of the book, something I definitely wanted to avoid. The pieces can be removed so that the banner can be made into another theme- how clever! It is now hanging in my girls’ room.”

“This is definitely one of my favorite parties because it was the first for our second daughter. Celebrating turning one is special. I think what I love best about capturing it is that it is a real party. There are lots of great ideas out there but I like to see real parties in action.” Thanks Kimberly for sharing this hungry caterpillar party with us!

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