This month we are giving suggestions for a Teddy
Bears Picnic Party.
Invitations:
We provide invitations in our Teddy Bear Range, or
you and your child might like to make their own.
On
the invite, ask each child to bring along their teddy
bear, this not only sets the theme, but can also be a
comfort for younger children during the party.
Food Ideas:
You can prepare your food before the party, but we
think the following idea is more adventurous (and
provides a time consuming activity for the children to
enjoy).
On arrival provide each child with an apron. (A bin
bag with cut out arms and head will be fine, as the
children will be supervised).
You will find that children are more likely to eat if
they have had a hand in the production.
Sandwiches
Either have sandwiches made, but not cut, or let
children make their own.
It is often an idea to send
the invitations out with a menu for the children to
choose from - this will save making too many different
things – you can also find out whether the child has any
food allergies.
Provide a shaped cutter each (or
share one or two around) and let each child cut out as
many shapes as they can from their sandwich round.
Biscuits
If you are feeling brave, let the children put icing
on a plain biscuit (or, make your own the day before,
again using the shaped cutters). You can either make
your own icing or use the ready-made tubes available in
most supermarkets.
Afterwards let them decorate with
hundreds and thousands or some similar decoration.
Put each named place
card on the child’s plate
with their food. You might like to have extra place
cards for teddies.
As for the rest of the food it is
best to have that pre-prepared! For drinks we would
suggest cups
with lids – and straws.
Less spillage.
Have a cardboard box ready (which happens to be
supplied if you buy one of our ensembles!!) you can
cover this in wrapping paper……. you now have the
hamper………. and put the food in it ready to take on the
picnic.
You may like to play a few games before the picnic,
especially if you have chosen some energetic ones –
jumping up and down after eating isn’t advised!! Take a
look at our activity
ideas further down the page.
When you are ready to eat, get the children to walk
with their teddies to the picnic area.
If you have a table with space underneath then you
could use a ‘grass’
tablecloth which amazingly you can buy from
this site and lay it under the table. The children can
sit on it to have a picnic in the forest.
A table
skirt..yes you can buy those from our site
too… hitched up at the front will give it a really good
look. If you think the children are likely to bash their
heads on the underside of the table then lay the ‘grass’
just in front of it.
If you are able to hold the party outside, picnic
rugs or blankets will suffice.
After the meal ask the children to put the empty
plates and cups back in the cardboard box and it will
make clearing up easier.
Activities:
Quite a good amount of party time will have been
taken up with the children making their own picnic, so a
few good old fashioned games of statues or pass the
parcel are great indoor games (with prizes
for the winners) and should hopefully be enough to fill
the time.
For older children who are able to write and spell
(albeit somewhat imaginatively) play the tray game
instead of statues. Place a number of items (teddy
related if possible) on the tray. Let the children look
at it for 1 minute. Cover the tray up and tell them to
write down everything they remember on the tray. Prize
for the winner. This would be a good activity for after
the picnic as there shouldn’t be too much bouncing
around.
If the weather is favourable, you can host the whole
party outside. If you don’t have too many children
invited or you have a lot of helpers, the park is the
ideal place to hold the picnic – built in activities
too!!
Again, if you can hold the party outdoors, games such
as a sack race (yes, teddy has to play too) and egg and
spoon race are always good fun. Another good game is
pass the balloon – divide the children into teams and,
using normal balloons,
or try our bear
shaped balloons, get each child to pass the
balloon along the line over their heads, the one at the
end runs to the other end with the balloon and starts
again…. And so on until each child has run to the
end.
If the children need calming down, have a teddy bear
book at the ready to read them a story. This is a good
one for the end of the party, when parents are arriving.
The children may have been a nightmare for the whole
party, but if the children are sitting quietly listening
to a book, their parents will never know!! If you are
holding the party at home, a teddy bear video/dvd is
another way to calm the children down.
A piñata
is always a good way to end the party. Anything the
children retrieve can be put straight into their party
bags before they leave.
Just before the last activity, bring out the cake
(try making a teddy
bear cake yourself, or order from your local
bakery or shop). You will then have time to cut and wrap
slices for the children to take home.
As the children leave, give them a balloon
and some cake in a treat
bag and perhaps one or two fillers.
If you decide to make the teddy bear shaped biscuits for
the children to decorate, make extra, decorate them
yourself and give each child one to take home.
Once the children have left, sit back…. and
relax! | 
