My daughter wanted a butterfly-themed birthday party, so I came up with a simple set of activities that ended up being a big hit with the six-year-olds. I love the idea of building a party theme around a specific animal because it creates so many opportunities to learn about the animal (or insect!) while also having a lot of fun.
This format could easily work for any animal your child loves. If you have a kid who is into tigers, turtles, axolotls, or anything else, you could use the same structure and adapt the activities.
At our butterfly party, we did three main activities:
- We found the butterflies
- We made a butterfly
- We became butterflies
Butterfly party activities
For the first activity, I printed out butterflies and hid them around the house. The weather was cold and rainy, so we kept this indoors, but it actually worked out really well for our group.
Each child had to find five different butterflies. I gave them a checklist, and once they found one, they added it to our butterfly net. I included five different butterfly types on the list, which made it a nice opportunity for the kids to notice that there are many kinds of butterflies in the world.
If you’d like to try the Butterfly Hunt activity at home, I created a simple printable you can use with your kids for a party. Just print the butterflies and checklist. Print one set of 5 butterflies for each child. Hide the butterflies around the yard or house. TIP: Give the kids a little bag and tell them to match the butterflies to their card – they might collect duplicates by accident! Also, printing on cardstock is always best for durability, but regular paper works too.
You can download the butterfly hunt activity here
Next, we made butterfly sun catchers. I cut out black butterfly outlines and backed them with contact paper. The girls used small pieces of colorful tissue paper to create their butterfly wings. It was a simple craft, but everyone really got into designing their own butterfly.
Finally, the girls became butterflies.
We decorated masks using simple masks I bought ahead of time and paint markers. Everyone had fun adding their own designs and colors. After the masks were finished, we put on butterfly wings (also purchased ahead of time). To make it extra fun, I hung up a forest backdrop and took photos of the girls in their butterfly costumes.
And Then… We Ate the Butterfly
To wrap up the party, we ate the butterfly! Our local grocery store made a butterfly-shaped cupcake cake, which was a huge hit with the kids.
I love this simple party format because it’s easy to recreate with so many different animals. Find the animal, make the animal, become the animal—it’s simple, fun, and perfect for kids ages 4–8.
Amazon links:
Masks: 24 blank butterfly and insect masks for kids to color and decorate, made of high-quality, flexible paper. It’s a popular product!
https://a.co/d/0c13Pob3
Butterfly Wings: D.Q.Z Fairy-Butterfly-Wings Costumes for Toddler Dress Up Clothes Toys for 3-9 Years Old Girls Boys Bulk Gifts Party Favors
https://a.co/d/09YOLWSd
Paint Markers: High-quality acrylic paint markers with fine and broad tips, 48 vibrant colors for detailed designs and large areas.
https://a.co/d/0e1vvpx5
If you enjoy simple seasonal activities like this, you might also like some of our other printable hunts and creative kits.
Seasonal Nature Scavenger Hunts
Spring Kindness Door Hanger Kit
In Wonder,
Rachel