Like I said before, I really didn’t plan many activities for Ryan’s Very Hungry Caterpillar Party. We didn’t need to; the bounce house and swings were enough to keep the kids happy, and I liked it that way. The only structured activity we supplied for them was a piñata just before cutting the cake.
There aren’t many widely available Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party products let alone piñatas, however I thought I’d be able to find one of the elements featured in the book. A strawberry, apple or butterfly would all work and fit with the theme. Birthday in a Box had these options but none were in stock, so I decided I’d get the Boy’s 1st Birthday Piñata Kit and decorate it myself.
It came with three pounds of candy and we stuffed it in a few days before the party. It was mostly sour candy which most young kids don’t like, but they clamored for it anyway. It would be nicer if the candy was not entirely made up of sour flavors, especially considering that this piñata is specifically made for a first birthday party. The pinata was nice looking and I don’t think anyone cared that it didn’t connect with our VHC theme, except for me.
Instead of using a bat which can be dangerous when it comes to these kids, we had each child grab a ribbon to pull out the candy. The little kids went first; nothing. Thankfully the oldest child was able to yank it open and out came all of the candy. Yippee! The kids had a blast collecting the goodies.
A sample was provided to facilitate our candid review.
Betsy Barnes says
Great idea to use ribbon! Looks like everyone was having a blast :)
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
That’s really cool! I should check into this for my boys birthday party in August.
Sarah L says
I agree with Liz that the ribbon was good and too many sours was not so good. Never mind sayeth the kids, we liked it.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I really like the pulling a ribbon vs. the bat! I guess that is a little odd that they went with sour instead of sweet candy. Weird!