A great teddy bear party is not a difficult thing to pull of with a little creativity and some things that you can find round your house! Here are some quick ideas for making the party "beary" fun!
Invitation ideas
Buy some inexpensive rubber stamps with bear images and let your little one make
homemade invitations. Or cut a piece of cardstock into the shape of a bear and
write your invitation on that. Free clipart can be found for this purpose in many
places on the Internet. Make sure you include the request for all the guests to bring
their own bear to the party too!
Decoration ideas
When kids think of bears they usually think of honey and bees, so a big hit for
decorations is LOTS of yellow and black balloons and streamers. If possible have
various teddy bears all around the room as well to tie in the theme.
Menu ideas
When you're hosting a bear event even your menu should be centered on teddy.
Here is a cute way to turn Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches into a beary fun treat!
Spread your peanut butter and jelly onto eight whole-wheat hamburger buns. Now
the fun begins. Cut four of the eight buns in half. On a large tray or covered cookie
sheet, arrange the buns into a shape of a teddy bear. For the tummy, put one whole
bun and surround that with 4 half buns. Another whole bun becomes the head/
face, with two half buns on the topsides of the head for the ears. Two whole buns
become the legs and the final two half buns turn out off of the body to make arms.
Garnish the face/head bun with raisin eyes and a strawberry slice mouth and you've
got a bear! Use a separate tray for additional sandwiches and watch for all the
smiles! Mix some honey and yogurt together for a great dip for cut fruit and your
menu is complete!
Bear Party - Activities and craft ideas
Crafts with a bear theme abound but here are some quick ideas for your bear
birthday party. Make a paper bear chain (paper dolls) that the kids can color and
decorate. Use paper plates to make paper bear masks. Bead a bear collar
(necklace). Take a picture with all the kids and their own bears and decorate a
simple scrapbook page to honor the occasion. Decorate teddy bear cookies with
colored icing and various decorations.
Bear Party - Game ideas
Pin the honey pot on the teddy bear - if you have an artist in the family, draw a
large teddy bear on poster board and cut out honey pots. Blindfold each child
individually and see if they can put the honey pot into the teddy bear's hand.
Hot teddy bear bracelet- like hot potato only pass the teddy bear to the music. When the
music stops, the person with the teddy bear is out.
Toss the honey pot - draw a large bear head with an open mouth on poster board
and lay it on the floor. Using yellow beanbags as the "honey" each child throws the
bag to see if it will land in the bear's mouth.
Take home gift ideas
Purchase yellow lunch bags (available at party stores) and decorate with bee
stickers. Fill with gummy bears, teddy grahams, miniature stuffed teddy bears and
fun bear jewelry. Or if you want to go all out, hire a stuffed animal party planner to
come and have each child make their own stuffed animal as part of the party.
Teddy Bears, I Love!
A Teddy bear is stuffed toy bear filled with soft cotton that gives us more comfortable hug. It is made primarily to entertain children, but it has also become a collector's item. It is also a popular gift to show affection to special people on their birthdays, Valentine's Day, and other holidays.
A popular brand of collectible teddy bears is the Charlie bears collection which come in different names and personalities. Each of them has different special features. An example is Annie. She is a 9.5" jointed Charlie bear that wears beautiful bronze voile bow and a bell necklace. Another one is Angela, a fully jointed pink bear. Angela can stand and has magnetic paws that she can join with her nose and hips. Both Charlie bears are very cuddly.
Another collectible brand of teddy bears is the Steiff Bears which have other animal designs like Koala, Baby Lion and Panda. It is also signified with a yellow tag on their left ear that has different meanings, a yellow tag means it is produced in unlimited numbers. A white and black tag means that it is a limited edition and a replica of the original designs of Richard Steiff (Steiff bears designer) from many years ago. A white and red tag indicates that it is a limited edition made only for that year or for a specific occasion. Steiff bears are also very cuddly.
In the year 2000, another brand of collectible teddy bears was produced. It is quite unique as its design was taken from a greeting card. It is called the "Me to You" bears or also known as Tatty Teddy. Unlike the two other brands I have mentioned earlier, Tatty teddies are not made with different editions or designs. Tatty Teddy comes in just one physical appearance; it has grey fur, black eyes, an off-white snout, and a bluish nose with a white spot on the left side. It also has a few small patches of light grey color that have been designed to look like they were stitched in by its the owner several times.
What makes Tatty teddies are enhanced with different clothes and accessories. It may come in costumes showcasing the four seasons, summer, winter fall and autumn. The original Tatty teddy had "Me to You" embroidered on the left rear paw. Now, some have "I love you" on the chest, some held flowers, cuddle a smaller version of itself. This collectible brand is very popular for romantic gift giving. Some may also be personalized with statements sewn on its chest, depending on what the person would like to say. Although Tatty teddy is quite unique it is also equally cuddly and can be collected with its different costumes and embroidered statements.