Last May my friend Ashley and I hosted a baby shower for our good friend, Debbie. (Yes, that would be Dr. Debbie, a Supermom who contributes to our blog.) A few things about Debbie: her favorite color is green, she doesn’t eat meat, and she had quite the guest list.
So when it came time to pick a theme, Ashley and I thought basing it on the classic book Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle sounded fun — it would lend itself to the color green, a meatless menu and the flexibility to accommodate many guests.
To introduce the theme in the invitations we mimicked the art from Eric Carle’s book, complete with holes. Invitations were stuffed into craft envelopes with coordinating address labels then addressed by Ashley. (I love her handwriting!)
To appropriately pull off the food theme, we centered the shower around brunch — hot waffles with numerous toppings representing many of the colors and foods the hungry caterpillar ate.
Although hot waffles could sound complicated, they were fairly easy to pull off, especially since the party was open-house style, so not everyone needed a waffle at the same time. We collected several waffle makers from our friends (We all have the same one!), and set them up on my kitchen island. We made fresh waffle batter throughout the party on an adjacent counter in my Kitchen Aid as needed. Mixing waffle batter takes just moments, and we left the ingredients out so we could easily access them. As waffles were done, we put them on a platter on our bar for the taking. Small coordinating signs invited guests to help themselves to hot waffles!
We set up a topping station that included homemade maple syrup, sweet blueberry topping (that is delicious enough to pour over ice cream for dessert), caramel banana topping, peanut butter topping (her favorite), fresh diced strawberries, whipped cream, crushed walnuts and more. Just about every guest divided her waffle into sections to try each of the toppings.
Other colorful snacks were sprinkled throughout the party. We had fruit-shaped gumballs, colorful Trix swirls and fruit candies in all of the key conversations areas. It really was a feast!
Also in the main seating areas we created a conversation starter tree. I typed up questions pertaining to Debbie’s pregnancy and kids, printed them out on green paper, cut them in the shape of a leaf then strung them from metal trees. While we didn’t play any official games, I find conversation starter questions at showers are a great way to add to the décor and for guests to interact.
We picked up some Eric Carle fabric at a local quilting store and paired it with solid green fabrics to make many yards of bunting to string throughout the party rooms. Bunting is such a fun and easy way to add a lot of color.
The bunting fabric scraps did not go to waste! I appliquéd a onesie that we hung with other coordinating baby clothes to serve as décor and gifts for the new baby. The mini clothespins were embellished with knotted ribbon scraps.
I also appliquéd a matching hand towel for the restroom.
Many of the guests commented on the fun restroom-door sign:
Ashley used Rachel Ray’s directions to make colorful topiaries for even more pops of color throughout the serving and conversation areas. We love these topiaries because they offer height and can be made in any color.
In the entry way we had a child-friendly board book version of Hungry Caterpillar for guests to sign, a few munchies and more coordinating bunting. Also I found this adorable Hungry Caterpillar Pull Toy for just $15 on Amazon.com.
To make sure everything coordinated just right, we even made a caterpillar gift record list.
For the favor we used Debbie’s favorite candy, Peanut Butter M&M’s, to make a caterpillar. We simply stuffed the M&M’s into these clear, self-sealing baggies and topped it with a green pipe cleaner twisted to look like caterpillar antennas.
Very colorful and detailed! Kudos.
Thank you! It was such a happy, fun party to plan!
Yay! This is one of my favorite parties we’ve ever done (and there sure have been a lot of them!!) So glad that you posted it!!
This was especially fun to do with you!
cute, cute, cute! I love this idea!!
OMG! Such a cute idea! Where in the world did you find those adorable printables/invites? Sooooo cute! Great job!
I made the invitation and food signs in Adobe Illustrator. Bettijo came over a night or two before the party and we had fun making all the message signs together–also in Illustrator.
Where did you find the silver clip stands that hold up the food signs?
I got my silver memo clips from one of my favorite stores–Crate and Barrel. I’ve had them for about five years, but they still sell them!! You can purchase them online or in-store. (If you don’t see them on the sales floor, ask an emplyee because they ususally have them in the back.) The advantage to buying them in-store is that you can hand-select the base shape (circle, square or triangle) whereas when you buy these online they come in sets of three–one of each shape.
Here’s the link:
https://www.crateandbarrel.com/decorating-and-accessories/office-accessories/set-of-3-shiny-silver-memo-clips/s369724
Also, in the few of the pictures I used chrome placecard holders when the memo clips were too tall. They, too, are from Crate & Barrel.
https://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/place-card-holders/set-of-4-place-card-holders/s521836
LOVE this! One of our favorite books…such a clever party theme!
One of my favorite books, too. I was so excited for the opportunity to use it as a party theme!
If you wanna share your printables that would be awesome! (wink wink!) :)
Although I created orginal artwork for the invitations and signage for the party, I based it VERY heavily on Eric Carle’s copyrighted artwork and book. So… I just don’t feel comfortable selling it or giving it away. You can find adorable Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar party supplies here:
https://www.carlemuseum.org/Shop/Party_Supplies/Very_Hungry_Caterpillar_Party_Line
Hope that helps!!
I found your blog via a friend and have been hooked from day 1. I am always checking in to see what new and creative things you are up to. This is over the top cute! I would love to do something along these lines as well… any chance of you posting (or selling) your printables?!!!
I’m so glad your friend introduced you to our blog. As much as I would love to give away the invitations and party signage I created, I just don’t feel right about it since it was based on Eric Carle’s copyrighted book. If you’re not up to making your own, check out this site…
https://www.carlemuseum.org/Shop/Party_Supplies/Very_Hungry_Caterpillar_Party_Line
I’m in love with the bowls–and how much fun would the stickers be?
Aimee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is such a cute party idea!!!!!!!!! You’re amazing. I miss you already!!!!!!!!!!
I miss you already, too! I’m so happy we could meet!
This is one of the cutest baby shower themes I have ever seen! I loved the Hungary Caterpillar book growing up! I love all the little details too like the holes in the fruit and the circle pattern on the flags. Very nicely done!
Thanks, Angie. By the way, I love the baby clothes you feature on your site! So fun and unique!
are those bags you linked the exact bags you used to make the caterpillar party favors? They look so wide in comparison to the finished product
Yes, those are the exact bags. The picture on the store’s site is of a different sized bag, but if you look at dimensions specified for that link, you’ll notice the bags are 1″x8″. I’ve always had excellent experiences when purchasing supplies from Clear Bags–yet it can be confusing that each product doesn’t have it’s own image.
This was THE BEST shower I’ve ever attended with the cutest invitations and amazing attention to detail. Every single thing was perfect. I was so honored that you and Ashley went to so much work–FOR ME!! I couldn’t ask for better friends. :)
Would you mind sharing the name of the cursive font you used on these invitations?
I used a font called Arizona-Regular. Hope that helps!
Love your ideas! Do you have a list of the icebreaker questions? Did you keep them theme oriented or just normal icebreaker ideas?
Great question! I did keep the questions theme oriented. Most of the questions were about our guest of honor and the others were about favorite foods and children’s stories. Perhaps questions we used would make a useful follow-up post?
This is such a great post. I love the clothesline idea! Thanks for sharing. I featured the favors on my blog: https://koolbeenz-blog.blogspot.com/2011/06/gallery-of-featured-crafters-5-with.html
Feel free to grab my Featured Button if you like.
@pril
That would make a great post! Do you think you could do it by next week? I’m planning two showers on the 16th. If not, could you maybe send them to me in a private message? That would fabulous!
Thanks for the link to ClearBags for the M&M caterpillar favor! I’m going to use this for a party favor next month. Did you do anything fun with the remaining 1×8 bags?
I’ve used the extra clear bags numerous times!! They look especially cute filled with pastel colored skittles in the spring, red and green M&Ms at Christmas and so forth. I’ve also put pens in them to package with homemade stationery… The options truly are endless. Hope that helps!
I tried to order the bags as well, I Love the idea of the M&M caterpillar, but regular shipping was $17 for bags that are $5…kind of defeats the purpose of finding a cheap party favor…any ideas on this?
I’ve used the bags for many occassions now, so I feel like I received good value. However, I did read from another’s reader’s comment that you can purchase smaller quantities of these bags from the Stampin’ Up site. Good luck!
Where did you order the bags for the M & M caterpillar?
Thanks for sharing!
Awesome job!
I got the bags from clearbags.com. The link in the post is a direct link to the bags we used. Good luck!!
Thank you. I also found them through Stampin Up site.
just wondering where you got you image for the cocoon? i want to make a sign for the bathroom just like yours, its for my daughters first birthday!
I actually drew all of the designs myself in Adobe Illustrator. Good luck with your daughter’s birthday!
Hi, I love your baby shower idea! Its adorable. Im trying to do the same for my nephew’s first bday! can you tell me where i can find the bags for the M&M caterpillars?
Thanks!!! :)
Great idea–this theme would make such a cute first birthday!! You can find the m&m bags here:
https://www.clearbags.com/clear-bags/flap-seal/1-x-8-flap-crystal-clear-25×203.html
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
I am planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar party for my daughter’s first birthday. I love the Caterpillars to Go idea! However, I’m having a very hard time finding the clear baggies? Can you please tell me where you found those?
Thanks!
Lisa
Well, I’m so sorry – I just see where you gave the web address right above my post. Do you have the size of the baggies? Thanks and sorry I did not read that first!
Hi Lisa. The bags are 1×8″. The link above is for the bags–the picture they show just isn’t the same dimensions, so it can be confusing. Good luck with your party! Such a cute theme for your daughter’s first Birthday!
I am so impressed with everything you made for this baby shower! I am actually using almost everything for my first grandbaby’s shower too in April.
Did you draw the fruit or did you find a template for it somewhere? We are having a brunch, but still having a lot of what the caterpillar ate. I thought those were so cute.
Thank you again!
Congrats on your first grand baby!! I drew all the images in Adobe Illustrator. We’re not able to offer printables for them at this time… But be sure to check back, as that could change! Good luck with the shower!!
i love this post. i have done my first sons baby shower bedroom and now his first birthday party in hungry caterpillar. i was wondering where you found the plastic fruit for the hurricane center piece? i am having the hardest time finding it.
Are you referring to the fruit-shaped gum? We picked that up at our local TJMaxx, but I also found it online here:
https://www.bulkcandystore.com/COLLOSAL-Fruit-Shaped-Gum-P1360.aspx
Hope that helps. Good luck with your party!!
i love the shower you guys did. i also love your blog. i have done my own baby shower, nursery, and now my sons first birthday in hungry caterpillar. i was wondering where you got the plastic fruit for the center pieces. i am having a hard time finding them. please help.
super cute! i love how detailed it is, without being too matchy matchy out of the box!!!!! great job:)
Tnks for your kind words! It was a fun party to host!
the fruit (for center pieces)looks like the candy containers you can get. ive seen them in gas stations,and dollar tree. they have pixie stix type sugar in them!!!
I am trying to glue paper shreds to styrofoam balls for the topiaries and am having a tough time. What type of glue did you use?
Thank you so much – this site has been a Godsend :)
I love your ideas!! I am using a bunch for an upcoming shower. How did you attach the antenna’s to the caterpillars?
The baggies that I used are fold-over adhesive, so I slipped the pipe cleaner through the unsealed edge. I then twisted the pipe cleaner around itself a couple times to hold in place. Last, I bent the pipe cleaners into antenna shape. Hope that helps! Be sure to let us know how your party goes!
I love the signs you used throughout the shower. Did you do them yourself or were they bought?
I love all your adorable ideas! I’m doing this theme for my son’s first birthday party. How did you make the bunting?
Hi Aimee! This party was just adorable!! Doing this for my sons first birthday! Was wondering if you remembered the exact size of the clear bags you used for the m & m catepillar take home treats? Thanks!
funny question.
Where did you get the green balls behind the bunting? Also, how did you make the bunting banner
Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
Is it difficult to set up your own blog?
I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Many thanks
loved the idea of the caterpillars to go but cant find the small polybags to put the sweets in.
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group?
There’s a lot of people that I think would really
appreciate your content. Please let me know. Cheers
Super cute!! I wanted to use your caterpillar favor idea. Except I’m having trouble finding those clear bags you used. When I click the link the page no longer exists. Please help. Thanks so much!
Lindsay
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I love the little conversation starter that you put on the table but wherever did you find a little twig branch holder ??
I would love a link to that shirt! Adorable