Sonnet decided after her birthday last year that she wanted a Teddy Bear Picnic birthday party. She didn’t ever forget and kept insisting on a Teddy Bear Picnic so I did what I could to put it together. I utilized a lot of online sources but I had a difficult time taking all of the ideas and pulling them together. I used ideas from baby showers, first birthday parties, preschool parties, and more.
In this post I’m going to break down the different parts that I did plus offer more ideas. This will be a helpful guide so that you can plan any sort of Teddy Bear Picnic you want. I would recommend doing some of the more complicated ideas for only a few and the easier ideas for the rest. That way it’s not overwhelming. Not every part has to be pinterest perfect!
(Links to Amazon are affiliate links but I only recommend what I use and love)
Theme
The theme is obviously a Teddy Bear Picnic but I saw tons of different ideas. I chose a more vintage, picnic feel since I took inspiration from the cartoon Teddy Bear Picnic. However, other theme ideas are a Paris chic picnic, a farmers market picnic, a traditional red checker picnic, and more. Choosing a theme will help you decide food and decor.
Food
The type of food depends on the type of the day. If the party will be during I meal I recommend sandwiches being the main part; it is a picnic after all! If it is just during snack time a few of the following snack ideas would be great:
- popcorn
- baby carrots
- pretzels
- teddy bear grahams
- crackers
- cheese sticks
- fish crackers
- berries
- mini oranges
- small yogurts
- other fruit (cut up fruit does not stay stay fresh as long)
Don’t forget drinks too! Boxed drinks would work perfectly as well as some bottled drinks for parents.
I asked a friend to make some bear shaped cookies as well. They turned out adorable and were the perfect touch for the picnic.
Food Presentation
As it is a picnic you may want to decide to put the kids meals in picnic or berry baskets. The type of basket will depend on the theme for your party. I found these adorable berry baskets that went perfect with my theme on Amazon.
You can click here to get the same one.
Parents lunches can be packed as well but if many parents will be staying it might be more appropriate to have a snack table for the adults. You can offer more adult-type snacks as well, such as fruit kebabs, cookies, cheese, breads, or more. You could also make a build your own sandwich bar.
I chose to place desserts on the adult table along with already made sandwiches. I wanted to make it easy on everyone. I used baskets to hold some of the extra snacks to go along with the theme.
I also wrapped my sandwiches in brown wax paper because of the aesthetic and to protect the sandwich. I tied them off with some brown twine. I placed drinks inside of a wagon with ice. Since I didn’t want to purchase a lot of water bottles I instead filled mason jars with water and berries for a fun twist on fruit water.
Decor
Since my daughters favorite color is blue I got this blue picnic blanket off Amazon. I’m sure we’ll do lots of picnics on this blanket! The blanket was the perfect size for the small party. An alternate for a picnic blanket is to use pallets covered in blankets. Then you can place patio pillows as seats.
For the liners in the baskets I used an old (clean) sheet I cut twice the size as the baskets. You could do any sort of cloth/fabric or even napkins to go along with the theme.
I also know kids love balloons and I wanted something for everyone to be able to take home. I got this helium tank when Sonnet turned 2 and it’s been one of the best purchases I’ve made. I’ve used it several times and will get another when it runs out. As you can see, I tied a balloon to each basket to add even more festivity to the party.
Activities
I didn’t plan a lot of activities since I put most of my focus on decor and food. Like I said, pick one or two things to really do well and the rest will be just fine.
For activities we let the kids play in the tree house, on the swings and slide. That was plenty of fun for a long time. After a while I brought out the teddy bear picnic coloring pages I had printed off and some crayons. After that the kids played and colored for the rest of the time.
Another activity could be a teddy bear scavenger hunt. Crafts are also fun, there’s lots of bear themed crafts. You could even make some teddy bear ear headbands. A bunch of bear themed books would also make a fun activity.
Have Fun!
Sonnet had tons of fun for her Teddy Bear Picnic. She still wants another one! I will probably just let her have weekly picnics in the yard until the weather turns. Our guests brought their baskets and their balloons home with them. I hope they had as much fun as Sonnet did!
xo
Faith