What child doesn’t have a favourite teddy which has been cuddled through tears, play, sickness and sleep? A Teddy Bear’s Picnic Party is a great party idea for toddlers.

Invitations

The beauty of a teddy bear picnic is that you can also pick pretty much any theme invites and tableware to go with it. Owls, beetles or animals”¦ whatever you like! Make sure that you specify on the invite that the party is a teddy bears picnic and ask your guests to bring along their favourite teddy bear.

When they arrive get each guest, just for fun, to put name stickers on their teddies. You may like to get each child to introduce their teddy before you start a game of say pass the parcel and tell a story about their teddy or who they got teddy from.

Decorations

A teddy bears picnic is traditionally meant to be hosted in the woods. But if you live in outback Australia, a rural area or the city (or anywhere in our sunburnt country) the woods aren’t particularly accessible. So, bring the woods to you instead. Visit your local butcher and ask for about a dozen pieces of their butchers paper.

Tape the paper to cover a wall (I’d suggest outside if at all possible) and give the kids paints/ crayons to draw their own wood scene. Lots of tree trunks and leaves as well as rocks and flowers on the ground will be perfect.

Food

What would a teddy bear picnic party be without some teddy bear biscuits? For some fun, buy the plain ones and get your little guests to decorate them with coloured icing and some lollies. It’s a sticky, messy activity but who doesn’t love creating sweet treats and then eating them with friends!

Now”¦ think bear, think honey. Honey joys, ANZAC biscuits and banana skewers dipped in honey and coconut. I also think fresh cut up apples and cold milk being perfect for a picnic. Banana and honey milkshakes would definitely go down a treat!

Games

When your guests arrive, get out some black face paint (or your eye liner) and paint their little noses like a bear.

Then of course, you’ve got to play pin the nose or honey pot on the teddy bear. In the original teddy bear picnic song, the teddies are playing ‘hide and seek as long as they please'”¦ so see if your guests would like to do the same.

It’s a good idea to set clear boundaries of where kids can hide so you don’t lose one of them!

Cake

Of course”¦ a teddy bear cake! You can download free stencils from the internet or a Woman’s Weekly Kids Birthday Book.

Amy is the owner of Party in the Box and LOVES celebrating life with family and friends. She likes saving money, throwing parties, playing with her two boys and enjoying this incredible life she feels blessed to live.