Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: A Cat In The Hat Celebration

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Dr. Seuss birthday

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, we decided to plan a mini-party at the park. I wanted to keep the theme focused, so we picked my daughter’s favorite Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat. We invited a few friends and asked them to bring a red potluck snack, if they wanted. With three year olds, I like to keep a party simple – craft, activity, cake!

An unexpected cold front and chance of rain changed our park plans to Playtime Oasis. If you haven’t been there yet, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s my go-to choice when we don’t feel up to hosting a big play date at home. 

CRAFT

Photo Credit: Keanry Photography

Preschoolers LOVE dressing up! I came across this adorable (and easy!) Cat in the Hat mask. I free-handed the shapes and cut out the pieces in advance. Since we were moving to an indoor location, I pre-glued the pieces to keep it as mess-free as possible. Sticks seemed more hazardous than fun, so I skipped the handles and let the kids hold their masks up with their hands instead. I happened to find Dr. Seuss self-inking stamps in the Target Dollar Spot. Those and crayons were all the kids needed to create their own customized masks!

 

 

 

ACTIVITY

Cat in the Hat - Hat Game

Gross motor skills are necessary to help kids excel at running, climbing, and other sports skills. This Hats Off game provided a great opportunity to let the kids have fun, while practicing throwing. I found a Trader Joe’s bag and let my daughter glue strips of red and white cardstock to the bag to look like Cat’s hat. She loved practicing her pattern skills. It turned out whimsically off-center, just like Dr. Seuss would have wanted. We used this as a group activity with one big “hat” and a lot of paper balls to share.

If we’re being honest, none of the kids actually played the game. 😉 They were having way too much fun enjoying all of the wonderful toys and eating their red snacks!

 CAKE

Cat in the Hat - Hat Cupcakes

A birthday celebration isn’t complete without a cake! The Seussville website had a cake that fit the Cat in the Hat birthday theme perfectly. We were looking for something super easy and ended up using a box mix and a tub of frosting. Instead of cake, we went with cupcakes. Red frosting isn’t easy to create, so I ended up using red sprinkles over the top of my red-ish, pink-ish frosting. Not perfect, but definitely in the spirit of the Cat in the Hat.

 

 

 

Some of our friends brought special red treats to share with the group (beet crackers, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, red fruit snacks, cupcakes, and even Cat in the Hat cheese sticks!). The idea of this last-minute party was to celebrate the whimsy of Dr. Seuss, an author our kids love, while spending time enjoying a rainy day with our friends!

Cat in the Hat - Red Foods
Photo Credit: Keanry Photography

MORE DR. SEUSS FUN

Some other fun activities to do at home include: Cat in the Hat Birthday Tic Tac Toe, a Cat in the Hat Birthday Cake Maze; a version of Simon Says called The Cat Says Game, and a movement activity called Cat, Cat, Hat.

You can also check out the local library to find dozens of Dr. Seuss books and movies!

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

1 COMMENT

  1. Dr. Seuss books play such an integral role in so many early childhood memories. It seems like most kids learn how to read, at least in part, with a Dr. Seuss book. So cute to see whole communities coming together for these kinds of celebrations.

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