Monkey Party Re-Cap

After I posted some stuff about the monkey theme party we were planning for Brynne's 2nd birthday party, I got a lot of interest in comments, independent email messages, and search engine hits. So, I thought I'd post a wrap-up of the party for anyone interested in hosting their own monkey theme party. Also see previous posts here, here, here and here for lots of great ideas in the comments from other folks.

We had the party at a city park located a couple of blocks from our house. We brought a folding table, a few chairs, and beach blankets of our own. We set up next to the playground most appropriate for toddlers, and this worked out really well so that the kids could play and eat on their own schedules. We also brought baby sunscreen and wipes because we knew these would be needed! I already posted our invitations here, but I also wanted to add that the incredible Myra agreed to share her monkey template with the world. So, here it is as a pdf. Thanks Myra!

The menu was loosely based on a Latin American theme so that I could incorporate as many bananas as possible! Here's what we ate:

• Monkey Chow - trail mix with nuts, banana chips, etc from Trader Joe's
• Banana Black Bean Empanadas (yummy!)
• Chicken Cilantro Bites - these were totally amazing!
• Mango, Jicama and Corn Salad
• Carne Asada Salad - This one I made up, and it was quite a hit! Take romaine salad mix and toss with a creamy cilantro dressing, crumbled cotija cheese (also called queso seco), and pepitas (roasted, salted pumpkin seeds). Serve alone if you have vegetarians attending, with a side of sliced carne asada for the carnivores. We used a pre-seasoned carne asada from Trader Joe's and we cooked all the meat the night before - a great time saver!
• Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
• Monkey Cupcakes - I used the banana cake and chocolate buttercream recipes from The Whimsical Bakehouse (I have tried several recipes from this book, and they have all been delicious!). The banana cake was very moist, and the chocolate buttercream, although quite challenging to make, was to die for. (We used excellent quality dark chocolate for the buttercream and, although it may have cost a bit more, was definitely worth it!) I have made their buttercream a few times now, and have a few hints for anyone who would like to try it.

Here is a picture of the decorated cupcakes getting packed up to go to the park:

Decorating details: plain M&Ms for eyes, tan Necco wafers inserted into the cupcake for ears, round graham cookies (cut in half) for the muzzle, and red and black piped icing for the mouth and nostrils. The cupcakes were a huge success; Brynne used them to apply some new facial decor:

and her friend Grace was also inspired:

We played two games that we hoped were appropriate for the age group; both games worked really well and I would recommend them for two year olds. The first game was a banana bean bag toss (see this post for more details) where we timed the kids to see how long it took them to put all the bananas through the monkey's hoop. The kids had a great time; here's a picture of Aidan showing everyone how it's done:

The second game was a banana hunt. We hid finger bananas around the playground and gave each child a bag. The toddler to come back with the most bananas won. We gave out one prize to the winner of each game: a cushy monkey pillow and a bubble monkey machine.

We didn't do a lot in the way of decorations because the park didn't really need them. However, we did have an inflatable monkey and palm tree, monkey picks (we used these for the chicken cilantro bites), and balloons:

Each kid also went home with a treat bag that looked like this:

Inside each bag was a:

• Monkey Door Hanger - we assembled these with hot glue. (These came in packs of 12, but we only needed 6. If anyone is interested in 6 unassembled monkey door hangers, please email me.)
• Monkey Bath Sponge - this eBay seller was nice enough to set up a special auction for 6 sponges
• Monkey Bead Tube - these were featured in the Martha Stewart Kids spread on monkey party ideas. Each tube has painted wooded beads and thread to make a little monkey necklace or bracelet.
• Paper Balloon Monkey - we also got the wooden rod to carry these
• Sheet of Monkey Stickers
• Monkey Shrinky Dink Keychain/Zipper Pull - see this post for more detail
• Monkey Magnets - we found the pre-painted wooden monkeys at Michael's and I glued a magnet to the back. Here's what they looked like:

All in all, the party was a great success. I had lots of help from Jerry and my mom, but that certainly didn't keep me from exhausting myself! Brynne had a lot of fun and was talking about it for days afterward. It was also fun because it was the first time Brynne had her grandparents all together in the same place at the same time. Apparently our theme also rubbed off on at least one of Brynne's friends; we hear that Brynne's friend Paige can't stop talking about monkeys!

Comments

[myra]

Wow! Brynne's party must have been awesome! It really was a monkey extravaganza! I bet the kids had a blast and I love those cupcakes! Give yourself a huge pat on the back Kelly, well done!! :)

[jenn]

hoorah for monkeys!! there is so much good stuff here I don't know where to begin!! thanks for sharing this all!!

[Alison]

What a wonderful, amazing, and well thought out kids party!! Those cupcakes!! Fantastic! And the godie bag looks sensational.

[maia]

Great theme and thanks for the paper balloon animals tip! We just had a robot theme party for our son's 5th bday recently (I was going to do a bday party post like yours but never got to it) and now must plan a theme for our daughter's 3rd bday party. I love assembling the goody bags too. If you'll need animal figures in the future, check out Playmobil's animals, some you can get individually or in small sets; just ordered cute little unicorns for cake toppers/goody bag favors. But whew, good thing we're only doing parties on odd year bdays!

[Stephanie]

Wow, those kids got some loot! Menu looks yummy. I love pepitas in a salad. Everything was so well thought out, I hope you had fun!

[amanda]

Wow...that was so thorough! Thanks for all that info, Kelly. It looks like everyone had such fun!! And I hope Mama's recovering from all the work.

[laurie b.]

Oooh everything is so cute! I love the cupcakes -- Whimsical Bakehouse is one of my all-time favorites. I made the "Tipsy" cake for my friend's little girl on her 2nd birthday. So fun!

[kristen]

great job assembling one massive monkey extravaganza! i agree with myra, you deserve a big hug.

[Anamaria]

I think I'm going to have to throw my husband a monkey party! Congratulations to Brynne on her birthday and to you for making it so special for her.

[Bridgette]

Where can you find the adorable monkey bead tubes. I haven't been able to locate any. Thanks

[bellablue]

Wow, what a fun looking party! My kids both have birthdays when its still cold but I'm thinking we may have to start having a summer kids party for the girls and their friends so we can share in some of these great outdoor ideas!

[hannah]

KELLY!!! your party was totally amazing! so glad brynne had a blast! nice work on all things monkey! collette was catching a cold, so it was pretty laid back, but there is always next year!! sorry you are feeling so beat, jogging at 530??? i cant understand why...

[africankelli]

I am incredibly impressed with those cupcakes. I LOVE THEM!

[2004newmom]

i love everything you have done...since receiving martha stewart's kids magazine with the monkey theme...i have spent a lot of time planning the "perfect" party for my son's first birthday in july...we actually did make our own invitations with monkey themed colors...brown and creme cardstock and replicated parents' magazine...the invite with the birthday candle...just to let you know...if anyone does plan on doing that...it will cost you 49 cents for postage...the magazine states that it will be only 37 cents...and make sure you hand cancel them yourself...needless to say...i did not and a few did get delivered not as perfectly as when they were dropped off!

[astri mccurdy]

where can I get those monkey bead tubes?
Thanks

[astri]

where can I get those monkey bead tubes?

[Tracie]

I am so impressed by your efforts, and all of the other ideas, that my "soon to be" 3 year old will be having her own MONKEY party.

[Melanie]

Hello, I think you did such a wonderful job, I too am having a monkey themed birthday for my son. I would like to know as well where I can purchase the monkey bead tubes. They would be wonderful to have. Thank you for any help at all.

[Jenni]

I used the same wooden monkeys to make invitations for my son's party. They were so cute, it was worth the extra postage!

[Kendra]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful party! You were much of the inspiration for my own monkey party. We had a blast!

http://mkriggs.com/2006/06/26/monkey-party-madness/

[Dana Hext]

Do you still have your 6 unassembled monkey door hangers?

[vicki]

Where can I find the monkey bead tube?

[vicki]

I am looking for a delicious banana cake recipe with a chocolate buttercream icing. Or maybe even a chocolate/banana cake recipe to go along with the monkey theme, please let me know if you have any ideas.
Thanks
Vicki

[vicki]

could you please email me the recipe for the banana ckae and buttercream icing if it's not too difficult to send? I have found plenty of banana cake recipes but I'm not sure which ones will turn out like a ckae and which will turn out like bread!!!!

[Suzy]

Where do you find round graham crackers for the monkey cupcakes??