Monkey Party

If your child loves monkeys, then have a monkey party! There is no birthday party that can match a “Gone Bananas” party theme. This party theme is easily adaptable to a jungle theme as well. With so many tools available to make the party a smash, your party is sure to go ape.

With the advance of the internet, one creative way to send invitations is by using “Monkey E-Mail”, a free service from Career Builder. With this online invitation, you can email a monkey that delivers a personalized message that you can type or record for the monkey to read. The monkey can be dressed in an assortment of funny fashions, including birthday gear with a background that reflects the rest of the party theme.

For a party that has gone bananas, of course you will want yellow and green decorations to keep the monkey theme going. For the cake, have a round chocolate cake with cookies for the monkey’s “ears”. Or you can create a monkey cake yourself.   Here is another type of  monkey birthday cake you can make. If your child loves that specific adorable monkey "Curious George", here is an adorable Curious George cake that you can make. As an alternative, serve banana splits - yummy! - and bypass the cake entirely. Snacks can include animal crackers, gummy bears and fresh bananas (or fruit salad).

Activities are easy to think up for a Monkey Party. Monkey See, Monkey Do can be a simple variation on Simon Says, with the Monkey being Simon. Monkey in the Middle can be played the same as Duck Duck Goose (and the child in the middle is the monkey), and Monkey Business can be Charades. Have each child act out a monkey doing something silly. Simply think of fun names to go with traditional activities, and end by pinning the tail on the - you guessed it. The monkey.

A fun activity to consider are sock monkeys. To do this, turn a sock right side out and fill with dried beans. Tie it off. The heel of the sock is the monkey’s nose, and the toes can be tied off into ears. Have a puppet monkey show, perhaps with the storyline based on a “Curious George” story.

The most important part of the party for your little monkeys is fun! Left to their own devises, there is no telling what type of monkey-ish trouble they will get into, so make sure that you have a host of activities planned for them to keep them hopping from branch to branch happily.

Send them home with a Curious George storybook as a party favor as opposed to the traditional stickers and tattoos. They will be sure to keep playing monkey games long after the party has ended with a story and a puppet activity as a reminder.