REAL PARTIES: Monkey Business
We’re going bananas over this monkey themed first birthday that Shawna Pardo, coordinator and owner of Trio Events, threw in honor of her son’s first birthday!
Shawna wanted to put a “swinging spin” on the usual jungle-themed children’s party. With a little help from some gorillas, orangutans and spider monkeys, Shawna turned her backyard into a wonderland full of primate fun. Here are all the party details, as told by Shawna herself…
“I’m all about atmosphere and dress up when it comes to designing children’s special events. I wanted to have a backdrop that transported guests to the treetops. I began by cutting out the shape of tree trunks from plywood and hand painted them to look lifelike but playful. The trunks were then attached with screws to the blue painted background. Once attached, I painted the grass blowing in the wind.
To give the tree murals a more life-like, three dimensional appearance, live tree branches were then attached with brackets to the ends of the painted branches. The plush swinging spider monkeys found this tree to be a perfect “hang out” spot for the party!
The beautiful cupcake tower in the center was custom created by the amazing Julie Desmueles from Blue Cupcake. The unique tower added the perfect bit of spunk to my table décor.
No monkey event could ever be complete without some swinging monkeys…
I used the same hanging spider monkey’s I used in the murals, to hang in the real trees in our backyard. The plush monkey’s long arms and Velcro hands made hanging them a breeze. We conveniently have banana and plantain trees in our yard, and hung our new friends to add to the ambiance.
CENTERPIECES
I wanted each table to be greeted by their own special primate friend. I bought brown woven baskets from Target in the seasonal summer section. The plush monkeys were all purchased from either Target or at my local toy store.
The turf grass that each monkey sits atop in the baskets were bought at www.partypartnershop.com. The monkey printed fabric overlay was purchased at my local fabric store. I used pinking sheers to cut the edges instead of having to sew them all with a finished edge. This works great when you are pressed for time and actually makes a really great little detail.
KIDS TABLE
No children’s party is complete without a personalized table just their size! This table is fun and inviting for all the little monkeys…
The tablecloth and runner I custom made with fabric I bought downtown in the garment district when I couldn’t find the exact brown stripes I wanted at my local fabric store. The plush monkeys were found at my local toy store and I used the same tissue turf inside the baskets from www.partypartnershop.com.
The melamine monkey plates I found at Target much to my surprise after I had no luck at my local children’s boutiques or online searches. The plates were another perfect take home item for our guests. I used the same stickers I used on the invites on white cups that were personalized with each child’s name. The palm trees were actually mini-pinatas I bought at Party City.
ACTIVITIES & FAVORS
I wanted to kids to be able to run around with their masks on and play a bit of dress up. These boy and girl monkey faces did the trick for my pint sized guests…
The favor pails came in sets of a dozen with all the foam parts that I put together as you see in the photo above. (Masks and pail party favor kits purchased at www.orientaltrading.com.)
At every party I host or coordinate, there always has to be a craft or activity table. It’s always theme related and original. This party was no exception with it’s “Build A Monkey” station.
I purchased the unstuffed monkey kits and blank T-shirts at www.adollysworld.com. The white T-shirts were not decorated initially so I scanned in a sticker of a banana and printed them out on iron-on sheets. I have used iron-on sheets many times to personalize t-shirts or bags for parties. I recommend buying Avery iron-on transfers at your local office or craft supply store.
Once the children stuffed and dressed their chimps, I used a permanent brown fabric marker to write the name given to each new monkey. Each monkey came with a carry home tree box and birth certificate.
INVITATIONS
This handmade invitation was pretty simple to construct. Once I chose my theme I began looking for 3-D stickers.
I found the above monkey stickers at my local craft store. The raffia edge is simply cut raffia attached to hot glue. The green, brown and yellow card stock I merely cut to the preferred size and attached in layers with a glue stick.
This party was soo much fun to coordinate and design. All of our guests had a wild time and were so excited to make and take home their own new monkey friend. My guests are still talking about this event, which is really all I could ask for.”
Thanks for sharing all of this the fabulous inspiration, Shawna!
Be sure to visit Shawna’s website – www.trioeventskids.com – to check out more of her work!
- Photo Credit: All photos by Maya Whitman
73 Comments
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Oh wow….that is hands down the BEST Monkey party I’ve seen online….I’ve searched long hours up until 3:00 am sometimes for something like this! Thank you Thank you!!!
i love every little detail!
this is so cute!!
I LOVE this! I will have to share this with my friends…sooo cute.
OMG.. this is so cute! I love this party… i need to find someone to let me plan their son’s party….. girls like monkeys right???
So so cute. I was going to start listing things I like, but it would take too long. I just love it all!
This is so adorable!!
phenomal party ….,, very creative, but way over the top for a 1st or 2nd, maybe even 3rd BD….the party was for the mom (parents and friends) to ooh and ahh over…..very clever, beatifully done …save it for the later years when the children can appreciate it more………….
All your details are amazing! And, of course, the monkey project was just darn cute. Thanks for the great inspiration and pictures.
AMAZING!! I love all of the detials. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is adorable, I love it!
You are amazing! You have a gift to great a joyful ambiance and a wonderful whimsical day. Your gift is a blessing… and you are using it to empower others. Thank you! This is so great!
Such cute details. I especially love the invitations and all the monkeys in the trees.
http://www.celebrationsathome.blogspot.com
Too cute! Love the swinging spider monkeys :)
oh i wish i would have seen this last month we had a monkey theme, but not this good! lol well done!
sooo cute
Masterpiece of Monkeys! Amazing detail…The fabric choices were perfect.. Love the place settings and the personalized cups..Of course the hanging monkey are adorable..I am madly in love with the gorilla monkey in the basket of turf grass-too cute…Perfect party:)
I’ve been searching everywhere for ideas for my sons 1st birthday Monkey bash! Thank you for posting his! Great ideas!!
the monkeys were cute , but my grandson is is the real monkey
Thanks Everyone for the compliments and feedback. I had a great time putting the theme together-the kids had an absolute blast.
What a great party! Is there any better way to celebrate a 1st birthday? No matter what the age this is a party where the child will look back and say “WOW, Mom, you did all of this for me!?” So unique and creative. Just perfect!
Great party! I think the swinging monkeys are my favorite detail!
Absolutly without a doubt the best monkey party pix ever!
I also did a Monkey party for birthday party.Please take a look!
Nicole
CEO strawberry Fields
Thank you for posting this. I am planning a monkey theme birthday party for my daughter’s second birthday and I am totally inspired. Great ideas to add to my own. Very cute!!!
I am doing a monkey party for my daughters 1’s in Aug and these are great ideas!
loved the birthday banner. could you tell me how you did it and where you got the supplies?
This is an ADORABLE bday party with the monkey theme! I just got a stainless reusable Monkey water bottle because I love monkeys…photo )
This party takes the cake (or banana, in this case!). I’ll have to tell my hubby that even tho’ I’m in my 40s, he could adapt these ideas for my next bday… thanks for the super creativity!
Hi!
Can you please tell me which craft store you found the 3d stickers?
Thanks!
Hi Erika,
Actually those stickers were a seasonal item from Target that are no longer available. Target currently has monkey stickers in their craft section but they are not the same ones.
what about the birthday banner? i loved it. how can i do something similar?
The Birthday banner consists of basically just traced circles. I printed out all the letters on colored cardstock and traced around them with a coffee can. The monkey faces are just different shaped circles cut out and placed together as you see. The mouth of the monkey is a small punched circle that I cut in half. The eyes were made using a hole punch. String all the letter circle shapes together through holes punched in each one by using one long ribbon. It’s time consuming but super easy.
Wow I love those plates. Would you want to sale them by chance? Not finding them at my Target.
Kendra,
Sorry the plates are not for sale. Target has some monkey melamine plates for sale at http://www.target.com They are not the same but you may find they work for you.
Thanks for getting back to me. I did find some at Target… but they look pretty small compared to the ones you used. Can you tell me approx. how big your stickers were?
Thanks for the inspiration! I’m even more excited to plan my little monkey’s 1st birthday! I’m in Canada, any chance you can give the name on the bottom of the plates to see if I can find them? I’m only looking to find 6….any chance you may sell to this Canadian???
Trish, the plates are from Target’s home collection, but they are from last year and no longer available. They do have new version you can find on http://www.target.com Search, monkey plates. I
hope this helps.
Thanks…I was also wondering about your menu! How did you carry out the theme with that? Looking for some additional ideas!
OOH i Love monkey themes! that sO CUTE, i try lOOKIN girly monkey birthday themes, my daughter love monkey! i would can add monkey with skirt… for my daugther’s 2nd birthday..
Would you mind helping me find those foam monkey favor pails on orientaltrading.com? I have been searching with no luck!!
Kim, I mixed and matched some pails and a monkey door knocker craft to make my owl version of the pails that’s why you cant find them. You can find a monky foam craft like I did and adhere the face to a brown pail . Good luck.
Wow! I love this idea…I was thinking of a ‘curious george’ themed party but this is too cute!
WOWOWOWOW!!! I just got so many great ideas from you! I have been looking everywhere for something like this. Brilliant. xo
Ohhh…one thing…what did you use to make the sign? Is that yarn? foam? marker?
Hi Jamie
I’m so happy you loved the party. If you would like to know more about the sign, comment #32 explains the construction in detail.
This is adorable i love it i useed it for my 13 birthday it never gets old
i love it all! how did you make the little palm trees seen on the tables?
I HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE FOR THE MONKEY PAIL PARTY FAVORS AND HAVE HAD NO LUCK. THEY DONT HAVE THEM ANYMORE ON ORIENTAL TRADING DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? YOOUR PARTY LOOKED SO CUTE!!
I am so thankfull to have found your birthday party… thank you so much for posting it!!!
I am doing my son’s 2nd birthday monkies and you are so inspirational.
I decided that i couldnt buy a bunch of pinata trees just for decoration, so i make one out of paper mache, and now its turned into more of a centerpeice. I used a barrel of monkeys, and candy runt bananas and clear enamel spray paint to solidify it!
Also I really liked the idea of stuffing your own monkeys, but really expensive. So I got down to business and searched EVERYWHERE on the internet to find a company with the cheepest price. Hard to find any under $15 each unless you get the little 8″ monkeys.AND GUESS WHAT?!?! I found a company that sells the 15″ monkeys for $5 each! PLUS the ware house is local to Kansas City, i.e. Me. and i can pick them up with no shipping. Im only getting the monkeys, and the stuffing I can get at Hobby Lobby, when they have 40% coupon on their website!
As you can tell… I get excited when I save money!
The Build your own monkey site is ….
http://www.bdaybears.com
if anyone wants to get some monkeys at wholesale price.
I also made a happy birthday sign inspired by yours!
Hayden’s birthday is not untill May, but I like to get started EARLY.
Thank you again!
Where did you find the “tree” boxes for the stuffed Monkeys? I contacted adollysworld and they said they never carried them (the boxes)
Love, Love, Love all of the monkey details! Putting a big basket of bananas on the table would have been a really cute decoration as well!
-Jamie
Thank you so much for sharing…my daughter’s first birthday is coming up in March and I feel so inspired! you did an amazing job! I was wondering if you can tell me where you got the masks from? I was looking online and couldn’t find them anywhere. I love how you have the male and female monkey masks
Where did you find such a cute napkin holder?
I am hosting my son’s 1st birthday and I too will be doing a monkey theme….super excited! Thanks for the inspiration…how did we ever live without the internet! =)
You have given me such inspiration for my son’s first birthday party! We are trying to duplicate your Happy Birthday Sign, however, I am having trouble trying to figure out where you got the letters for the banner. Could you how you got them that size? When I try it on word, they are not big enough???
I forgot (tell me how) in my statement, woops!
Erika, I don’t remember the exact font size but it’s probably somewhere around 50 or so. I give a pretty complete explanation about the rest of the sign in comment #32. So glad you loved the party.
Nicole I looked through my reciepts and can not find where I purchased the boxes. Sorry. Many sites that sell the stuffable animals do sell boxes. You might want to start your search there.
One more question…sorry…where did you purchase all the plush monkeys from…I can’t find any similar…they are too cartoon like…please help!?
Where can I find that really cute brown wrought iron napkin holder? LOVE it…..and if you decide to sell those CUTE monkey face plates, I would love to purchase them.
TIA for your time and info.
Nichole-the napkin was a seasonal item I bought over a year ago from Target.
I absolutely love this! I am going to do this for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and I am so excited about it.
I have looked everywhere for cute monkey plates for a 9 yr old BD party. Target does not have yours anymore. Any suggestiopns?
Hello! I love your ideas. I was just wondering what size of pail you bought for the favor pails.
I disagree with colleen slanina that this party is over the top for a 1 yr. old. Maybe for the actual birthday boy, but not everyone that’s invited is that young. my daughter will have her 3rd b-day party this year, but there will kids up to 8 yrs. old at the party. it’s good to have things that the older kids can get into, as well!
I LOVE this. I am actually planning a monkey themed first birthday party for my son and it is so HARD! Even with your awesome ideas I’m having a really hard time finding monkey stuff. Even at Target and Oriental trading :( I’m not giving up yet though!!!
What a cute party!
I love this and have stolen a few ideas for our upcoming monkey party. I got the buildable monkey stuffed animals, can you tell me how I can get the iron on bananas for the shirts?
THANKS again for sharing!
I was searching the web for monkey party ideas for my little boy’s first birthday when I found this. LOVE IT and the crazy part is my son’s name is BARRETT too!!! Thanks for posting this!!
Monkey themed parties are all the rage right now! This is a great theme that will be loved by any birthday boy or girl.
I might be having a monkey birthday in February, thanks for all of the great ideas! Here’s a coloring page that matches your monkeys. You can customize the text for your party!
http://twistynoodle.com/m-is-for-monkey-11-coloring-page/
I love evrything about this, unfortunately OrientalTrading no longer carries the monkey pail favor kits..
Hi I love the whole monkey idea I so wanna do it for my baby. Under what category did you find the mask and pail kits? I was searching for them on the website you provided and didn't find the? If you can help me search them please :) thank you!
I love this party theme. I am planning my nephews frost birthday party, and my sister-in-law loves loves the monkey theme. I am having trouble finding raffia to make the invitations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of raffia that I can use for the invitation?