I had computer problems with a warning that work may have been lost.
I gathered inspiration from all over the web and apologise in advance for not being able to give credit where due. The theme was Jungle Safari, but we threw in a little bit of Abby's favorite show, Go Diego Go. Invitations: On light blue paper I printed the head of an elephant above the following text: The elephant waves his trunk with glee; the giraffe stretches his neck to see; the monkey dances in the tree, to celebrate Abby turning 3! You're invited to a Birthday safari on August 25th, 2007 The expedition runs from 10am - noon. Please join all the animals at the x's jungle: address RSVP to tour guide Diane at ###-#### by August 17th. Adult adventurers are encouraged to attend. I cut out most of the elephat's head so its neck was the only part attached to the 8.5 x4" text page. I spray painted toilet paper rolls the same light blue and added legs and a tail. I rolled the invitation and slid it into the roll so just the head was sticking out. For those that forgot to RSVP I sent a follow-up card with the same elephant face that read:We're hoping you'll join the herd we made large animal and tree murals from butcher paper to decorate the walls as added guests (hippo giraffe tapir tree frogs toucan monkey and elephant). I used my daughter's stuffed jungle animals as accents (e.g. her monkey held the platter of bannana bread). We made our kitchen floor into Turtle Lake by cutting out large amoeba shapes from aqua paper and gluing a top down view of a turtle on each piece. Another room was made into Snake Alley by hanging 2 dozen spiral snake mobiles among green streamer vines from the ceiling. To make a snake mobile simply cut a spiral pattern from a sheet of construction paper draw eyes and nostrils on the widest side and hang with thread by the center tail. The party table had foam jungle animal stickers sprinkled down the center like confetti (stickers are more fun for kids and played a dual function for the craft activity). We used ZooPal plates and Dixie's jungle animal napkins and flatware. We ordered animal sippers from OTC that reduced spillage allowed the kids to keep better track of their drinks and helped give a 3D decoration to the table. Activities: The kids decorated toilet paper binoculars with crayons and the jungle animal stickers. I made binoculars by gluing 2 TP rolls together lengthwise punching a hole on either side of one end and stringing a length of twine to make the neck strap. These were a huge hit; my daughter still plays with hers and takes them to the Zoo. While they worked on these I pulled each child aside to make a painted paw print of their hand in their own personalized Animal Science Book (more description under favors). Once everyone was done we headed out on safari. First we had to jump across Turtle Lake by hopping from one turtle's back to another's. Then we had to crawl under the snakes in Snake Alley. At this point the kids were outside in our back yard. We had hid small plastic jungle animals all over the yard and told the kids that they needed to rescue the animals. To do so they had to find each animal and bring it back to the Rescue Center (this was we could divvy up the animals for the favor bags so each child got their fair share). The added bonus was that bringing the animals back one by one involved a lot of running and energy burning! The Rescue Center was an open cardboard box with a paper grocery bag thatched roof and the Diego logo on the front. From here we went inside (back through snake alley) to open gifts. The unplanned activity was that while Abby opened her gifts several of the kids decided to massacre the snakes! They had a great time jumping to pull at their tails while trying to avoid a bite from the mouth. After gifts it was back to the table for a light lunch and cake before going home for naps. Food: The party was from 10am to noon so we started with banana bread coffee and jungle juice (virgin margarita mix Fresca and lime sherbet with a splash of green coloring). Then we added in animal crackers goldfish (piranhas) Cheetos (tiger tails) tuna salad (quicksand) and a spinach dip (vine dip). I would've included peanuts as elephant snacks but we had a guest with a peanut allergy. The cake was a 3 long anaconda. I made 2 bundt cakes cut them in quarters and alternated the curves to make the slither. I angled the end pieces to make a head and a tail and frosted with green icing and chocolate spots. Yellow M&Ms made the eyes and red fruit leather cut to form a tongue. I sprinkled green shredded coconut around the cake to resemble grass. The kids went crazy when they saw it (there was squealing!). Favors: In addition to the binoculars and animal sippy cups I filled brown paper lunch bags with some foam jungle animal stickers a sheet of jungle scene stickers some crayons the plastic rescued animals and a pack of Diego fruit snacks. I made a monkey face from construction paper and attached it to the top fold of the bag. The Animal Science Book mentioned earlier had jungle scenes for coloring and then adding in the animal stickers. It also contained their paw print and a page for a picture (sent with thank yous). The cover was brown construction paper with printed paper cut-out badges (clip art and Word shapes). I used masking tape to reinforce the corners (like you would on a real journal). Adults and kids alike really seemed to enjoy themselves. It sounds like a lot of planned activity but really it still left a lot of pockets for free play. The highlights were definitely the cake Turtle Lake (one boy must've hopped across our kitchen a dozen times!) and Snake Alley. Making the turtles the snakes and the monkey favor bags were the easiest projects. The cake the murals and the books demanded much more time and effort. If you're having a jungle party I hope this has given you some inspiration; we certainly had fun with it! "
