- Kids can get "wild" at a jungle-themed birthday party.girl with painted face smiling image by E. S. Cavazos from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
Young children find the idea of a jungle excursion exciting. To bring the jungle to your child, host a jungle birthday party. If you live in a warm climate and can have an outdoor event, take your décor as high as the trees. If the party is confined indoors, you can still have a wild jungle time. - Use cutouts in the shape of jungle animals to make invitations. Education stores and teacher supply stores have templates or stencils you can purchase. Wrap each invitation around a box of animal crackers and hand deliver them so that each invited guest feels a special sense of welcome.
- Lead guests into the party with jungle animal paw prints down your driveway. You can cut them out of colored paper or draw them with sidewalk chalk. If you have garden tiki torches, set them unlit along the front walk to set the mood.
Lay animal print fabrics or plastic drop cloths over the furniture. The house will look like a jungle lodge and fabrics will be protected from party spills at the same time. Place purchased or borrowed potted bamboo or other tropical plants in abundance around the room to set a jungle scene. If live plants are not available, you can create a jungle forest by making trees out of tall, cylindrical mailing tubes and attaching cut paper leaves made of heavy green construction paper.
Use balloons and streamers in jungle colors of yellow, green and tan. Hang artificial vines between trees to add density to the forest. You can twist streamers together and hang them as vine-like decoration. Tuck animals in the trees such as rubber or plastic snakes and lizards, colorful toy macaws and fuzzy monkeys. An indoor waterfall disguised by foliage can create a pleasant jungle river sound. - Face painting can be fun at a jungle birthday party. At a party involving young children, you can be the jungle face painter, drawing whiskers and other wild animal characteristics on young faces. Older party guests can use a mirror to paint facial designs themselves. Include a few photos of painted faces and animals for inspiration.
Party guests can also make masks. Cut oval shapes out of butcher paper and then cut out holes for the eyes and nose. Allow the children to color their mask and glue on decorative trim such as glitter and fake gems. Use a single hole punch to make a small hole on either side of the mask, near each ear. Tie a string through the hole on each side so that each child can wear the mask.
Games can be variations on usual children's party games, such as "Pin the Tail on the Giraffe." You could also vary musical chairs using a recording of wild animal calls. "Hide the Elephant's Peanut" is a variation on an egg hunt. - Offer children a few familiar items and a few items that are likely to feel foreign to them. One example is peanut butter-stuffed celery paired with fried bananas, a dish they might eat at a jungle lodge. Pair pizza with "jungle greens," also known as lettuce salad.
For a birthday sweet treat, let the children make sundaes. Along with toppings such as sprinkles and banana chips, set out a bowl of small plastic jungle animals. This way, the children can choose their own party favors without the danger of accidentally biting down on a toy.
For beverages, mix up a jungle punch of lemon-lime soda, orange juice and bottled fruit punch. Freeze a few plastic jungle animals into an ice ring in advance. You can also freeze the small toys into ice cubes and float them in the punch.
previous post