DIY Monkey Themed First Birthday

My oldest son is about to finish Grade Primary, and today I was thinking about his first birthday {which I loved!}.  I hosted the party before I had the blog, so today, I am sharing the fun elements of his {simple} Monkey themed first birthday party.



The color scheme was yellow... and we decorated with things that were "Monkey" related.

I made monkey bibs for the guests, and the snacks were "baby-friendly" (bananas, Cheerios, and Mum Mum crackers).


I made a simple monkey cake... a round cake and two cupcake ears.  No special cake decorating skills required, and the guest of honor loved it!


Cute, eh???

Here are 5 easy party planning tips that will help you plan a successful DIY birthday party:

1) Pick a theme. Decorations can revolve around a character, an activity or a color. Just make sure there is something to bring everything together.  (For the monkey party, the focus was "monkeys" and the color yellow.)

2) Make every guest feel part of the celebration. One way to do this is to give everyone a loot bag or small gift.  (We gave out stuffed monkeys at this party, but here are some other unique loot bag ideas.)

3) Add a personal touch. Bake a special cake, craft your own decorations, or cook your signature dish to serve to your guests.  (The handmade monkey bibs and adorable monkey cake were big hits with our baby guests and their parents.)

4) Plan activities that everyone can participate in. Rent a karaoke machine, play board games, decorate cupcakes, or do a craft. Do something that keeps your guests entertained and together in one room. (Helium balloons and snacks seem to keep our one year old guest entertained... such an easy-to-please audience.  :-)

5) Make your event memorable. Take lots of pictures, and send copies to everyone that attended. Your loved ones and guests will appreciate the opportunity to re-live the memories.

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

** Don't miss out on any of the fun, click here to join me on facebook.
  

9 comments:

  1. Such a cute theme! Thanks for all of the great ideas. You did a great job. Please stop by www.laughloveandcraft.com and link up to my Share the Wealth Wednesday Link Party! I'm your newest follower!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw your post on Facebook and so, I followed the link.

    How cute is that! He certainly looked like he enjoyed all your efforts. Well done :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So cute! I am your newest follower.

    I am starting a summer party series on Fridays over at www.sweetcsdesigns.com. Can you come and share your wonderful party ideas? I love the monkey theme!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the monkey party idea and happy birthday to him! Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aww... hands down this party is all cuteness!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love all the details!! CUTE!

    Kristine
    www.jandmseyecandy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOve it all... soooo cute.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is so adorable. Happy Birthday to your little one :)
    My son's second Birthday is coming up, I can't wait to put it all together.
    They grow up so fast!

    Come see me at http://www.willcookforsmiles.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a cute cake! I just made fire truck cake for my son's 3rd birthday..wasn't the perfect cake, but it was good enough to make him happy!

    I am following your blog now! Come by and check out the Mega Toddler Giveaway that I am hosting on my blog now.

    http://toddlertalesbymommy.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

Don't miss any of the fun....