Find party inspiration from real monkeys.
The childish antics of monkeys make them a favorite animal for many children. If the birthday girl loves watching the monkeys swing around at the zoo, she will enjoy a monkey-themed birthday party. Simple modifications to the standard monkey-themed party plans can make the monkeys more feminine to fit a girl's party guest list. Does this Spark an idea?
Invitations
Homemade monkey invitations are simple to make. The birthday girl can help assemble the monkey face invitations.
Create a template for the basic shape of the monkey's head. A circle with two half-circle ears sticking out of the sides works well. Trace the monkey heads onto brown card stock and cut the faces out for the invitations. Cut a smaller oval or half circle from lighter brown card stock to create the nose and mouth area of the monkey. Cut them out and glue them on the bottom half of the monkey heads.
Glue on two black buttons for the eyes. Cut out monkey smiles from red construction paper, or draw them on with a red marker. Add two black dots with a marker for the nostrils. To add a feminine touch to the monkeys, glue bows on the heads.
Decorations
Large monkey cutouts work well for wall decorations at the party. You can create monkey faces or the entire monkey.
Purchase monkey cutouts or draw the shape on cardboard and cut it out. Paint the cardboard to resemble a monkey.
Glue a bow to the top of each monkey's head. You can also use tulle to create a tutu on each monkey cutout. Bunch the tulle and hot glue it along the monkey's waist.
Balloons and streamers in pink, purple and other colors girls prefer will add a feminine touch to the party.
Bunches of bananas with pink bows tied at the top can be used to decorate tables.
Entertainment
A monkey beanbag toss game works well for the party entertainment.
Paint a female monkey on the front of a large appliance box. Place books, bricks or other heavy objects inside the box to prevent it from tipping over. Cut two or three large circles in the box around the monkey. You can vary the size of the holes and assign higher point values to the smaller holes.
Have the guests throw yellow beanbags resembling bananas toward the monkey box. They earn a point for each beanbag that goes through one of the holes, or more for smaller holes if you have set it up that way.
Cut out a hole or door in the back of the box so you can easily retrieve the beanbags inside.
Cake
A monkey cake adds a sweet touch to the birthday party.
Use a round cake to make the monkey's head, a dome-shaped cake for the mouth area and a cupcake for the ears. An oven-safe Pyrex bowl works well to bake the dome cake.
Cut the cupcake in half to create two ears. Ice the ears and place them next to the round cake. Ice the round cake with brown frosting. Ice the dome cake with a lighter brown frosting and place it on the round cake near the bottom.
Use black frosting to make eyes and nostrils on the monkey. Use red frosting or a piece of red licorice to make the monkey's smile. Add a pink ribbon at the top of the cake. You can also add eyelashes above the eyes using icing to make the monkey look feminine.
Favors
Monkey-themed favors round out the party. Choose pink favor bags and fill them with a variety of monkey-themed items. Ideas include stickers, temporary tattoos, coloring books, stuffed animals and miniature plastic monkeys. Banana-shaped candies or decorated cookies shaped like monkeys also work well as favors.
Tags: round cake, make monkey, monkey head, works well, birthday girl, birthday party