01 September 2010

birthday party part I: monkey madness

first and foremost, i must mention a few things before getting into my party posts.

there is so much already out there about birthday parties for children. and plenty of pressure to go along. as my little one approached his two year old birthday, i couldn't help but scour the lovely party blogs and dream up ideas. party possibilities are endless. even the outlandish and over-the-top can seem charming when yours is turning a year older. however i kept reminding myself to think of the birthday boy and the budget and what really matters.

i decided to plan an event that was low-key and laid back and age appropriate. i wanted to keep it light and fun. so i went with a simple playdate on the playground. kids can play, moms can chat and no one is crammed into my tiny apartment whining. for the older children, i brought along simple optional activities rather than planning scheduled party games. i hoped benji could play with friends, without typical birthday party pressure, tantrums or prying plastic-sealed presents open. (keep this in mind for your toddlers. they will not only want to unwrap the presents, but open each of them from their encasings immediately. or else. which is why i sidestepped the issue by printing no gifts please on the invitations. so glad i did.)

i spent my time and effort on the details i enjoy doing and let most everything else fall into place. (like last year's party, i copped out of bringing homemade cupcakes. shocking, i know. more on my store-bought snacks in another post.) i tried hard not to worry about the things that were out of my control and focus on making it a happy day for the birthday boy and his guests. thank goodness the weather cooperated.


in typical fashion, i headed to my local craft store for invitation inspiration. i found some darling sock monkey stickers, die cuts and scrapbook paper by creative imaginations. the party theme was born instantly.


i put together little favors for each guest which included colorful sidewalk chalk, small chocolate candies, and monkey pencils with printed flags, thanks a bunch! i tried sticking with yellow, red and blue throughout the party, but promised myself not to go insane about sticking to the so-called theme. kids don't care that much. sad but true.


once the party was over, we filled this bag with party treats for a little friend who was too sick to attend. we tied a balloon to it, delivered it and hoped it made him happy.

more monkey business to come.

16 comments:

Hil said...

That bag TOTALLY made Little Guy happy. You have no idea. We were hearing about it several days afterward. And don't even get me started on how much he loved the balloons. It was so sweet of you and Benji to think of us, and we feel like we totally missed out thanks to our nasty colds.

The theme was so adorable, just perfect for your cute little monkey! Can't wait to see the other "parts" to his party.

Anonymous said...

I love the monkey business theme! And this post could not have come at a more perfect time. My son's 5th birthday is in October and I really want to do personalized invites and you've given me great inspiration!

Unknown said...

LOVE the sock monkey you found! Did you see the sock monkey puppets
I featured last week: http://puertabella.blogspot.com/2010/08/sock-monkey-puppet-kits.html It would be such a fun craft idea for a sock monkey party!

Jen Holtkamp said...

you are so creative! what a cute idea!

swell.life said...

Aw, I love a good monkey party! We had a Curious George theme for my our son's 1st in April. So much fun!

Speaking of curious, am curious if you have a September download calendar in the works? I love printing them off and actually popped by this morn hoping to find one. I know you're a busy girl, so no worries if you don't. :)

[eeny] said...

Sounds like a very cute party for benji.

marta said...

thanks for all the kind words. more party details to come!

@ susan, i just love those sock monkey puppets. brilliant craft idea!

@ swell.life, the calendar downloads have been postponed for the moment. am a bit too busy with other design projects. thanks for checking in. xo.

Miranda said...

Love, love, love, Marta. I totally agree with the idea of keeping the birthdays for the little ones low key. They love it no matter what. I'd much rather stress myself out over a "grown up" party and let the parties for the little ones be nothing but bliss.

Christie said...

I cannot believe he is TWO! How did that happen so fast? Wasn't he born like a month ago? Sheesh.

CUTE party ideas, sista. You rock.

Erica said...

marta, i must tell you i love the idea of keeping it simple. as owen's big 2 birthday is coming, i have been thinking a lot about just keeping things simple too. so much pressure is put on parties these days that i just want to focus on what is most important, celebrating owen!!
major props to you for a darling yet simple party!!

Destri said...

Oh thank heavens for this post! My little girl is turning two in November and I have promised myself that I will not be planning an "event" for the benefit of my blog. Not because I think those kinds are bad, but because I could never pull it off without pulling my hair out! And that would not be very fun for my little one. I was tempted by all these fabulous ideas you see around blog land, but I knew in the end that would turn into something for my blog or me, nit her.
I have loved all of One Charming Party's ideas, simple and doable.

Love love his party Marta, and it seems like just yesterday we were reading about his first. Time flies!

chloecolette said...

super cute! cant wait for when i get to throw parties for my little one :)

A'n'G Johnson said...

this is AMAZING. So cute.

kami @ nobiggie.net said...

simple and sweet. Good for you for going easy.

I love the monkey theme!

brooke said...

Everything was perfect and darling but not over-the-top. I love it.

Travelin'Oma said...

How totally fun! Your little monkey must have loved every second!

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