Throwing a Curious George Party

Are you searching for the perfect party theme for the "little monkey" in your family? Try these ideas for a Curious George party, sure to leave your child OOH-OOHing and AAH-AAHing!

THE INVITATIONS:
For fun and unique party invitations, try making your own. Find a clipart picture of bananas. Add text over top of the picture, saying "Come hang out with us" or "Come monkey around with us." Print each invitation on yellow cardstock and fold it in half (with the crease at the top of the bananas). Add party information on the inside. Cut out around the outline so that the invitation looks like a bunch of bananas.

THE CAKE:
You can make your cake any flavor you prefer. I chose a banana cake because my little monkey loves bananas! For a great recipe for banana cake check out http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/monkey-cake

Bake the cake in a 9" round cake pan. Use the leftover batter to make two cupcakes (to use for ears).

It's been my experience that cutting shapes works best on a chilled cake, so allow the cake to cool completely and chill it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before cutting.

I came up with my own design for this cake mainly because I couldn't find one out there. I kept it pretty simple, so you only need to make two cuts in the circle cake. The grayed areas on the attached diagram show where the cuts should be made.

Once you've cut these two sections out of the cake, it's time to use the cupcakes for George's ears. Place a cupcake on either side and secure with frosting (You may have to shave a small amount from the inside edge and bottom of the cupcake to make a better fit).

Using a cake decorator, frost the cake with chocolate and butter cream frostings. Use black rope licorice for detail lines on face. For the eye, slice the ends off from a regular-sized marshmallow and top each with a Junior mint.

Serve with banana splits (you'll already have tons of bananas from the Banana Hunt!)

THE DECORATIONS:
Put out small bunches of bananas and tie balloons filled with helium to them (staying with the yellow, red, and blue theme). Use any combination of yellow, red, and blue streamers to decorate ceilings/walls.

You can purchase Curious George plates, cups, napkins, etc. through online companies such as Oriental Trading, All Aboard Toys, or Celebrate Express. You may also want to check your local stores for items. For a money saving option, you can substitute primary colored items for the Curious George ones, or mix and match a few of each.

THE PARTY HATS:
Buy foam visor hats (yellow, red, and blue) from your local craft store. Also, purchase a few sheets of brown foam. Cut small ears from the brown foam, leaving a small tab on the end to insert into the visor. Cut a small slit on each side of the visor and insert the ears. These hats take very little time to make but the kids really have fun wearing them (and they look adorable for pictures, too!) You can view a picture of a "monkey visor" in the attached photos.

Depending the age of your party goers, you may choose to make these ahead of time or allow them to make them at the party. If the kids make the hats, you may want to provide glitter glue, foam markers, etc. to personalize them.

THE ENTERTAINMENT:
Here are a few ideas for games at your party that require very few props or preparation but are lots of fun.

Banana Hunt: Before the party, hide single bananas in a separate location (so kids won't confuse the decorations with the game). See how many bananas each little monkey can gather. You can put these bananas to good use later when making the banana splits.

Monkey in the Middle: Place the kids in a big circle and choose one child to stand in the middle (the monkey). The object of the game is for the children to pass a beach ball around the circle without letting the monkey (in the middle) grab it. If the monkey intercepts the ball, the person who threw it becomes the next monkey.

Monkey Calling: Allow each child a turn to demonstrate his or her best monkey call. Enlist other adults at the party to help with the judging. Award prizes for the loudest, funniest, most realistic, etc. (be creative!)

You can also find a variety of Curious George coloring sheets, mazes, and other printable activities on the Houghton Mifflin Books website.

THE PARTY FAVORS:
Fill party bags with goodies like banana chips, stickers, bubbles, fruit-shaped candies (such as Runts), and small Curious George or monkey party favors (also found at the before-mentioned online party stores).

Good luck with your party. Most importantly, don't forget let loose a little yourself and have fun hanging out with your little monkey!