The Jungle -2yr- Cub Sandiwiches & Monkey Punch

I selected Jungle theme for my daughter's 2nd birthday because I thought that would be the simplest theme the 2 year olds would enjoy and understand.They would be really interested in seeing animals too!! The party was conducted at our home.

INVITATION: - We created our own online invitation from www.purpletrail.com that said:- I am throwing a B'day party with a jungle theme, This had always been my 2nd B'day dream. Let's celebrate with my friends tiger, giraffe and monkey in the sun, So please come and join me in the fun!!  We downloaded pictures of animals from google and put it in the background of the card. Since the invitation had the facility of RSVP, it was convenient to confirm the number of guests.

PARTYWARE: - I bought Jungle theme paper plates, cups and cutlery from www.partydelights.co.uk and www.partypieces.co.uk. For the kids, I bought plates and cups with animal pictures in it. For the adults, I bought green coloured cups, plates and cutlery. I also bought a Jungle theme plastic table cover.  I also bought animal paper hats for the kids.

DECORATIONS: - 1) Paintings of a] Cute looking animals (Lion,Tiger, elephants, monkey, giraffe, snake, butterflies etc) were drawn  and cut out of chart paper and stuck on the walls all over  the house.   B] Jungle scenary was put on the hallway.

2) Big animal footprints were drawn on chart paper and put from the outside entrance of our house, through our corridor to the party area. This guided the guests to the main party area. There was also a Happy 2nd Birthday banner taped across the outside door of the house.

 3) A large rustic looking banner was hung at the entrance which said Welcome to the Jungle. I used Crazy Zoo font (found on google) for the letters .To give the rustic look, 1st write the wordings with a brown marker pen. When you are done with the words, rub a tea bag dipped in cold water on the paper. Leave it for a couple of minutes. Let it dry. .Take the paper and scrunch it all up and then open the paper back up again. It should look wrinkly and old. I also punched some holes in it and tied the banner to the entrance with long branches. 2 monkeys were hung on both the sides of the banner as if they are holding the banner.

4) At the front door, a metallic green door curtain (bought from partypieces.com) was hung. Along the hallway of the entrance, Jungle scenaries with butterflies painted on chart paper were stuck on both the walls .This gave the effect of entering a jungle.  I also hung vines from the ceiling and the walls. Vines were made out of brown paper and green leaves were taped to it.

As the guests walk past these, a teddy bear holding the number 2(painted and cut out on chart paper) welcomed them to the party area. 1 room was allocated exclusively for the kids to play and it was named CUBZONE (All the sign boards written in Crazy Zoo Font). In the kids play room, I just put all the soft animal toys and other toys of my daughter. The ceilings and walls were filled with balloons too. A few balloons were left on the floor. There was also a direction board saying: JUNGLOO-1 mile,FOOD STOP-0.5 miles,CUBZONE- 0.5miles,TIKIBAR-miles. 

The walls of the house were fully covered with green streamers made out of green crepe paper bought from the crafts store.  The party area was named FOODSTOP and we placed a monkey holding a banana there. The garden area/ the area where drinks were kept was named TIKI BAR. We also bought a few clay frogs from Poundland and kept them in the garden. There was a cut out giraffe showing directions to the toilet. The toilet was named JUNGLOO. MUSIC: - As the guests entered, we had Jungle Sounds CD (bought from partydelights.co.uk) playing in the background. This added to the effect of the theme.

FOOD: - We had  Spring Rolls (named as JUNGLE STICKS),  Kachoris (Round crispy fried lentil balls) named as DINO EGGS,  Crisps (named as BEETLE WINGS),  CUB SANDWICHES- I bought animal shaped cookie cutters and cut out the sandwiches in the shape of elephant, giraffe, lion etc.  ZEBRA SHAKE- made by blending 6 cups milk, 12 crushed Oreo cookies and 3 scoops vanilla icecream),  MONKEY PUNCH (made by mixing 1L Pineapple Juice + 2 cans of Orange Juice + 400gm sugar + 1 L cold water. Pour in 2L Ginger Ale just before serving).

FROG CUPCAKES- Recipe: - Items requited- 12 cupcakes, 1 quantity butter icing, Green Food colouring, 1pkt marsh mallows, Red jubes (chewy jelatin based sweets), Chocolate sauce 1st colour the icing to a bright green shade. Cover each cake with green icing. Then cut a side of each marshmallow so that they sit. Pipe a small amount of dark chocolate sauce on each marshmallow so that it forms the pupil of the eye. Cut a slither of red jube and position as mouth. Leave it overnight to set. The froggy cupcakes are ready. Since the party was during lunch time, we had ordered Indian lunch from a restaurant too.

CAKE: - I bought the Jungle cake kit from partypieces.co.uk and then followed the instructions to make the cake. The cake had a green coloured icing with a blue coloured pond in the middle. I placed a couple of palm trees and few toy animals on top of the cake. It was pretty easy and came out well.

GOODY BAGS/ PARTY FAVOURS: - These were bought from partydelights.co.uk and partypieces.co.uk. Party loot bags were bought and filled with Jungle Slide puzzles, Woolly Zoo animals, Mini animal blow outs, Party sweets and safari stickers.  This party indeed took 1 month's preparation because of the paintings and other craft items that I had to buy. But it was really worth the effort!! The compliments that I received from my friends and relatives made me really happy. I couldn't have pulled off such a party without my friends and this site of course!! Thanks to this site!! I hope this would be an inspiration for you to do such a party!! Good luck!!