Monkey 1st Birthday

My precious niece, Claire turned 1 on January 7 and in honor of her birthday, my sister and brother-in-law threw a monkey-themed party this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun helping my sister, Katie pin and plan all the little details, so naturally I just had to make the trip from Pennsylvania to execute them.

Claire has been a crazy little monkey since she could barely crawl, so it only seemed appropriate to plan her 1st birthday party around the cute little primate (a monkey, not Claire). We hung some of Claire's monkey friends from a dowel rod along-side some DIY tissue-paper balls, strung streamers across the stage to create a jungle (which the kids had a blast running through and then eventually tearing down), and incorporated some pink zebra print in the balloons and table decor.

The monkey-theme party also featured veggies & dip displayed in plastic cups (an easy and germ-free alternative), chocolate-dipped banana pops, banana-nut cheerios for the little ones, delicious monkey bread made by Claire's meme, and festive chocolate and vanilla cup-cakes. It was a bit hit with both the kids and the parents - and although Claire might be too little to remember the day, she'll have plenty of pictures to look back on.