Curious George

Curious George Birthday!
By Anne Cavicchi
Written Exclusively for The PartyWorks.com

The kids will have so much fun monkeying around! Here are loads of fun-filled Curious George birthday party ideas with games and activities kids will love!

Invitations
You can purchase Curious George party invitations or make your own! Bananas, balloons and yellow hats cut from yellow construction paper would be perfect! Write the message and party information on the invitations with a bright red pen. Add some Curious George stickers if you like. If making a folded card invitation, one idea is to write "Curious?" on the front and have all the details inside under a heading of "Are you ready to Monkey around?".

Decorations
You can find a full range of decorations at thePartyWorks.com
If you are feeling creative, use solid color party ware in yellow, red and blue and draw on the outsides of the cups with crayons. Use a paper tablecloth and draw on it too!
Balloons -- if you're using helium filled balloons, try using a banana as the balloon weight!

Food and Snacks
A mix of banana chips, nuts, and smarties
A banana split bar where kids could make their own banana splits by choosing from several fun toppings
Banana smoothies - 1 cup Milk, 1 Ripe Banana, cut in chunks, 6 oz. Container of non-fat vanilla yogurt, 1 tbsp Liquid Honey, 10 Small Ice Cubes. Put together the first 4 ingredients in a blender and blend at a fairly high speed until smooth. Add ice cubes, 1 at a time, blending after each addition until thick and slushy.
One fun way to serve snacks is in a plastic cowboy hat -- just paint the outside yellow and turn it upside down to hold the snacks!
Remember that it's a good idea to check with your guests' parents regarding any possible food allergies or other dietary restrictions prior to deciding on a party menu.

Cake
There are so many great cake ideas! Everything from round cakes made to look like balloons, to a slab or round cake using a topper or cake art, to a monkey face cake! Or, if you prefer to use cupcakes, how about topping them with some cute balloon or crayon sugars! Maybe some Curious George pics and sprinkles, or rings and sprinkles.

Games and Activities
Make monkeys out of the guests! You can make the ears with stiff felt or craft foam glued to a head band. For a tail, try a long strip of brown fabric tied around the waist with a piece dangling behind.
Make Newspaper boats
Have someone dress as the man in the yellow hat and read a Curious George story
Play hot potato -- except use a banana instead of a potato
Play a game of Monkey see, monkey do (one person at the front of the group -- and everyone else has to copy their movements)
Play "Feed George" by painting a monkey face on a large box with a large hole for George's mouth. Give the kids 3-4 yellow bean bags. The object is to stand a marked distance from the box and get the bean bags into George's mouth.
Play a game of Pin the Tail on the Monkey -- draw your own monkey or buy a Curious George poster -- make tails out of construction paper. Using tape on the tails will work well -- then you don't need to worry about anyone getting poked (or about pins in your walls!)
Cover a large wall space or appliance box with white butcher paper or other heavy paper (newsprint might be too thin and the color could go through to the wall). Give the kids some washable crayons or paint and see what they create! Coloring on the walls is one of George's favorite activities after all.
Set up a scavenger hunt to find bananas, or museum artifacts for the Man in the Yellow Hat. Write or draw picture clues that lead from one item to the next.
Try the Curious George game!

Goody Bags
You can purchase Curious George goodie bags or use a plain paper bag with stickers or drawings on it. Fill the bag with things like animal crackers, Curious George stickers, Curious George puzzles, banana chips, crayons, mini book, barrel of monkeys game, beach ball etc.

Don't forget to send out thank you cards to all your guests too.

About the Author:
Anne Cavicchi is a Canadian mom and owner of Annie's Boutique and www.maternitycorner.com. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, golfing, photograpy and traveling.