So I'm starting to plan Spencer's fourth birthday party. Instead of a big family and friends type deal, we're going to do a small party with some of Spencer's preschool friends. I read somewhere once that it's ideal to invite one child for every year of your child's age. Assuming that we'll get one child who can't attend, I'm going to invite five kiddos.
The theme? Monkeys! I don't know that I've ever introduced you to Mike. Mike is Spencer's monkey friend from Build-a-Bear. Mom and Carrie took him to BaB awhile back, I think maybe when Ginger was first born, and let him make a stuffed animal and bought him one outfit (khakis and an Ohio University t-shirt, of all things). Since then his wardrobe has expanded to include a pair of jeans and soccer t-shirt (with the words, "Grab the marshmallows, my game is on fire!") and a 'first day of school' outfit: navy blue shorts, a plaid shirt and sweater vest, and a backpack.
Spencer loves Mike. Sometimes when we go out, we take the umbrella stroller so that he can push Mike while I push Ginger in the shopping cart. He takes him in the car, he takes him to bed every night (and brings him out to breakfast every morning), and sometimes he refers to him as "my Mike." As in, "Has anyone seen my Mike? I want to take my Mike with me." Mike even wears big boy underwear. Very often I'll come upon Mike lying face down on the living room floor, with his underwear and his pants around his ankles, looking like he's been pantsed, but really his pants just have a tendency to fall down.
Spencer's never been as attached to any stuffed animal as he has Mike, so when I saw this party theme in a Martha Stewart Kids magazine last year, I knew it would be perfect for Spencer's birthday. Carrie and I are going to make this cake, and I've already picked up some dessert plates in yellow and some paper napkins in brown. I'm thinking we might play Pin the Monkey on the Palm Tree and make a monkey door hanger craft. Those two activities, plus cake and presents and play time, I figure should take up about 90 minutes. Carrie and Mom are going to be here to help out; Carrie deals with several dozen kindergarteners every day so I'm sure she'll be very helpful in wrangling half a dozen preschoolers.
We're doing to serve juice boxes with the cake (most of the kids at preschool are still using sippy cups) and make them up to look like monkeys the way the paper cups were done in the Martha Stewart photo; I'm also going to make little favor bags using brown paper lunch bags. Here's where I need help: I'm trying to find monkey or banana-themed items to put into the bags. I'd like to stay away from anything junky (i.e. key chains---what's a four year old going to do with a key chain?) or expensive. Yesterday I found little sticky notepads with a picture of a monkey on them in the dollar bin at a local store and grabbed some of those. I'd like to include some kind of sweet, I was thinking maybe Runts because they have bananas in the mix. Any other ideas?
