17731

Beach Monkey Party 9yr - Surf's up Game

March 2008

Caryn in Newport News, Virginia  United States

Runner Up

My daughter was turning 9 this year and wanted a monkey theme but I wanted a theme to go with monkey so I could stretch ideas further.  Anyway so we saw a party set with plates, cups, etc for Beach Monkey so we went with it.  We invited twenty one kids and twenty showed up!! 

INVITATIONS:  We decided to go with the message in a bottle theme for our invites.  We went to Michaels and purchased beach theme paper and monkey and beach stickers.  Then on the invitations we wrote. Yo place and rsvp.  Then we rolled it up and put it into a bottle (small soda bottles we had saved)  with some sand and lei flowers as we could not find tiny enough shells to fit in the bottle fast enough. 

DECORATIONS:  We had our party at our church so we were able to use several rooms. In the main room we hung a beach theme scene setter that I already had and put cardboard beach monkey signs purchased from OTC (there was a beach wagon monkeys with surfboards cowabunga etc).  From the ceiling we hung an inflated palm tree (dollar tree) over the middle of each table.  On each table we had light blue tablecovers that had been spray painted with white to make waves across them so cool.  We also put hula monkey surfers (OTC) that we had put together (two to each table)  We also put beach surfing confetti from the party store.  We also put crayons for an activity so they would be readily available. 

On one table we put a bouquet of balloons purchased at the party store and OTC.  Two of the balloons were hula beach monkeys from OTC and the rest were sea blue and lime green.  The room was so cute.  In the food room which we labeled as the Hungry Hut with a sign in the shape of a hut we decorated the walls with a bamboo scene setter from a party store online.  We covered both tables with a lime green tablecover and put a rainbow colored table skirt around them we used table clips to get it to stay.  At the drink table we put a table top tiki hut on top of the table it also had hibiscus flowers as décor around it.  On the food table we put sand buckets with their shovels small sand buckets for the flatware from the $ store and sand strainers from the $ store.  We also had a tray from the party store  with flip flops on it.  We used plates and napkins with the Beach Monkey Theme from OTC. 

We had an ocean sound cd playing in there too!  In the boardwalk room we had beach theme garland from the party store hanging from the ceiling and signs indicating which stores were in the room outside the door.  We also had beach door hangers hanging from the door they had surfboards beach balls buckets and shirts also bought at the party store.  The Santuary which we used for the game room and the last store in the boardwalk was decorated with lt blue tablecovers hanging from the ceiling in a row to represent waves (we hung these on two rows to get the feeling they were inside the ocean).  These had also been spray painted with white for the waves.  We covered the two aisles being used with blue lt blue and white balloons on the floor to represent the bubbles and water of the ocean.  The last store in the same room consisted of a table covered in a green tablecover and next to each tablecover were standing fake palm trees that belonged to the church.  It also had a sign indicating which store it was. 

BEGINNING:  As soon as the kids arrived we had them go to the main room to decorate their surfboard (decorate your own surfboard from OTC) to be used at game time.  After that we had food time. 

PARTY SNACKS:  At the drink station we had smoothies made from ice strawberry banana smoothie V8 and sprite.  We blended it all together and served it in neon coconut shaped cups that came with straws with palm trees on them.  They were absolutely cute and relatively inexpensive…found online at TeachersCorner.  The food table consisted of potato salad and baked beans served in clean sand buckets with the shovels used as the spoons individual bags of chips also served in clean sand buckets and hot dogs that had been stacked on the sand strainers.  We used the tray mentioned earlier for the hot dog buns.  For the condiments we used a flip flop decoration from the party store as a tray for them.  We also had a surfs up sign in the middle of the food table.  The silverware was yellow and the plates and napkins were beach monkey as already mentioned.  The kids loved it all.  So after everyone finished eating we had the games. 

GAMES:  Surf's Up Game:  We went to the santuary for all the games.  We used the waves and balloons to serve as their surfing area.  We had two lines.  We had brought two skateboards to serve under the surfboards they had each made.  We gave each kid a monkey mask (from OTC) so they could be surfing monkeys and played surfing music in the background during the game.  We used Rock Instrumentals vol. 5 surf from Barnes and Nobles.  So each kid put their surfboard on their skateboard when it was their turn and surfed past the waves through the water(balloons) to retrieve a banana that I had cut out of yellow posterboard.  Then they had to turn around and bring in back.  It was a blast especially listening to the song Wipe Out!  Everyone laughed hysterically even the parents.  Each child that played received a surfboard necklace from OTC for playing. 

Monkey Games:  We had two monkey games.  I had made a bean bag toss board with three monkeys and a sky and grass and where their mouths were I cut out holes with an exacto blade so cute.  We used fake bananas from the craft section at Walmart for bean bags instead.  Each child received a banana candy bag like runts only just bananas from OTC for playing.  The other monkey game had a net from the party store and inflatable monkeys from the dollar store for each child to try and throw into the net to catch the monkey.  The trick was they had to do it backwards!!!  We had one land their monkey by the tail so funny.  Each child received a mini inflatable beach monkey beach ball purchased from OTC for playing. 

Okay..last game.  Beach Relay:  After popping all the balloons from the surfs up game we had our last game.  It was a relay with beach associated items.  Each team member had to run up and put on a beach towel around their waste (from home) an inflatable animal ring (from walmart)   and a beachcombers hat purchased from the dollar store (kind of like a safari hat with frayed ends).  Then they had to put a regular sized beach ball between their legs and walk back to the next team member and trade everything but the hat which the next person in line would get by running up to the end and getting their own and of course taking all of the stuff off for the next player.  The prize for this game is of course the beachcomber's hat.  After the games we gave each child a  monkey face tote bag from OTC to put their items in and to use at the boardwalk. 

ACTIVITIES:  The Boardwalk:  It consisted of four shops; Tiki Tanning and Tattoo Salon The Sandy Cove The Seashore Emporium and The Big Banana.  Tiki Tanning and Tattoo Salon:  I homemade a tanning booth out of two mirror packing cardboard pieces by spraying it all over with white and then adding lt blue stripes to represent the ultraviolet lights.  Each child received a pair of sunglasses (from Walmart in a pack of 8) and got into the tanning bed.  We set the timer (from home) for like nothing and all and all the time they were in we would say funny things like Man that's Hot You're Sizzlin Now Ya Burnt yet?...Wow you are really cooking now!  The kids thought that was hilarious. 

After they tanned they could go to the Tattoo parlor and get a tattoo put on by the Tattoo lady ( a close friend of mine).  They were beach monkey tattoos from OTC.  The Sandy Cove:  At the Sandy Cove the kids got to fill sand castle shaped bottles with different colors of neon sand.  We got the bottles and sand from OTC.  Seashore Emporium:  This was the novelty shop where they got to spend fake money given to them on what they wanted.  On the table their were bamboo whistles like recorders only bamboo seashell necklaces dolphin beach safe containers shell whistles and mini skateboards for them to purchase.  I loved the shell whistles..so cute!!  We got all of these items from OTC.  The Big Banana:  This shop was where the kids could get their banana split (bananas vanilla and choc ice cream chocolate sauce strawberry sauce banana split flavored sprinkles whipped cream and a cherry) and their cupcake. 

I had made the CAKE out of cupcakes by using a round platter and putting all of the cupcakes together to make a circle and fill the platter.  I then covered half of the cupcakes with white icing and spray painted in blue with cake spray making certain to make waves shapes with the knife when icing.  I then put two of the mini skateboards into the waves to look like surfboards and put mini neon colored monkeys on top of them with a dot of icing to glue it together.  On the other half I covered the cupcakes with chocolate icing and then completely covered it with crushed nilla wafers for sand. I wanted to put some palm trees but had left them behind so I put some towels (fruit roll up cut) and wrote her name with happy birthday and a number 9 candle.  She loved it even without the trees.  So after all of the shopping was done from the boardwalk.  The other adults and I cleaned up while the kids were finishing their ice cream and cake.  Afterwards we had each child gather their belongings together.  We had labeled every ones belongings as we went with a permanent marker so we would know whose was whose. 

FAVORS:  After we gathered everyone together we had present time.  My daughter opened all of her presents and then gave each one of her friends a tiki hut shaped beach monkey goodie box from OTC.  Each box contained a neon plush monkey two neon monkey small items such as pencils other tattoos stickers bouncing monkeys notepads bendable monkeys etc and one banana laffy taffy and one green laffy taffy I think it was apple.  Anyway the kids loved it all.  The neon monkey misc I got in a bag of 50 from OTC so each child would receive something different.  Each child went home with a neon coconut cup a beach combers hat a surfboard necklace a mini beach ball banana candy a monkey tote with the items made or purchased at the shops and a tiki hut box with neon monkey goodies and laffy taffy. 

I had one girl say "This was a long party but WAAAAAAAAYY  worth it!"  The party lasted three hours but everyone had a blast and the parents kept asking me "Where do you come up with this kind of stuff?"  I just told them "It comes to me."  I love doing this for my kids for their parties.  I know it means the world to them and just getting the satisfaction of seeing their cheerful faces is enough for me.  "

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