Jungle Party for a little Monkey

This Jungle Party theme for a little monkey (my nephew) turning 2 was great fun to put together. My sister told me she wanted something simple but fun and bright. I was thrilled when she decided on a Jungle Party as it meant I could use my 'forest backdrop' which I love. I used orange and green as the main colors and hung a banner of the birthday boy's name above the table, which brought in the invitation imagery and fonts. 

I just loved the way the sun streamed in from the blinds behind the backdrop and made little spots of sun on the adults table.  It really gave off a genuine jungle canopy feel. :-) We put some sweets on the adults table so they didn't feel left out too. Gummy snakes and banana sweets were a must, and we threw in some chocolates and fizzers too.

Before you ask ... it's {supposed} to be a monkey, okay?! I've never claimed to be a fondant fundi. :-) My sister let me play around a bit and although some people thought he was a very cute bear, the kids didn't really care what he was, they just wanted to eat him, and the cake.  Moving on ... 

Perhaps one of the decor elements I enjoyed most was making a palm tree.  To be very fair, in the end it looked more like a normal tree as my usual supplier ran out of palm leaves and I had to make do with alternatives, but it was still great fun and I think it turned out alright.  I've also developed a slight obsession with serving crisps and popcorn in tall vases, but I like to think it adds something different and has been a great talking point of 'styling' usual snacks in a unique way.  What do you think?  

  

My sister is a bit of a foodie and she made a very delicious (although slightly too hot for my boring taste buds) chicken and prawn curry on a bed of basmati rice and finished with a dash of coriander pesto.  We served them up in single serving glasses and placed on a solid wooden board for presentation.  

Other snacks included popcorn, home-made banana muffins, miniature milktarts (a traditional South African treat), miniature lemon meringues, fresh bananas and an assortment of sandwiches, some cut into animal shapes.  Here you can see the food labeling, again bringing in the invitation elements. 

As the kiddies were rather young, we decided to leave the sweet table (glass jars + toddlers = disaster) and opted for a plain, but themed kiddies table instead.  Snack boxes were filled with some sweets and treats and we laid out some sandwiches (got to get some proper food in somewhere!), crisps and animal crackers on the table.

Have you ever hosted a Jungle Party?  What special touches did you use to bring the theme to life?