Birthday Goodness - Life's a ZOO when you're 2 !

TGIF Peeps ! Nothing say's 'Let's put the week behind you' like a cheery Friday morning. And this morning i woke up to a colorful yet noisy hangover. Last night i came home from the cutest Angry Birds birthday party ever. I mean i've never really been a fan of the game but man have i been turned since last night or what? The party had such darling details and the best part was that my own little birdie got to take home the cutest favor ever !

HOW CUTE IS THAT ? 

She's an angry bird fan like the rest of the universe and i was saving this theme for her 3rd birthday, but no sweat because I'm pretty sure by the time her 3rd birthday rolls around, she'd be over angry birds and onto something quirkier and angrier. I mean, she already onto 'rat on a scooter' (why would they come up with such things?) but make no mistake - i am NOT planning a party around a pesky pest on a two wheeler ! NO way in hell ! LOL !

Anyways, the cute red and yellow chickens were prancing around in my backyard all morning. A very annoyed Imaan tried giving the red one a timeout when it didn't do poo-poo in the potty !! How the tables have turned ! Talk about Karma !!  Still talking about Karma, the 'not so potty trained' red one didn't make it through the afternoon (it sneaked into the neighbors backyard and got devoured by the dog. Atleast that's neighborhood gossip doing the rounds FYI - so that leaves the yellow one. Imaan has decided to name it BOOTS. She's Dora and chicky is Boots. Fret not ladies, if you think I'm babbling spanish. Some proper noun vocab skills are only inherited with the co-existance a 2 year old. Anyhow's, hovering around spanish explorers and toddler fantasies i thought in this weeks post i'd give you guys a sneak peek into a party i planned not too long ago to celebrate my daughters 2nd birthday. As you can tell, Dora and Diego are the flavor of the season. I usually try to stay away from character birthdays, instead translating it into a thematic ambience. Hence, i took dora, diego, boots and all that jungle madness and extrapolated it to a safari theme - "LIFE'S A ZOO, When your'e 2" Oh well, its a zoo awright, at least for the mommies. Raise your right hand if you agree !


The biggest challenge of planning the party was that we were still in transition mode and in temporary accommodation. So one, i had no house to throw the party. Two, i was working outta brown boxes. I had bought most of the party supplies while in chicago and luckily had enough foresight to label them as 'For Immediate Party Use'. So while the rest of the boxes made it to a dark hole(otherwise called storage) these lucky fellas sat stacked in our makeshift living room until it was their time to shine. I also got lucky since my sweetest sister-in-law offered me her gorgeous farmhouse on loan for location ! Get...Set...PARTY !

An outdoor location adds so much drama and makes for great lighting however decorating large spaces poses a potential threat as smaller elements tend to get lost or hidden in oversight. Hence, if you find yourself with an open space make sure you sprinkle around posters, banners and balloons so as to give the area a sense of decorative continuity.

Having said that, choose one area to be your party focal point. In lieu of a stage this spot is usually in or around the dessert table. Announcements, gatherings, distributions can all follow suit here. I had great fun designing this table since i used natural grass mats, green christmas garlands, and animal gift wrapped shoe boxes to add hints of 'safari' to the mix. Oh yes, and Imaan's stuffed animals came to the rescue !

 Every kid got a safari hat that read 'Safari Guide' and yellow plastic binoculars which they used for an animal hunt throughout the party. I found these gems on Oriental Trading and was thrilled to bring them with me across the seven seas. The Monkey Munchies Treat bags below were also favors and were stocked with animal stamps, zoo crackers, animal sippy cups and other themed goodies. 

My little Zookeeper Imaan kept the WILD factor going and despite being a little under the weather played the perfect host ! I'm so proud of her.

The children had such a blast ! Its pure joy seeing some 20 odd kids bouncing around from cotton candy to popcorn to piñata. 

 Ofcourse, sheer joy quickly turns into sheer exhaustion and no amount of sugar, courtesy the candy table can come to your rescue!! But the sheer thrill on the face of your little monkey somehow makes it all OK.

What do you prefer outdoor or indoor? I find it such a pain to carry the props, especially glass canisters to and from. If you have an upcoming party and need tips or suggestions do ask. A little brainstorming never hurt :) ! Or maybe you can share some of your own eye candy with us. I'd be happy to feature your party on this blog !


Alrighty people, i hope you had a roaring good time. Have yourself a fabulous weekend ! Until next time...


Fabulously Yours,
T