Ethan and Abi turn 3

My son, Ethan, and his very best friend turned 3 last month.  I absolutely love planning his birthdays and this year was so much fun because I joined forces with Abi's mom (one of my best friends!) to throw a joint party.  Both kids love monkeys. . . especially Curious George, but we really don't like commercialized themes. . . it's just so blah.  We went with a turquoise and yellow color scheme that really accented our brown monkeys nicely.  And our friend Chris, let us borrow a her monkey cartridge for the Cricut.  Here are some of the highlights:

 Parade of Balloons. . . so much fun and so easy.  We threw the party in Stephanie's backyard and used this cable wire that stretches the length of their backyard (typically it's an annoyance to them, but it was perfect for hanging these balloons.  How to: blow up balloons with air (not helium).  Take needle and thread and string together.  We strung about 10 at a time. . . easier to transfer up there in smaller batches. Tip: Our party was in the evening. . . we hung them up around 2:30 and had to redo it all right before the party because it got a bit warm, the sun was at it's height and they popped. . . most of them. . . kind of a bummer, but really, it didn't take too much time to redo it.  

 This was them, before the tables got set up. . . . most of these one's actually popped.  It looked just the same when we redid it. 

 We had blow up monkeys scattered around the backyard. . . hanging from the trees.  It was really fun.  This one welcomed everyone to the party. 

 I made cute signs that we hung from the tree marking their gift tables.  

 Here's Ethan's.

 The favors:  We did banana candies and small monkeys in a jar games.  

 Ethan had to have a 3 shirt, of course.  I had some sock monkey fabric laying around.  He was quite festive. 

 We had a chalk station.  So much fun!

 The banner. . . I used cardstock from the DCWV Citrus Stack.  I loved the way it came out!

 More of the banner.

 Some more of the banner. 

 Photo Booth. . . palm trees and monkeys.  Fun times!

 The birthday cake (made by Stephanie)

 Cake balls

The cake table.  

The party was so much fun!  I really think everyone had a great time.  We had a craft table that the kids got to make picture frames with monkeys on them, too.  I am already starting to gather ideas for Weston's first birthday. . . 4 months away. . . I can't believe it!  

But first I am going to go to bed. . . I am tired. . . Have a great night!