Planning your Madagascar party.

MADAGASCAR BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS
Creative party planning guide for babies and toddlers Madagascar theme parties.

MADAGASCAR PARTY SUPPLIES
For easy party planning, order your Madagascar party supplies from Birthday Direct.

Then use this party planning guide for ideas on games, decorations and activities. Madagascar party supplies celebrate with learning fun! Your young party goers will discover what animals say, explore colors. Kids love to learn and love Madagascar!
Order your Madagascar party supplies here.

WHAT IS MADAGASCAR?
Madagascar is a computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theatres on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals, who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING TIPS

MADAGASCAR PARTY FOR LITTLE KIDS:

Remember to keep the first few birthday parties you celebrate short and simple. Little kids love to just play with a few toys and will probably not remember their special first or second birthday celebrations.

That’s why taking pictures and videotaping parts of the first few parties is very important. Don’t feel like you have to tape every second.. Just the highlights. You will miss out on the fun if YOU are the photographer and videographer.

Singing the Birthday Song, eating the first few bites of cake, and a shot of all the guests will be a fine memory.

DECORATIONS
Your decorating can lean to a zoo, ship or jungle theme. Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the Giraffe and Marty the Zebra are the main characters. Use the large 34 inch balloon with printed latex balloons as a centerpiece for the party.

There is a great Alex the Lion mask that the kids will love! There are also animal shaped balloons that would work fine. Giving kids a balloon as they leave will make cleanup easy. Balloons are inexpensive, and shout PARTY! Use lots of them.

Where should we PARTY?
Rent a ZOO for the day! Just kidding… Renting a local recreation center is inexpensive and you won’t have to worry about your house at all.Clear the livingroom if you are planning to party at home. Remember, birthdays are fun!

IMPORTANT!
YOU should have a great time at your child’s party too. This is the highlight of the year for most kids. See if you can get a best friend, grandma, or even dad to commit to helping with decorating, wiping up spills, photos, and cleanup. Birthdays should be fun.

ACTIVITIES
For a 1st or 2nd birthday, keep it simple. Party after the child’s nap. More kids= more confusion. Plush animals on a blanket will be fun. Even wrapping paper from opened presents sometimes are more entertaining than a $50.00 toy. Remember, the younger they are, the less structure is needed.

Have a backup person that would love to help with extra spills, passing out food, taking photos… Maybe Grandma, Auntie, or a best friend. This will take the pressure off of you to be “Super Mom”.

BUBBLES:
Blow lots of bubbles with some fun music.

BOUNCY BALLS:
In a large open space have a bunch of big colorful punch balls or bouncy balls that the kids can play with. These favors can also be part of their take home birthday party treat.
Remember, you and your child should have FUN at the party! Don’t get stressed!

TREAT BAG FAVORS
Birthdaydirect.com has a ton of party favors you can put in each treat bag. Zebra wristbands, wobble penguins,a keepsake cup, cute lion masks that look like Alex or a small puzzle will all make great favors!

MADAGASCAR PARTY GAME
Play pin the tail on Marty the zebra to go with the Madagascar theme. Pass out zebra striped wristbands to those who try.

HOT POTATO
Always a birthday party favorite game. Moms might need to help little ones. Give stickers to those who are out.

LIMBO
Everyone has fun with this game. If you don’t want to buy an official Limbo set, you can have just as much fun holding a long stick and lowering it. Give each one out a box that has a small Madagascar puzzle.

PINATA
These have become very popular over the past few years. You can order a collapsable Madagascar pinata to go with your theme. Fill with small candies and toys. They hold about 3 lbs. Save this for the grand finale of the party.

ART TABLE
For an activity that is non competive have the kids play with clay,toothpicks and google eyes. Let them create their own animals. Make an imaginary zoo with small boxes.

Take it a step further and add little people. Make a path for people to follow. See how long the kids are happy with an activity. If it doesn’t work, stop and move on to something else.

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOOD IDEAS

YOUR FOOD TABLE WILL BE THE EYE-CANDY OF THE PARTY!
There are so many fun things you will want to put on the table.

CAKE- Have you checked out the awesome Madagascar cake kit Birthdaydirect.com has? Practice making a cake long before the party so you can see what you will be getting into.

The easiest way to cut a cake is with dental floss or even fishing line. Knives cutting through icing and cake can get very messy.
If you want to forget a cake, go with easy cupcakes with fun little rings that match Madagascar. Birthdaydirect has a really neat cupcake holder too. You need to check it out!

JELLO JIGGLERS
are always fun and kids love them! For extra fun, slip a gummy fish in blue colored Jello Jigglers before it sets.

REMEMBER- When kids are excited they don’t eat much. Have simple fun foods. Also, we all know that sugar will get kids MORE hyper.
Unless your birthday party is in a gymnasium, or a playground, think about the foods you will be serving!

Also, this party should be FUN! Don’t make a huge ordeal over the menu. You are not putting on a wedding, it’s your kids birthday party. FUN is the key word here!

FUN SANDWICHES-Use simple animal shaped cookie cutters to make cute little finger sandwiches. Kids are so excited at birthday parties. Don’t expect them to eat a 3 course meal.

GOLDFISH CRACKERS are always a hit with kids.

VEGTABLES- cut in small pieces with dressing for dipping

PIZZA- Do you know any kid that doesn’t like pizza? It’s a perfect party food. Have them deliver to your party. EASY! Or…. you can make an activity and have the kids top their own personal bagels or premade pizza dough.

FRUIT- Cut in slices and put in a pretty pattern. Serve with a sweet yogurt dip.

SWEET PRETZELS- Dip pretzels in warm white chocolate and sprinkle with colored sprinkels. Yummm.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING IDEAS
You could hire a birthday party planner to put together all your kid’s parties… But it really is not that hard to do yourself. There are so many ways of having a fun birthday party full of great memories without spending alot of money.

FUN is the key word. You know your child, and what he/she likes. Let them be the major planner. It is THEIR party. Of course setting ground rules is important. But let them choose the pattern.
Birthdaydirect has so many kids favorite characters and theme party ideas. Shop with your child and let them show you their favorite ones.

Let your child pick their favorite friends to come to the party.
Let them help with what kind of food should be served. They will remember the planning, as much as the party, if YOU allow them to help.

BIRTHDAY DIRECT would love to hear how your party went. Go to Penny the Party Planner Blog and tell everything! If you’d like,send a photo of your great party.