Jungle Jam

In my last post about Jungle Jam, I was a bit jungled out.  But now that it’s over, I’m happy to share the results.  Here are a few things I Iearned from this party…

• all you need is an awesome DJ and some candy – seriously
• you can never have enough zebra tape
• the dollar store is your friend, but I already knew that
• think outside the box

Here are a few cost efficient things we did to create the jungle vibe.

Upon entering the school, the kids were greeted with this super cute sign created with a green tablecloth, dollar store tiki heads, fringe, paper plates and zebra tape.

One of the moms had a clever idea to put zebra tape all over paper plates, then cut out the letters from the plates. Genius!

The registration table was covered in burlap and we used table fringe that was only $7 for 50 feet.  That green table fringe went a long way on many things throughout the party as did the zebra tape acting as a dual purpose functional and decorative item.

We used a banana leaf basket for the raffle, a little galvanized bin wrapped in that priceless zebra tape to hold our glow sticks. Each child received a glow stick at check in. This helped us know who was officially checked in.  And besides, who doesn’t love a glow stick?

After checking in, the kids walked through a jungle canopy.  To create the jungle canopy, we used two rolls of green tablecloth at only $17/roll.  We were able to use binder clips to hold them on a grid on the ceiling.  Easy up, easy down and didn’t impact any of the wall art and no fretting about it falling down.

We used two 30 foot rolls of kraft wrapping/mailing paper at $1 each from the dollar store to create the vines.  I simply cut strips the entire length of the roll and about 3 inches wide, then twisted them to create the vine look.  We also draped a few faux vines and hung a few tropical leaves randomly.   Big impact, little money.

Once they got through the “jungle,” the kids turned the corner to get their picture taken.  I forgot to take a picture at the school, but here’s what it looked like.  We used some old, broken bamboo blinds as the backdrop and a hanging palm tree.  Since the blinds weren’t as tall as the tree, we used dollar store hula skirts to finish it off.

Then, they finally entered the gym/cafeteria for the party.  Inside they would find Minute to Win It games, a baby photo contest, food and fantastic DJs that got everyone on the dance floor.  These guys were seriously the key to the success of the party.  Here’s a peek of what it looked like inside…

Those huge tiki head murals were a dollar each…can you believe it?

I was going to use grass table skirts, but in the end, the cost was not worth it and did not work in the budget.  Instead, I used colorful animal print paper to create bunting around the tables.  Each pack of paper was about $4 and I think we used 3 packs.  So $12 vs. around $100 for the grass table skirts that may have fallen off or got ripped off.  I’d say that was a good trade off.

Luckily, I was able to use the die cutter at the school to create leaves on the baby photo contest game.  The kids had to guess who was who.  Number 69 was my little Jakey baby.  Look at that little pudge ball.  Love it!  Oh, and once again, we used the zebra tape as both a functional and decorative tool holding up the kraft paper background.  The kraft paper was a perfect option because it gave that natural vibe and was only $1 for a 30 foot roll at the dollar store.

We used zebra plates as a part of the centerpiece to offset the green tablecloth and green palm tree balloon weights.  It was an easy and cheap way to add a little flair and contrast.

I just love the dollar store.  We used these cute pick signs and stuck them in buckets filled with sand as extra décor on the food tables and game tables.  They added a bit of height and didn’t take up too much space.  And at $2 each, you can’t beat it.  Notice the zebra tape once again.  Seriously, we used that zebra tape everywhere!

Since the gym and cafeteria are such a vast space, we used pop up canopies to help fill the space and added table fringe attached with none other than zebra duct tape to add a tiki hut vibe.  We also threw on some battery operated paper lanterns to set the mood.

I used two ferns from my own front porch to hide the DJs equipment under the table and used those pick signs from the dollar store again. Also used the left over green fringe from the tiki huts to trim out the stage stuck on by zebra tape of course.

To offset the 10 red doors surrounding us, we simply hung dollar store hula skirts on the handles and cut outs of toucans and parrots.

For the raffle prizes, I just used simple brown paper lunch bags, fringed them, added a little green zebra paper with Jungle Jam stamped on them and tied with raffia. Barely cost anything, but added a nice touch, although I’m sure the kids did not even give them a second glance. They just wanted to see what was inside.

So that’s it!

The kids had a blast and I’m glad to have been a part of it!