A Monsters Inc. Party

Mike and Sully are a couple of monsters that are cute enough to plan a whole party theme around. For my son’s third birthday I did exactly that, a Monsters Inc. birthday party. I was able to find many coordinating Monster Incorporated party supplies to use as decorations. However, I still wanted to put an extra special touch on things.

I was able to get my hands on an 8’ x 4’ corrugated cardboard panel to make a custom party back drop. By utilizing my overhead projector, I was able to make precise outlines of Mike and Sully standing on a giant present. Once my outlines were in place, I used tempera paints to apply the color. After the paint was dry, I used a Permanent marker to go back and make bolder outline marks over the dried paint. As a little added fun, I decided to cut out Mike’s Eye so that guests could pop their faces out through the hole for pictures. I also could have easily replaced the eye, and have the guests stand in front of the party back drop with the birthday boy for a fun picture. I like to send these pictures to the guests along with the “Thank You” notes. This way guests have a memorable reminder of the party, along with a short sweet note of thanks and appreciation for taking part in the celebration.

The papier mache piñata was a “big hit” at the birthday party. I veered off from my usual way of decorating the outside of the piñata. I decided to color this piñata using tempera paint rather then tissue paper. Traditionally tissue paper or crape paper is used to create the colorful exterior of a piñata. However, because Mike Wazoski appears to be a bald shiny monster I stayed away from the tissue/crape paper technique. I didn’t want the piñata making him look like a hairy monster.

One of the games played at the party was pin the eye on Mike. It was made on neon green poster board and the eyes were made out of recycled card board. Yeah, turns out those round card boards from the bottoms of frozen pizza pies are perfect for eye balls. All I needed to do was paint it white, using Tempra/ Poster paint and add in a blue center iris. I went back in with blue permanent marker to add in detail in the blue iris part of the eye.

The age group of this party was pretty young, so I opted to go without the blind fold for this one. But it was cute to see them all concentrate so hard on just getting it inside the circle. I couldn’t help myself, I awarded every player a prize.

I sometimes like to make fun name tags for each of the attending guests. For this Monster theme, I decided to make “Monster in Training” name badges. Click here to print a sheet of name badges. The badges were created on the computer and measured to fit inside of a baseball card plastic sleeve. Then I popped a hole at the top and strung neon plastic cording through so that they could be worn around their necks like a necklace. I made all the badges in advance of the party. As guests responded with their RSVP to attend, I then added the names on to the badges using Print and stick tags made with my nifty DYMO LetraTag machine. I used Blue and white colored labels to coordinate with the color of the Badges.

A few months prior I picked up some plain tin lunch boxes from a Dollar Store and used them as loot bags for this party. I personalized each lunch box with neon sticker letters, and then filled them up with goodies. One of the goodies stuffed inside was a custom made Mike eye shirt. I bought bright neon green tank tops and used white puffy paint to paint a large circle on the front of the shirt. Once it was dry I followed the instructions to make it puff up using an iron on a low setting. Next, I used a blue-ish green acrylic glossy paint to fill in the iris and black acrylic for the center pupil of the eye. On the back side, I used a permanent fabric marker to write a cute blurb of words referencing the birthday party.

Also among the goodies were Monsters Inc. bandages (so practical for little kids), animal cookies, Monster Inc. stickers, home baked Mike cookies on a stick and a small Monster Inc. stuffed animal. Believe it or not, most of these items were found on clearance, or in bargain bins. Just because you cut costs, doesn’t mean it has to look cheap. It really comes down to the presentation. :O)

The “Present” table is always bright with color and filled with temptation, and although some choose to open up presents during the party, I like to save them till after the party. I know it almost sounds like torture, but really I find that it works out. Waiting to open the presents is almost a way of stretching out the excitement of the birth-day. Besides the party is already filled with games, activities, cake & ice cream and when you add in present time it can become rushed and unorganized. I prefer to be able to sit down, read the birthday cards, and keep track of who gave what gift to my son. This way the thank you notes are tailored for each party guest and appreciation is expressed for the specific thoughtfulness of their gift.

Looking for more fun Monster stuff? I Found these cute items that coordinate perfectly. Great for Loot Bags, prizes or pinata fillers.

Comments

[Dawn]

Fab shindig! I'm so loving your T-shirts. I love to see parties that aren't the run of the mill themes, really gets your creative juices flowing. I'm going to have to blog about your party.

[Melanie]

I need planet/ space ideas...............anything floating in that creative mind of yours that you would want to share ;)

[Bonnie]

Hi i am throwing a Monsters Inc party for my soon to be 2yr old and 4yr old. Please tell me how you went about making the name tags i love them.

Bonnie

[Carie ~ Cool Party Blogger]

Hi there. The name tags were created on the computer. They are not double sided ( which is kind of hard to line up on a home printer), instead they are just two pieces connected, then folded in half. The back has the Monsters Inc. Logo ( which was scanned in), and the front has a scanned image of Mike. I just made sure that my name tag on the screen was a size that could fit inside of the baseball card plastic sleeves. Then I strung plastic neon cording through and tied a knot. I printed my tags up without names, and later added them with a Label machine. Hope I answered your question :o)

[Jen]

Carie, do you still have the large sully and mike cutout you made; if so, are you willing to sell it?

[Carie~Cool Party Blogger]

Unfortunately I no longer have that Sully cutout.

[Bonnie]

Hi Carie, thank you so much for responding to my question. I have a request. Could you please email me the pics/scans you used for the I.D name tags. If you can. Thank you

[Carie~Cool Party Blogger]

Hi there!
Sorry for the delay, I had to go on a bit of a file search to find my design used for the Monster Name badges....But I did indeed find it. I went ahead and posted the Name badges on the site to share. You can find them within this post near the images of the actual name badges part. Just click to print. The area where I filled in the names of guests, is pre-measured to fit the labels from the Dymo tag labeling system, but you may be able to find another way as well.
Good Luck, and enjoy customizing your name badges!

[Tonya Baldwin]

Wow! This has everything I was looking for. I like the idea of having a keepsake for the party goers with the thank you cards. I'm creative but projects never turn out the way I envision but you give great tips. We'll be using these soon for my daughter's 1st birthday. She's our little monster!

[Carie ~ Cool Party Blogger]

Very Happy to hear that you enjoy the site. :o) Be sure to drop some pics of your cool party, so we can all see. Visit the "Cool Party Pics" page, and drop us an email.

[Irene]

Hi,
I am doing a monsters theme for my son's first birthday. How did you make the pinata?

Loved your ideas. Very creative

[Irene]

How did you make the Mike pinata? You are very creative