Age group(s) for this birthday party activity:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School

Birthday party planning information:
Introduce kids to the sights and sounds of the world's rainforests at a party filled with jungle creatures.

Decorations: Make palm trees out of posterboard and plant them around the room. Use streamers and balloons in various shades of green and yellow.

Food: Rainforest Crunch - Mix together all kinds of dried fruit, nuts, and granola. Dried apricots, shredded coconut, peanuts and raisins are popular choices. (NOTE: Dried fruit and nuts present a choking hazard for children under the age of 4.) Serve your rainforest crunch in camping pots and pans. Pour juice drinks into real or plastic coconuts and serve with long straws.
Cake: Creepy-Crawler Cake - To make a rainforest cake, cover a 9"x13" cake with green frosting. Decorate the cake with rainforest creatures - use gummy frogs and worms, and make giant caterpillars out of round candies like M&M's, with black licorice for antenna.

Other suggestions or comments:
Check out the sticker rack at any local store - bugs are everywhere!

Scour the local library for colorful books on the rainforest - there's nothing wrong with a little storytime in the midst of party chaos.

Pin the tail on the ... Tiger? Cockatoo?

Let the artists loose - give each child his/her own piece of posterboard, markers, construction paper, stickers, scissors, glue, etc., to create a take-home rainforest.