We had a bowling party so the kids could throw "dirt balls" (bowling balls) at the "monsters" (bowling pins) just as they did in the recent film adaptation of the story. We had Fran from "Just Icing On The Cake" (http://justicingonthecake.vpweb.com/) create the cake for us since we could not find anyone that had cake toppers for this theme. The photo above shows a view of the cake with Max (the main character) in the boat sailing to where the wild things are.
The kids bowled for monsters for over an hour and the parents danced and laughed. Once we had gotten finished with the monsters, it was time to make a wild rumpus! In the story, the monsters and Max were sent to bed without any supper, but we were not going to do that to our guests! So we all ate pizza and enjoyed each others' company!
Once our bellies were full, we handed out the prizes to the rulers of the wild things and let them off to make a wild rumpus on their own. We sent them off with their very own survival bags, survival books, placemats, and, of course, crowns.
I would like to give a special thanks for ideas, pictures, and activities to the following:
http://www.coloring-book.info/, http://www.theteacherscorner.net/, http://www.toy-a-day.blogspot.com/, http://www.freekidscoloring.com/, http://www.origami-fun.com/, and http://digitalcitizen.ca/2009/10/15/printable-where-the-wild-things-are-placemats-12-x-18-and-photos-6-x-4/.
Here are some of the pages from the activity book.
These offered great activities for kids of all ages. We used the activities on these sites to create acivity books of our own using a printer, hole punch, and ribbon. On the first few pages of the books, there were pictures and activities for the kids to write or draw to include them in each scene. There was a crossword puzzle in the center of the book with the answers on one of the back pages. Then there were coloring pages and also
toys that could be cut out and folded to make characters and stories of your own!
The crowns were made using colored card stock and we put two different color pieces together to give it a little flair and depth. The goody bags included crayons and sweets. We used a printer to make the placemats and laminated them so each child could take one home to use as well.
Needless to say, the kids ate up this party, they loved it so! And we did, too! I hope this helps give other parents ideas for their wild parties! Be wild and have fun!
