One of our favorite books to read to our kids is Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. It is filled with imaginative characters, adorable prose and a sentimental lesson all parents and children can appreciate. The hero of the story, Max, reminds us so much of our little one that there was no question that when it came time to planning his birthday party it just had to be a Where the Wild Things Are birthday party. Full of wild things with terrible roars and terrible teeth, good things to eat and mischief one of a kind, this Where the Wild Things Are birthday party will have you ready to let the wild rumpus start!
Our little wild things were greeted with a dining table decked out in Where the Wild Things Are inspired decor, a simple sweets table and a crowning station where each guest could crown themselves king of all the wild things! We set the table with a White Tablecloth, a wide runner made from Metallic Gold Gossamer and a thinner, boxwood runner on top of that. To make the boxwood runner, we simply cut 2 of the Faux Square Boxwood Mats in half. We love the color and texture this brought to the table and how it brought the forest/jungle feel from the book!
The Centerpiece:
We created our centerpiece by staining a DIY Wood Crate and then hot gluing some Green Moss and pieces of Frosted Greenery Stems in the shape of a hill. We cut the character shapes from the book and traced them onto Black Cardstock and glued them to the crate to mimic the parade Max had with all of the wild things. We then topped it with a Gold Foil Crown. We absolutely adore how it turned out and plan on using it for decor in our son's room following the party! We flanked the centerpiece with 2 DIY Unfinished Wood Picture Frames that displayed to illustrations from the book.The Place Settings:
We layered our place settings starting with a White Paper Dinner Plate that we detailed with one of our favorite quotes from the book, "I'll eat you up, I love you so." We topped that with a Birch Dessert Plate adorned with a black, character silhouette and topped it with a Clear Plastic Dessert Plate.
Clear Milk Bottles were decorated with an additional character silhouette, an Arrow Charm and a Black Striped Paper Straw, while Gold Plastic Cutlery sat on a Birch Beverage Napkin.
We painted the DIY Wood Sailboats red and yellow to mimic the boat Max sailed on through night and day to where the wild things are and added each guests' name to the sail so the boats served as place cards. These also made cute favors for the kids to take home!
The Crowning Station:
We wanted each wild thing to be able to crown him or herself king of all the wild things so we made a cute, little crowning station. Our DIY Wood Sign sat on a fur-trimmed bronze stool covered in a Bamboo Garland. Make sure to check out our DIY tutorial here!
A crate full of Gold Foil Crowns was ready for the picking as each child became wild thing royalty. The Dessert Table:
Our simple dessert table was covered in Bamboo and Ivy Garlands, two picture frames with colorful illustrations from the book and full of good things to eat including a miniature white cake on a Large Round Wood Centerpiece topped with a Gold Foil Crown.
Our ferociously cute Wild Thing Cupcakes were so simple to make and delicious! Check out the recipe here! Our DIY Party Banner was strung across the front of the table and added the perfect decorative detail. This banner was a cinch to make using a few pennants from the DIY Canvas Banner and some monogram stencils. Check out our full tutorial here!
The dessert table sat in front of a backdrop we made using Faux Square Boxwood Mats that were hung on the wall using Command® hooks. We then placed our Free Let the Wild Rumpus Start Printable in a Black Picture Frame Cutout and hot glued it to the Boxwood Mats. It served as the perfect backdrop for the party.
Download this free printable under the supply list on the right! Make sure to check out our DIY Wood Sign, DIY Party Banner and Wild Thing Cupcake Recipe for even more Where the Wild Things Are party inspiration!