Welcome to the world of Twin Exotic! This year’s birthday theme is inspired by Netflix’s Tiger King, the best show to come out of quarantine. Did you binge watch it, or was that just us? Originally, we didn’t think we would have a birthday celebration this year. Since the number of new coronavirus cases was declining in the Tri-State area, we became comfortable hosting a small, socially distant outdoor barbecue. We got the eye of the tiger and can’t wait to share our Tiger King Party with you.
Welcome To Twin Exotic
Tiger King created a community during the pandemic. When we were quarantined at home, this documentary series gave us more than we could ask- wild fashion, murder for hire, arson, an accidental shooting and a mysterious disappearance. We also got a lot of Carole Baskin Memes. For our birthday, we added a Twinspirational twist to the Tiger King Theme. We transformed our backyard into a private zoo, Twin Exotic. The decor combined Joe Exotic with chic animal prints. We placed a bamboo sign at the entrance with a white Tiger decal and green stickers.
Tiger King Inspired Tablescape
For the decorations, we took a walk on the wild side. Traditional zoo colors and wild animals inspired the party’s green, brown, gold, white and orange color palette. We created a balloon garland with colorful solid and animal print balloons. This was our first time working with balloons and the key is using a variety of color and size. We recommend an electric air pump, hand held pump and balloon tape.
We dressed the table with hunter green leaf petal taffeta tablecloths, leopard satin table runners and leopard satin napkins from CV Linens. CV Linens has an assortment of beautiful linens and you can use the code TWINS10 for a 10% discount off your purchase (excluding polyester chair covers).
Each place setting featured an ivory dinner plate, green salad plate and chic gold silverware. We used Must Have Menus to create custom Twin Exotic menus.
Our blood orange roses had the moves like jaguar. We placed two bouquets on our leopard satin table runner. The flowers added a nice pop of color to our tablescape.
The Watering Hole
To create our sleek watering hole, we layered a leopard satin table runner over a cobalt tablecloth. The bar was stocked with white wine, Rosé, sparkling and still water, which were chilled in an ice bucket. We placed a bouquet of fresh, blood orange roses on the bar and zebra patterned 39 balloons behind the bar.
We used our Balloon Time helium tank to fill these balloons. This helium tank saved us time from heading to a party store.
We used our Cricut Maker and Cricut Joy to create Twin Exotic water bottle labels and wine decals. The custom Tiger wine glasses and water bottles added a bit of whimsy to our chic tablescape.
The Dress Code
We asked guests to wear their favorite animal prints. Archana wore a tiger print, while Kanchana donned a leopard print. We also wore animal print masks. Some of our guests sported some Zebra stripes.
Our friends Wes and Val went all out and won best costumes. We loved their “Carole Did It” and “Joe Exotic for President” T-shirts.
The Tiger Cub
We had a Tiger cub make an appearance. Our friends, Taher and Ira brought little Sofia, who loved playing with the lion and giraffe. We used these Melissa and Doug toys for Dylan’s Safari 1st birthday party almost 8 years ago.
The Tiger King Party Menu
Wild (and cartoon) animals inspired our whimsical menu.
To comply with new social distancing norms, we served the appetizers in individual containers. We used our Cricut Explore Air 2 to make animal print popcorn boxes. The menu included Cheetah Cheetos, Tiger Popcorn Paws, Veggie Straw Tails and Zoo Chips. We also served animal crackers and gummy bears in mini cupcake liners.
Our mains featured Longhini Sausage Company. This New Haven, Connecticut based company, has been handcrafting Italian sausage since 1950. Their burgers and sausages are flavorful and we recommend them for your next barbecue.
We served:
- Buffalo chicken burgers with blue cheese
- Sweet Italian chicken sausage
- Sweet Italian sausage with parmesan and parsley
Archana made a variety of animal inspired sweet treats that would make Tony the Tiger proud. She made tiger berries with chocolate stripes, brownies with white chocolate stripes and banana cupcakes with buttercream. We also served Carole Baskin Ice Cream.
We toasted with One Hope’s California Celebration Brut Sparkling Wine during dessert. This dry, medium bodied wine had hints of citrus and paired perfectly with our desserts.
Tiger King Party Photobooth
Our tablescape doubled as a photobooth. We cleared the tablescape and set out the desserts. Our guests nibbled on desserts, while snapping shots with our custom props.
We used our Cricut Explore Air 2 to make a variety of Tiger King themed photo booth props. We placed the props inside a cheetah printed basket.
It isn’t a Twinspirational party without lots of photobooth pictures! Tiger King is about exotic personalities and lifestyles, so our guests had fun posing with our handmade props.
Since we are still in a pandemic, remember to host outdoors and keep the guest list small. Ask your guests to wear masks when they are indoors or when they are less than 6 feet apart from other guests. Keep hand sanitizer handy so that your guests can clean their paws.
Tiger King is one of the most talked about shows on TV in 2020. We loved elevating this theme for our birthday. Thanks Netflix for giving us a show with exotic personalities and lifestyles. The show kept us entertained during quarantine and is the gift that keeps on giving. Later this week we plan to host a Tiger King – Zoom edition on our actual birthday. Can’t wait to share that with you as well.
P.S. John Reinke heard about our party and sent us a special message.
I don’t watch news on television, unless there’s a cat involved.
Carole Baskin
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Definitely a unique idea for a party, glad to see no big cats there!
This is such a nice theme for a party! I’ll be sure to keep this in mind, thanks for sharing this with us!
Oh my goodness, this is HILARIOUS! I love the theme! I’m definitely stealing ideas for my dad’s 50th birthday party.
I love the theme, that is awesome!!! And the table set up is amazing, I would love to do that one day.
That looked like a great and fun party! I would so love to have one of my own! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you shared your experience with us..great work though..the decoration and all looks so lovely and beautiful…
This is all too cute! Looks like a fun party!
I actually never ended up watching Tiger King, but I have to say this is such a wonderful idea for a party. What a fun theme!
Tiger King seems like an amazing movie. I would love to watch it!!
Awww this is a cute tiger party ideas. It looks so much fun. Thanks for sharing.
OMG this is SO clever! And the theme is super cute the way you pulled it off.
Hope you enjoyed a lot!!!!
What a grand party. I’m sure it was a blast!
I am blown away by the party theme. I love all of the details and it was beautifully detailed I love it all!
What a fabulous party and idea! I love the placements, the decor and the joyful spirit that fills the place.