Safari Birthday Party Ideas

Get ready for an amazing safari birthday party adventure using the following party ideas. Pack your binoculars, safari hats, and cameras - let's go for a wild jungle ride!

Resources:

Invitations

You can make your own special safari birthday party passport invitations. Just prepare your invitation cards (you can cut out the cards from white card stock and fold them in half). On the front you can draw a picture frame with "Add Photo here" written inside the frame.

On the inside of your safari party passport invitations you can write: "This is your passport for (Your child's name) safari birthday party. We will be taking you on a safari trip around remote areas of Africa. Our expedition starts on (Date) at (Time). All explorers should bring their completed passports with picture. Adventurers may want to dress up in safari wear or any animal costume will do."

For a different invitation idea, you can draw a map of your neighborhood. Include several landmarks (like mall, park, etc.) but change the names of those landmarks to "Lion's Den", "Jungle Rainforest", etc. Next photocopy the map and print your safari birthday party details on the inside.

Decorations

Turn your house and yard into a jungle with balloons or streamers (or other jungle party decorations) in tropical colors (green, tan, yellow, etc.). Make your paper streamers look like vines by twisting and connecting green and yellow (or brown) streamers together.

Decorate your driveway with animal "paw print" trail (cut paw prints out of cardboard and tape to the ground) leading to your front door. You can also line your walkway with tiki torches (not lit). On the door you can hang a banner saying "Welcome to The Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa!"

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

*Jungle Animal Transformations: As safari birthday party guests arrive, transform them into little animals with face paint. If the kids are old enough, they can decorate themselves in front of a mirror. In that case, provide pictures of various animals for the inspiration.

*Safari Masks Decoration Activity: Children love becoming animals and this activity will be an amazing experience for them. You can get Safari Mask Craft Kit from a party store. Have the kids design their own masks that they can wear at the safari birthday party.

*Jungle Mural: For this safari birthday party activity you'll need butcher paper, crayons, markers, paints, etc. Give each kid a piece of butcher paper. Spread out pictures of wild animals for ideas. Get the children to design their own jungle murals. Tape the murals on the wall when they are ready.

Favors

For your safari birthday party favors you can give away these items: plastic animals, toy safari helmets and binoculars, animal sticker sheet, jungle animal bean bags, etc.

Safari Birthday Party Games

*What animal am I?: Here is a great jungle party idea to get your games started.

Attach animal stickers or pictures to children's back (without them seeing the picture). Get the kids to guess which animal is on their back by asking everyone else questions that can be answered "yes" or "no". The pictures can include such animals as zebra, giraffe, alligator, lion, monkey, elephant, tiger, etc.

*Jumping Giraffes: You'll need an apple with a stem for each child to play this game.

Attach a string to the stem of the apple and hang it from a tree or a furniture fixture. Get the kids to bite on and eat their apples like giraffes. (The apples should hang low enough for children to bite on them.)

*Jungle Charades: Before the safari birthday party, put stickers or pictures of wild animals on index cards.

At party time, children, one by one, get a turn to pick a card. They must look at the pictures and act out their creatures (no words are allowed, but animal noises are encouraged). The other kids must guess the animal, then jump up and act out the animal together.

*The Great Peanut Hunt: Before the party, hide peanuts throughout your house or yard. At the party, get the kids to transform into elephants and have them find their meal. Give each child a sand pail or a sack and reward all the "elephants" with a prize.

*Best Monkey Contest: Get the kids make noises and behave like monkey do. Enlist other adults to judge the competition. Award prizes for the funniest, loudest, silliest, most real, squeakiest noise - so everyone gets a prize.

*Catch the Lion by the Tail: This is a variation of classic "Duck, Duck, Goose" game. Have the kids sit in a circle on the floor. One player (the Lion) has a "tail" (a yellow piece of fabric with a knot on one end) tuck to his waistband.

The Lion goes around the circle tagging each player lightly on the back while saying "Lion". The Lion should tag someone randomly and shout "Hyena!" The Lion must then run around the circle and try to take Hyena's spot before being caught. If Hyena snatches Lion's tail, then Hyena becomes the Lion, and if not the Lion continues ruling the jungle.

Play this game several rounds so everyone can have a chance to be the Lion and/or the Hyena.

*Slithering Snakes: You safari birthday party guests will love making their own snakes to wear around their necks. Ask the kids to bring their own neckties or purchase them from a thrift store.

Help the kids with cutting the threads apart at the wide end of the tie. Stuff each tie with polyester fiberfill, pushing it all the way to the narrow end. Next, sew the end up or glue it shut with hot glue gun. Have the kids decorate their "snakes" with felt, glitter, sequins, pompoms, etc.

*Hungry Lions: Here is a great outdoor game for your safari party. Pick one or two players to be lions. All the other kids are antelopes.

The game starts by one of the adults shouting "Feeding Time!" The hungry lions must chase and try to catch the antelopes. Those who are caught must stand still and straddle their legs. To be freed, one of the other antelopes must crawl between their legs.

You can continue playing the game until everyone has been caught or the kids are too tired to play.

*Jungle Parade: Before the party, tape a "paw print" trail (poster board cutouts) on the floor around the house.

At the safari birthday party, have the kids line up behind birthday child (wearing their masks and face paint and/or having their stuffed animals). Get them to march around the house following the paw prints. You can play some jungle sounds music (or Jungle Book Soundtrack) to accompany the little "animals". This is a great opportunity to take lots of pictures!

Jungle Birthday Cakes:

*Tiger Cake: Bake one 9" round cake and two cupcakes. Arrange cupcakes and cake on a platter so the round cake is the "face" and cupcakes - the "ears" of a tiger. Frost all cakes with orange frosting.

Have a tube of chocolate decorator's icing. Zigzag the icing on the "tiger's face" for stripes. Decorate the "face": 2 green hard candies for eyes, assorted chocolate and jelly beans for nose and mouth, and black licorice for the whiskers.

Safari Birthday Party Food Ideas:

*Lion Pizza
*Zebra Lasagna
*Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwiches
*Ostrich Eggs (scrambled eggs)
*Pigs in Blankets (hotdogs)

*Jungle on a Log: Cut celery in about 5" lengths and fill with almond butter. Put some raisins (ants) on top. Kids can stick animal crackers in almond butter (so crackers stand up).

*Monkey Banana Splits: Have children make their own banana splits (or help them out if they are too young). Place 1 banana for each child on a plate. Next, put containers of several ice cream flavors on the table - so the kids can pick and choose. Have whipped cream, sprinkles/jimmies, cherries, various sauces (butterscotch, marshmallow, chocolate, etc.)

*Unshelled Peanuts
*Gummy Worms
*Animal Crackers

Safari Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

*Frosty Root Bear Floats: Fill your jungle party cups half full with root bear. Add 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream. Carefully add more root bear and serve.

*Zany Zebra Shakes: Combine the following ingredients in blender - 6 cups milk, 12 Oreo� cookies (crushed beforehand) and 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. (You may want to split the ingredients in half so it won't overflow). Blend until smooth.

*Jungle Juice (fruit punch)