safari birthday snacks

33 Best Finger Foods Safari Party Food Ideas To Try

Are you gearing up for a party that’s both wild and whimsical? Look no further!

Our guide to finger foods safari party food ideas is your first step into a jungle of flavors and fun!

But what exactly are finger foods?

Well, they are bite-sized culinary delights that require no utensils and can be enjoyed with just your fingers.

These delectable treats range from mini sandwiches and skewers to dips and sweet delights that are conveniently portable and perfect for mingling at social gatherings.

The best part is that they allow us to savor a variety of flavors in one go, making them an ideal choice for any party.

33 Best Ideas for Finger Foods Safari Party Food Ideas

Whether you’re planning a kid’s birthday bash or a unique get-together for adults, these safari-themed finger foods are not just a feast for the taste buds but also a visual spectacle!

1. Safari Pop Sticks

2. Elephant Ears

3. Sweet Hippos

4. Chocolate Pineapple

5. Safari Popsicles

6. Crocodile Eyeballs

7. Lion Bites

8. Turtle Sandwiches

9. Lion Cupcakes

10. Monkey Cupcakes

11. Bananas

12. Safari Donuts

13. Safari Finger Food

14. Sweet Treats

15. Safari Mini Burgers

16. Animal Cupcakes

17. Safari Party Nibles

18. Safari Animal Tails

19. Fresh Gorilla Snacks

20. Hippo Dip

21. Smake Sandwich

22. Mud Bath

23. Safari Animal Crackers

24. Wild Sweets

25. Zebra Bites

26. Safari Animal Macarons

27. Safari Macarons

28. Giraffe Biscuits

29. Giraffe Spots

30. Safari Fries

31. Juicy Skewers

32. Shrimp Cucumber Bites

33. Pineapple Shrimp Skewers

Savory Finger Food Ideas

Miniature “wild” sliders.

Ah, the mighty slider. The perfect bite-sized sandwich that packs a punch of flavor!

But why settle for traditional sliders when you can take your guests on a wild taste adventure with miniature “wild” sliders?

Instead of the usual beef patty, experiment with exotic meats like kangaroo or bison.

These lean and flavorful alternatives will surely impress your adventurous eaters.

To enhance the experience, offer a variety of toppings such as caramelized onions for a touch of sweetness or spicy aioli to add a kick of heat.

These little wonders will transport your taste buds straight into the heart of the safari.

Animal-Inspired Skewers

When it comes to finger foods safari party food ideas, skewers are not only delicious but also visually appealing, especially when they are inspired by animals from the wild.

Picture this: Grilled chicken and pineapple skewers transformed into vibrant “Tropical Toucans.”

The combination of tender chicken and juicy pineapple chunks creates a burst of tropical flavors that will make your guests feel like they’re lounging under palm trees in the heart of an exotic jungle.

For those who crave something with a bit more bite, consider bacon-wrapped shrimp skewers as “Sneaky Snakes.”

The smoky flavors from the bacon perfectly complement the succulent shrimp to create an irresistible savory treat that slithers its way onto everyone’s plate.

Jungle-Inspired Dips and Spreads

No finger food spread is complete without some delectable dips and spreads to tantalize taste buds and add zest to every bite.

Get creative with your choices by offering themed options such as “Safari Swamp Guacamole,” which features creamy avocado dip with hints of lime and cilantro.

It’s like taking an adventurous dip into murky green swamps filled with hidden treasures of flavor.

For those who prefer a spicier adventure, prepare “Savanna Sand Dunes,” a spicy hummus made with fragrant spices like cumin and paprika.

Pair it with crispy pita chips for an authentic safari experience that transports your guests to the vast plains of the savanna.

These dips and spreads are the perfect accompaniment to your savory finger foods safari party food ideas, elevating them to new heights of deliciousness.

Sweet Finger Food Ideas

Jungle-inspired fruit kabobs.

Imagine the burst of tropical flavors as you sink your teeth into a juicy, refreshing fruit kabob.

These “Tropical Treats” are bound to transport you straight to the heart of the safari jungle.

For a delightful combination of finger foods safari party food ideas, thread bite-sized pieces of kiwi, pineapple chunks, and sweet mango onto skewers.

The vibrant colors will mimic the lushness of the rainforest, while the tangy sweetness will keep your taste buds yearning for more.

To take it up a notch, offer dipping options like velvety chocolate or luscious honey yogurt.

The creamy accompaniment adds an extra layer of indulgence and turns these kabobs into irresistible delights.

Animal-Shaped Cookies

When it comes to finger foods safari party food ideas , let your imagination run wild and bring safari animals to life with these adorable Lion and Zebra-shaped sugar cookies!

Baking these intricately designed treats is not only fun but also adds an element of whimsy to your finger food spread.

Using animal-shaped cookie cutters, create cute lion faces or zebra stripes before placing them in the oven.

Once baked to golden perfection, let your artistic side shine by decorating them with vibrant icing colors that mimic the patterns found in nature.

These playful cookies will elevate your safari-themed party and have guests marveling at their cuteness before devouring them.

Exotic Mini Desserts

When it comes to finger foods safari party food ideas, indulge your guests’ taste buds with some exotic mini desserts that will transport them from their everyday lives to an Asian-inspired oasis within the safari setting.

Offer delectable mango sticky rice bites that infuse chewy glutinous rice with fragrant coconut cream and ripe mango slices for a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that practically scream tropical delight at every bite.

Alternatively, tantalize their palates with coconut macaroons delicately infused with a hint of lime zest, offering a refreshing twist on this classic treat.

The subtle tanginess perfectly complements the sweet coconut, taking these bite-sized morsels to new heights of culinary bliss.

These exotic mini desserts will leave your guests yearning for more and make your safari party an unforgettable experience.

Let us remember that food has the power to bring people together, ignite conversations, and create lasting memories.

So whether you’re hosting a birthday celebration or a casual get-together with friends, consider embracing the adventure of finger foods safari party ideas.

As we bid adieu to this article, let’s take inspiration from our journey through savory and sweet delights.

Cherish the joyous moments shared around delectable finger foods amidst laughter and good company.

Remember that life’s celebrations deserve nothing less than a flavorful extravaganza that sets hearts racing and taste buds dancing in delight!

So go forth with confidence, armed with knowledge about these remarkable finger food ideas for your next safari-themed gathering – a feast that will leave your guests roaring for more!

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Planning the perfect party doesn’t have to be exhausting! Choosing a theme is half the battle but once you find inspiration for your theme you’ll find your idea will quickly come together. Safari themed birthdays are a great way to get your child’s and their guest imagination moving.

You can make a big impact in a space with decorations that make your guest feel like they just stepped into a jungle. Many kids love animals which makes this such a fun party theme, not to mention it is extremely gender neutral. We have composed 20 ideas and recipes so that you can plan the perfect safari themed party. So grab your binoculars, put on your safari vest and let’s go on this adventure together.

1. DIY Balloon Centerpiece

These balloon centerpieces were initially designed for a pineapple themed party but their tropical themed arrangement would work perfectly for a safari theme too. This step by step tutorial is super easy you’ll have a big impact arrangement in no time at all.

Balloon centerpieces are a great way to fill up space while keeping it interesting and entertaining for the kids. If you don’t have a table big enough to host the arrangement you could consider attaching it to your wall for decor.

https://www.blog.birdsparty.com/2016/07/diy-balloon-fronds-tropical-party-table-centerpiece-garland.html PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: BIRDS PARTY

2. Sand Slime

It seems like slime is the latest craze with the kids these days. Glitter slime, neon slime, you name it and there is probably a slime variation of it. The texture alone is probably the most fun part of slime, you can stretch it, pull it, twist it and form it into anything you want.

Why not impress all the kids at your party with sand slime. You could consider making this sand slime to use as an activity in a sensory box depending on the age group or you could make this slime to send home as part of thank you gift to your guests.

https://frugalfun4boys.com/2015/04/07/how-to-make-sand-slime/ PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: FRUGAL FUN FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

3. DIY Binocular Favors

These do it yourself binocular favors will definitely get all the kids excited at your safari themed party. They’re easy to make and require minimal tools and resources. They’re super simple that you can have the whole family jump in on the craft making.

Fill these binoculars with treats and trinkets to send home with your guests. If you already have party favor plans you could consider making these binoculars for the kids to wear while at the party or make a fun eye spy game out them too.

https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/diy-jumanji-movie-night/ PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: HAND MADE CHARLOTTE

4. DIY Treasure Stones

These treasure stones are a fun and easy do it yourself project that you can do for your safari themed party. They’re super adaptable for many different themed parties because you could call them dinosaur eggs, stones or cannon balls. These treasure stones are made out of coffee grinds, flour, sand, and water. It has a playdough-like texture that can harden.

Place a secret treasure in the middle and let the kids go on a safari hunt to find the treasure stones in your yard. You could even have them use the binoculars you made in the previous tutorial to scout for their treasures. The rocks are hard enough to keep the trinket inside but are easy enough for younger kids to break open.

http://www.makelifelovely.com/2014/01/how-to-make-diy-treasure-stones.html PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: MAKE LIFE LOVELY

5. Animal Figure Decor

This blog shows you how you can take an animal themed party and modernize it. You can find animal figurines at many places like Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and even many dollar stores. Consider using them as decor for an inexpensive way to decorate your space.

You could use the animal figurines as cake toppers to fill up space as well as dress up a simple cake. You can even use them as centerpieces on your table. If you place them on candle holders you can create dimension within your centerpiece.

http://www.hellotinylove.com/emerys-2nd-birthday-party/ PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: HELLO TINY LOVE

6. Rainforest In A Jar

This rainforest in a jar is a very fun project that you could use for decorations at your safari themed party. However, if you have older kids you could consider making this a fun craft for everyone to do at the party.

It will keep the kids busy and they’ll have something fun they can take home with them. You can get a lot of the materials at your local dollar store or craft store at an inexpensive price. Make sure to purchase a variety of safari animals and let their imaginations run wild.

http://thecraftingchicks.com/rainforest-in-a-jar-kid-craft/ PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: THE CRAFTING CHICKS

7. Foil Balloon Backdrop

Foil balloons seem to be all the rage as of late. For good reason because, hello, they’re super fun! Foil balloons come in all sizes, colors, letters, and numbers. A phrase like “wild one” is very fitting for a safari themed party.

You could consider complimenting the foil balloon arrangement with a statement wall piece like this backdrop. It is made from brown paper twisted to look like vines. Add some leaf cutouts and you’ll have a jungle wall in no time.

http://www.carefreeblondeblog.com/2016/08/diy-wild-one-birthday-party.html#.Wumw79PwZTZ PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: CAREFREE BLONDE

8. DIY Animal Cupcake Toppers

Following animal figurine decorations, try using them for cupcake toppers too. This tutorial walks you through how to spray paint the figurines right up to how to make their adorable little party hats.

Spray painting animals is an awesome way to modernize a juvenile theme while still making it fun for the kids. This is always an easy way to make party favors for your guests too. Let them eat their delicious cupcake and then take their cupcake topper home too.

https://projectnursery.com/2015/08/diy-animal-cupcake-toppers/#_a5y_p=4216698 PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: PROJECT NURSERY

9. Safari Themed Snacks

Party food doesn’t have to be difficult and tiresome and let’s face it the decorations alone can take all our time and energy. Instead of making fancy foods to serve at your party you could consider using accessible packaged foods you can buy at the grocery store and labelling it with animal themes.

Cheezies can be used cheetah food, spinach dip for hippos, and if you don’t need to keep your party nut-free you could serve peanuts for elephants. Use labels to print your phrases onto and then you’ll have this animal food ready in a hurry!

http://www.roxyskitchen.com/safari-jungle-themed-first-birthday-party-part-ii-appetizers-finger-foods-snack-ideas.html PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: ROXYS KITCHEN

10. Chocolate Bear Paws

Bear paws are easy snacks that can be suitable for kids of all ages, and the adults will love these too. They are soft and chocolatey and will be snatched up quickly.

The claws are made out of almond slivers which makes the whole dessert edible and fun. Your animal lovers will love these tasty treats.

https://family.disney.com/recipe/chocolate-bear-paws/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: DISNEY FAMILY

11. Paper Plate Hippopotamus

Involving your guests in interactive crafts that can keep the kids busy at your party is always a good idea. These fun hippo themed paper plates are very cute and will keep them entertained.

Depending on the duration of your party you can have them make this craft from painting all the way to gluing. If you’re crunched for time with you could consider doing all the painting work pre-party and just have the kids assemble their hippo instead.

https://iheartcraftythings.com/paper-plate-hippopotamus.html PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: I HEART CRAFTY THINGS

12. Oreo Dirt Cups

Dirt cups may have been around for a while but they definitely make a great animal themed food. It is an easy way to make a delicious dessert that stays in line with your theme all the while pleasing all your little guests too.

It has chocolatey layers of creamy pudding and oreo crumbs and then buried gummies worms within. Their imaginations will be booming with this dessert.

http://shariblogs.com/oreo-dirt-cups/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: SHARI BLOGS

13. Paper Plate Snake

Instead of tossing your bubble wrap in the trash the next time you get an online order make sure to save it for this fun craft. This is another easy craft that all your little party guests can partake.

Using a rolling pin and bubble wrap you can achieve a textured painted snake very quickly. If you don’t have a rolling pin you could even use a slender cup so each child can paint their own. Once the plates are dry simply cut the snake in a swirl shape, glue on eyes and tongue and voila, it’s done!

https://www.craftymorning.com/paper-plate-snake-craft-using-rolling-pin/ PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: CRAFTY MORNING

14. Safari Tour

Interactive activities are a great way to keep your guests busy as well as keep them moving around. Afterall, a lot of kids love to run around a play. How else are they going to burn off all that sugar? This print out was originally designed for a preschool classroom but it can make a great party activity too.

If you’re having an outdoor party you could place stuffed animals around the yard, if you don’t have enough or all the animals called for on the sheet you could simply print off a picture of the animals instead. Have the kids go on a scavenger hunt and check off once they find all the animals. You could even make it a contest and have there be a prize for the guest who finds all the animals first! If you’re having the party indoors you can do the same just hide the animals throughout your house instead.

https://playtolearnpreschool.us/classroom-safari/ PHOTOS AND PRINTOUT HERE: PLAY TO LEARN PRESCHOOL

15. Safari Passport Invitations

Once you have decided on your theme the next step is to usually get the invitations ready to send out. Having the invitations themed to match the party is a great way to let your guest know what to expect as well keeps things creative and fun.

These safari passport invitations are a great idea and very customizable. This tutorial walks you through how you can make your own. The original design includes a photo of the birthday child but you could always leave the photo blank so your guests can draw a picture of themselves and bring their passport to the party.

http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.ca/2011/04/28-candles-blog-hop.html PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: PRETTY PAPER PRETTY RIBBONS

16. Adopt A Pet Party Favor

Party favors are a great way to give a thank you to your guests for coming to your party. After the kids have enjoyed their safari themed party you could set up a pet adoption center. Fill the pet station with safari stuffed animals and let each kid pick their own.

If you’re worried about disagreements of who get’s what animal you could always assign the adoptions yourself. Your guests will remember this fun safari themed party for a long time.

http://blog.wantsandwishesdesign.com/2016/12/pet-adoption-birthday-party.html PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: WANTS AND WISHES

17. Animal Cracker Funfetti Cake Batter Dip

Animal crackers are one of the easiest ways to get animal themed food at your party. This delicious snack resembles a kid-favorite snack, Dunkaroos.

This recipe only requires 4 ingredients and only takes 10 minutes to make. Serve this dip with delicious animal crackers and your guest will be dipping into this savory snack the whole time.

http://www.farmwifecooks.com/animal-cracker-dip/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes# PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: FARM WIFE COOKS

18. Lion Hummus

If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat healthy foods then you’ll definitely want to serve this platter at your safari party. Make healthy food fun by creating animal shapes.

Kids have big imaginations and if you can make healthy food look well, not healthy and more fun then they’re bound to eat it. This recipe is super easy because it uses store-bought hummus. The hardest job you’ll have with this recipe is cutting all the vegetables.

https://eatingrichly.com/lion-vegetable-tray/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: EATING RICHLY

19. Quick And Easy Fringe Garland

Another great way to decorate your safari themed party would be to make your own leaf garland. You can transform your space into a jungle with this easy do it yourself project.

Making fringe garland is an easy alternative to cutting out individual leaves. You get the same colors and effect but it is a whole lot easier and stays within your theme. As an added bonus this garland is super inexpensive and creates a big impact in a room.

https://jennybatt.com/blog/quick-and-easy-tunnel-fringe-garland PHOTOS AND TUTORIAL HERE: JENNY BATT

20. Safari Party Decor

If you’re looking for a safari themed party that can cover ideas from head to toe then this is it. This post has inspirations from the food table to a lush photo backdrop and everything in between.

This post also offers free printables like the adorable animal footprints that you can place all over your floors. You can even turn an ordinary fruit drink into an “explorer energy drink” that your guests will love.

https://www.americangreetings.com/inspiration/celebration/jungle-birthday-party-theme?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=seer-birthday-2018&utm_term=keyword&utm_content=device&pp=0 PHOTOS AND IDEAS HERE: AMERICAN GREETINGS

Clarissa loves experimenting with food of all cultures to make unique healthy dishes. When she’s not browsing Pinterest for new recipe inspiration she likes to pick up a DIY project and use her creative hands to make art or crafts. In her down time you can find her watching the latest documentaries on Netflix or going for nature walks.

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Frugal Coupon Living

Stretching Your Pennies, Saving Your Dollars

18 Jungle Party Ideas for the Best Safari Party Ever

May 31, 2022 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Birthday , Crafts , Facebook , Home Improvement , Instagram , Party , Pinterest , Social Media Leave a Comment published date: March 29, 2022 modified datt: May 31,2022

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It’s a jungle out there! Don’t get lost in the overgrown vines preparing for this special occasion. Enjoy these easy jungle party ideas and safari themed birthday party inspiration. Overlap the two for the best birthday party for your child. Get the wild party started.

So, you’re planning a party for your little monkey, and you’ve decided on a jungle or safari theme. Great idea! This is a popular theme for many reasons—it’s super cute, easy to pull off yourself, and can be pretty affordable if you do most of the décor and food yourself.

In this post, we’ll share lots of ideas that will help make your child’s birthday party a roaring success. From animal-inspired decorations to fun games and activities, we have everything you need to plan the perfect jungle-themed celebration. So get ready to unleash your inner adventurer and let the festivities begin!

Jungle Party Cake Ideas

Whether you’re throwing a cute party for your baby or toddler or a more sophisticated bash, these leaf printables jungle cupcake toppers will fit right in. They’re stylish without being over-the-top “cute” and can take cupcakes from “meh” to “amazing” in minutes with cute palm leaves and tigers. | Oh Happy Day

This colorful jungle-themed birthday cake will dazzle on any dessert table. Adorable safari animals and trees surround the bottom layer of the cake, while animal tracks adorn the top layer, along with the child’s age. You’ll find loads more ideas here, like the animal cookie sandwiches, banana pudding for monkeys, and some charming cupcakes with fondant animal toppers. |  Roxy’s Kitchen

Want to DIY a cake yourself? It’s super easy to do. Make a basic two-tiered chocolate cake, and add some jungle animal figurines to the top. With jungle animal toys (or safari animals), it’s pretty simple, but it still looks professional and polished. | Kara’s Party Ideas

Safari Birthday Party Food

You’ll find so many cute jungle party foods here, from the snake sandwich, to the lion hummus, to the adorable cupcakes. Even the zebra bites and tiger tales are magazine worthy (and drool worthy). All of the ideas are simple to execute. Don’t make the ideas complicated with a  jungle recipe, run to subway and let the sandwich artist do this meat, cheese and bread laying. You just add the pretty decor. | Chelsea’s Messy Apron

How amazing are these zebra chocolate covered strawberries? While they look difficult to make, they’re actually quite easy by dipping the strawberries in white chocolate first and then dipping the tip in milk chocolate while drizzling some up the “nose” using a spoon to create stripes. |  Arts Crackers

Offer a healthy option that’s still cute and fun, like these jungle fruit and veggie trees. Carrot sticks and celery make excellent tree trunks, while apple or pear slices are the perfect leaves. |  Honey and Lime

Here’s another healthy snack that’s sure to make the kids smile—tiger cub cuties. Draw the faces on with a Sharpie or a food-safe marker if you have concerns about the permanent marker. |  Pen Lights to Pacifiers

Set up a jungle display on your buffet party table by weaving faux greenery throughout the dishes on your table. Include a mix of meats, veggies, and kid-friendly fare like pinwheels and sandwiches. | Catch My Party

Jungle Party Décor Ideas

With some cute safari animals (think giraffes, elephants, zebras, and tigers) and a few inexpensive jungle party supplies from Dollar Tree, you can make fabulous centerpieces for your jungle-themed party for just a few bucks each. These low-cost party decorations make cute party favors too. | Drugstore Divas

Put these animal party cups together to hold snacks like popcorn, candy, or individual cups of veggies and dip. You’ll need craft paper, glue, and scissors to transform your cups into monkeys, giraffes, or parrots themed treats. | Makes and Takes

Every detail of this neutral safari party is gorgeous. From the wooden crafts for displaying the cupcakes and cake, to the pretty favor boxes filled with animal crackers, the tan and brown colors all tie together nicely. I especially love the DIY rosettes in the background of the dessert table. |  A Pumpkin and a Princess

Make an eye-catching balloon arch using animal print balloons along with colors that tie into the overall color scheme for the party. This pop of color will be perfect for taking photos with family and friends. |  Kara’s Party Ideas

Cut animal silhouettes out of cardboard or foam board, paint them, and set them up in various places at your venue. They’ll look fantastic anywhere, from sitting in tall blades of grass, near a tree, or hanging on a wall if you’re partying indoors. This website also has free jungle party printables. | Windmill and Protea

Safari Party Activities for Kids

Set up a crafting area for the children to make a colorful paper plate lion. The design is simple enough for even young kids to do, but all ages will enjoy it. If you want to avoid a mess with paint, use yellow paper plates and red, brown, and orange paper strips instead. |  Taming Little Monsters

For a simple, mess-free craft, try these cardboard tube monkeys. Cut the ears and face out of cardstock or construction paper, and add a pipe cleaner tail. How simple is that? |  Jinxy Kids

Put on your safari hat. Provide a photo op for kids and parents alike using this Jeep idea! You’ll need a cardboard Jeep cutout and some willing adventurers to smile for the camera. | Arts Crackers

Jungle Birthday Party Favors

Don’t get lost with the chaos of animals and growing vines. Be prepared for your next Safari or Jungle Themed Birthday Party with these 12 Fun Jungle Themed Party Games printable . Learn more about the animal party games and different activities to incorporate into your event! | Frugal Coupon Living

Provide these felt jungle masks for your partygoers to put on as soon as they arrive. It’ll be a fun way to get everyone on board with the theme and will serve as a cute favor keepsake from the party. Your stitching doesn’t have to be flawless for these masks, but if you want to skip the sewing altogether, use a sturdy fabric glue instead. |  Tonya Staab

These DIY giraffe party hats are another fun wearable item for your guests. The printable is free, and you can jazz up the assembled hats with yarn pom-pom toppers. |  Moms and Crafters

You can’t embark on a safari without a trusty pair of binoculars to help you see the animals up close and personal! These DIY toilet paper roll binoculars are a blast for kids to make themselves as a party craft. However, you can make them beforehand and let guests grab a pair during the party or as they leave. The printable binocular cover is a cute touch. |  Go Places with Kids

Make up bags of monkey chow (a.k.a. banana chips) to give to your guests. They’re a yummy sweet treat that kids will love without sending them home with candy. |  Michelle’s Party Plan-It

So, there you have it – 18+ jungle party ideas that are sure to make your birthday one for the record books. We hope you found this post helpful and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you do with your jungle party theme. Be sure to pin this post so you can come back to it when it’s party time.

We loved a good themed party. Take a look look a more fun birthday party ideas for boys and girls.

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You can keep parties small or even celebrate small celebrations every six months. Take a look at these…

• Family Birthday Celebrations
• Half Birthday Ideas
• Surprise Birthday Party Ideas
• Birthday Party Games for Kids

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Wild Adventures Await: The Ultimate Safari Birthday Party Guide

• February 17, 2024

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Table of Contents Hide

Invitations: call of the wild, dress up: explorers’ gear, decor: into the jungle, activities: safari quests and discoveries, food & drink: jungle refreshments, safari birthday cake and cupcakes: a sweet treat, party favors: expedition keepsakes, a roaring goodbye, up next: soccer birthday party ideas.

Embark on a journey into the wild with a Safari birthday party , perfect for the little explorer in your life. This party theme offers a unique blend of adventure and education, allowing kids to discover the wonders of wildlife and nature.

In this Safari birthday party guide, we’ll take a walk on the wild side and show you how to organize an unforgettable safari expedition right in your backyard or living room!

Begin with invitations that evoke the excitement of a safari adventure. Use earth tones and animal prints, and include imagery of exotic animals and jungle foliage. Phrases like “Join Us for a Wild Time at [Child’s Name]’s Safari Birthday Expedition” set the tone for an adventurous day.

Invite guests to come dressed as explorers, or provide safari vests, hats, and binoculars to get everyone in character for the adventure ahead.

Transform your space into a lush jungle or savannah:

• Safari Base Camp : Set up a tent or create a canopy with green streamers to serve as the party’s base camp.
• Animal Prints and Greenery : Use tablecloths and balloons in zebra, leopard, and giraffe prints. Accent with lots of green plants or paper leaves to mimic the dense foliage of the jungle.
• DIY Jeep Photo Booth : Create a cardboard jeep for a fun photo op, complete with safari hats and binoculars as props.

Keep your little explorers engaged with safari-themed activities:

• Animal Scavenger Hunt : Hide animal figurines around the party area for kids to find using clues or a map.
• Safari Obstacle Course : Set up an obstacle course that simulates a jungle adventure, complete with vine swings (rope swings), quicksand (a pool of balls), and a river crossing.
• Wildlife Education : Invite a wildlife educator or use educational videos to teach kids about different animals they might encounter on a safari.

Serve up treats that are both delicious and in theme:

• Animal Sandwiches : Use animal-shaped cookie cutters for sandwiches, cookies, or fruit slices.
• Jungle Juice : Green punch or smoothies served in safari-themed cups or with animal straw toppers.
• Safari Snack Mix : A mix of dried fruits, nuts, and animal crackers to fuel the little explorers.

Create a centerpiece dessert that’s as wild as the party theme :

• Safari Animal Cake : Decorate a cake with fondant animals, edible grass, and a waterhole for a stunning safari scene.
• Jungle Cupcakes : Top cupcakes with animal print icing or small toy animals. Use green frosting to mimic grass or leaves.

Thank your little guests for joining the safari with themed party favors:

• Explorer Kits : Small bags containing a magnifying glass, a mini flashlight, and an animal fact book.
• Safari Survival Packs : Goodie bags with animal stickers, safari-themed pencils, and a compass.

Conclude the party with a group “animal call” contest or a storytelling session about a great safari adventure, allowing kids to use their imaginations to recount their own wild tales from the day.

A Safari birthday party is an extraordinary way to celebrate, filled with exploration, learning, and fun. This guide ensures that your little adventurer and their friends will have a roaring good time, creating memories that are as lasting as the wild itself. Here’s to a birthday celebration that’s truly an adventure of a lifetime!

For more birthday party theme ideas, decorations, party favors, and more, be sure to follow Modern Mommsie on Pinterest .

Plan the perfect Soccer Themed Birthday Party by following our step-by-step guide.

Post written by: Modern Mommsie

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Mermaid Birthday Party: Making a Splash

Niece Birthday Wishes: Sweet, Funny, and Heartfelt

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Luke’s Safari Party Food Ideas

Looking for some Safari Party food ideas? Arlene sent me these photos from her son Luke’s 2nd Safari Party a while ago. Arlene used my Safari Party Printables to help decorate the party venue.

Arlene had some clever {and simple} Safari Party food ideas for animal inspired food.  You can find the folding printable Food Labels she used in my Safari Party Printables  🙂

No jungle safari is complete without a sighting of the ‘Big 5’!

Thanks for sharing your fabulous Safari Party food ideas Arlene!

My  Safari Party Printables  can be personalized & customized by you, printed from your home computer, & used over & over again!

Purchase them from the shop for $12.50 HERE .

Happy partying!

Jungle Safari Birthday Party Ideas

By Author Paula Biggs

Posted on Last updated: June 21, 2022

My young friend Sidney was born a conservationist. I’ve never met another person so enamored with or concerned for animals. She even had her wildly talented mother turn her room into a treetop hut overlooking the Costa Rican jungles–with all the correct trees and animals painted on the walls.When her birthday rolled around this year, she wanted to celebrate with a safari birthday party theme.

I was grateful I was given leave by young Sidney to mix up my animals from different continents. 🙂

Remember when I told you Sidney’s mom was wildly talented? I mean ridiculously artistic. I showed up with the ideas and a menu, and her mom put an amazing amount of polish on them. You’ll see what I mean!

Sidney’s mom, Susan, painted this sign for the front door on a piece of cardboard, then aged it. We’ll give styling points to Sidney for the palm fronds across the entrance!

Jungle Safari Tablescape

My part was to come up with a table for the party guests to eat at and a dessert table. Just like last year’s Left Shark party , everything had to be done low cost and EASY. We made almost everything from paper, so check, and semi-check!

Sidney helped decorate outside as well. Members of her very large collection of stuffed animals were strategically placed around the party. This lemur ( buy here ) kept the tablescape company.

I really lucked out with the table settings! The centerpieces were from the watercolor fishing baby shower and recycled to fit our jungle/safari party theme. I put a few fiber optic butterflies ( buy here ) in the thickets to delight the girls.

The placemats and plates were a clearance find at Hobby Lobby, and matched everything wonderfully well! I found paper printed to look like burlap in the dollar bins at Target over the summer and used that for a table runner. If you can’t find a roll of paper for your runner, you can buy a real burlap runner similar to it here.

Seriously, my favorite part was the animals in party hats. My helper made these, and I love the detail! She even cut mini-festooning for the edges after starting with a few plastic safari animals ( buy here ).

Each place setting also sported a pair of binoculars that were also a party favor ( buy here .) Sadly, I didn’t catch a picture of the safari helmets ( buy here ) the girls got as well–but they had a great time with them! Everyone decorated their helmets at the beginning of their party with a little glam.

Other Safari Party Decor

Back to my amazing friend Susan! She made this really fantastic guidepost for the party. Again, she used cardboard to make each individual sign. After painting them, she burned the edges to age the signs, nearly giving Sidney a heart attack that the art was going to be ruined in the process. (Ha!)

My helper that made the animals with party hats also designed some templates for a few tissue paper pom parrots. The parrot is sitting on vines made from twisted brown craft paper and freehand cut leaves. C LICK HERE TO LEARN TO MAKE THIS DIY TISSUE PAPER PARROT.

Safari Birthday Party Food

We laid out a few snacks for the girls while they were running around and swimming (this was a pool party), and made a few in-theme containers for them to go in. Accompanied, of course, by animals in party hats!

The cheetah was my favorite!

Pretzel rods dipped in candy melt and drizzled with chocolate made great “Tiger Tails.”

Nothing could be easier than these Zebra Cake Pops! Buy the Little Debbie snack cakes ( like these) , and put them on sticks made for holding cookies ( but here ) and pop them in a vase. Done!

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from the party…

Safari Birthday Party Activities

Sock puppet animals. Since this was a pool party, we didn’t have to plan much, but we worked in a craft for the girls to do while we waited for all the guests to arrive. We put out socks and a wide variety of ribbons, pipe cleaners, google eyes and material and told the girls to make sock puppet animals.

Pith Hat decorating. The plastic hats got the royal treatment using the same supplies as we put out for the sock animals. This was really a two for one for prep work!

Scavenger hunt. Sidney’s dad created a scavenger hunt that had them running all over. He did a little bit better than I did at Maddie’s Glam Emoji party , as the girls took a little longer to get through to the end to find the treasure chest. Which coincidentally, was a chest of silly string they proceeded to have a battle with in the front yard.

Everyone in attendance had a really fantastic time, and Sidney’s mom and dad’s extra special touches made the party really spectacular!

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DIY Pokemon Birthday Party Ideas for the Best Birthday Ever!

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Birthday party entertainment, article info, popular posts.

• Paula Biggs

Owner at Frog Prince Paperie

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Everything You Need To Plan An Epic Safari Themed Party / The Birthday Party Blog

Thursday 11th of July 2019

[…] Photo from: frogprincepaperie.com […]

How to make a DIY Tissue Paper Parrot for Luau Parties

Thursday 27th of June 2019

[…] few years ago we made these DIY tissue paper parrot decorations for a safari party for our little friend Sidney. The paper parrots have been wildly popular on Pinterest, and after […]

How to Make Tissue Paper Pineapple Pouf & Flamingo [Luau DIY] - Frog Prince Paperie

Wednesday 19th of June 2019

[…] can move on to making all kinds of other party decorations–like tissue paper flamingos and tissue paper parrots. […]

Tuesday 16th of October 2018

Is there a way that I can get the parrot pattern I’m going to make a party for my grandson in March and I’ve been trying to start early

Tuesday 21st of August 2018

I love the cheese puffs canter how can i make that

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40 Wild Ideas for a Safari-Themed Party

Hey you party animal! Whether you’re planning baby’s first birthday party or an elegant safari-themed wedding, nothing is more fun than animals in party hats and a healthy dose of leopard print . From tiger-striped cupcakes to fancy three-tiered cakes topped with golden lions, we can’t get enough. If you’re feeling the call of the wild, check out these gorgeous and whimsical safari parties to get inspired. Then, go bananas.

1. Wild Animal Party : Line the party table with an animal parade! Just because it’s a safari party doesn’t mean the color palette has to be brown! (via 6th Street Design )

2. Zebra Notes : Technically these are Valentines, but we love the idea of giving out these little cards as invitations. Just tie a little animal onto each card for a fun pre-party favor. (via Sarah M Style )

3. Animal Print Photo Booth : Our very own Creative Director Anj has a particular obsession with animal print, and created a totally wild photo booth for her 30th. (via Anjelika Temple on Flickr )

4. Leopard Print Cake : For a more refined safari theme, paint a white cake with yellow leopard spots and decorate the table with lots of greenery and natural fibers. (via Wedding Chicks )

5. Animal Party : Not only are we loving the animals on the table, the colorful stools are adorable! With a red and white color palette, the safari animals take on an almost circus theme. (via Ikea )

6. Tiger Cupcakes : Meow! These tiger striped cupcakes are actually super easy to make but the effect is amazing! Top them with white frosting and a mini toy tiger for extra wow. (via Amy Atlas )

7. Palm Tree Table Settings : For an adult safari, stick with golds, rich browns and amber. Just the simple touch of a mini palm leaf on each plate adds just the right amount of color. (via The Wedding Chicks )

8. Red and Blue Safari : Even though this is a kids’ party, the simple color palette feels very grown up. (via Ikea )

9. Wild Cake Pop : How cute are these animal print cake pops ?! Get the affect by dripping chocolate horizontally for the zebra stripes or by painting little half circles for the leopard print. (via Popsugar )

10. Zebra Stationery ($18): Send out invitations to your chic safari party using these very glam zebra stripe stationery. Never ones to settle for black and white, we love the pink and blue options.

11. Interactive Wall Decal : Even without the zebra, taping balloons to the wall with zebra washi tape is really cool party decor. (via Catch My Party )

12. Wild Animal Drink Stirrers ($17): If you’re going to be cocktailing , you absolutely must have these golden zoo animal stirrers.

13. Leopard Balloons : This is what your party needs — gold and orange animal print balloons . (via Project Nursery )

14. Wrapped Drinks : Wrap mason jars in burlap and zebra-print ribbon for a classy touch of safari fun. Bonus points for putting them all in a bamboo tray. (via Kara’s Party Ideas )

15. Put a Mask on It : What a cute idea to put an animal mask on each guest’s chair! Not only does it make awesome decor, they can take them home as party favors. (via Celebration At Home )

16. Printed Sunglass Favors ($7): Kids and adults alike will have fun with these neon print sunglasses! Give them out as party favors or use them as a prop in a photo booth !

17. Safari Dessert Table : Cover the dessert bar with a burlap tablecloth and then put all the desserts on trays with cute little handwritten labels. We especially love those animal print cupcakes. (via Kara’s Party Ideas )

18. Girly Safari Party : Holy girly overload! Take a whole new direction and make a pink party with pretty frosted animal sugar cookies and pastel decorations. (via Hostess With the Mostess )

19. Animal Print Mask ($1): Get your party animal on with these adorable masks! We’re pretty sure not just the kids would have fun wearing these.

20. Pink Safari : How cute is this layered cake with the animal and banner topper ! We appreciate the more subtle take on a safari themed party. (via Kara’s Party Ideas )

21. Birthday Animal Gift Wrap ($7): Wrap your presents in this whimsical paper to make your gift table the wildest one ever.

22. DIY Wild Cat Stand : Wish you had these incredibly gorgeous cake stands? Well you’re in luck, because these are actually really easy to make. If gold isn’t your jam (say what?!), reach for a paint bottle of neon green or pink. (via Make )

23. Animal Print Candles ($8): Make a wish on these party candles and your wildest dream just might true.

24. Gum Ball Jars : Another easy DIY alert! Depending on your color preference, you could fill the jars with all kinds of colored candy although we think the gum balls add a fun circus element. (via Pink Pistachio )

25. Baby’s First Safari : This safari party is all glam with a gold and white color scheme. The animal silhouetted banner would be super easy to DIY with a stencil and some spray paint. (via Hostess With the Mostess )

26. Animal Hearted Invites : Inside each of these loving invites is a little toy animal with a heart painted on it! We are most definitely RSVPing yes! (via Design Love Fest )

27. Party Hats : How adorable are those tiny party hats! Sometimes it’s the smallest detail that just takes a party to a whole ‘nother level of charming. (via Pink Pistachio )

28. Giraffe Stencil Glasses : Whether you’re serving milk or cocktails, stenciled zoo animals on the glasses are always a good idea. Mix up the colors or animals so guests remember which drank is there drank. (via Hostess With the Mostess )

29. Zoo Candles ($11): Pick up a pack of these animal candles for a cake topper that does it all.

30. Ruffle Animal Cake : Who would’ve though a ruffled cake would look so good with zoo animals on it! The simplicity of the all white cake makes it the perfect backdrop for all the animal patterns. (via Lil Sugar )

31. Painted Animals : Zoo animals in pajamas? Have you ever seen anything so cute! Just paint cheap toy animals in bright colors and decorate them with mini pom poms. (via Pretty Providence )

32. Face Masks : For the very mature safari party, try a black and gold color palette. These paper mache masks would be incredible in a photo booth! (via The Sweetest Occasion )

33. Neon Jungle: Naturally, we love anything neon, and these animals are pretty much our favorite. Paint them your favorite colors and then use them to top the cake, tie them to gifts or just set them around for extra colorful decor. (via Fellow Fellow)

34. Golden Safari Centerpieces : This is definitely the most glitzy safari we’ve ever seen and we love it. Running a strip of burlap down the middle of the table is the perfect way to show off the delicate gold animals and white flowers. (via Hostess with the Mostess )

35. Glitter Boxes : Why settle for paint when you can add glitter! Just coat toy animals in glue and dip them in colored glitter for some adorable decor. (via Hostess with the Mostess )

36. DIY Party Animal Pendants : Give these necklaces out as party favors, but don’t be surprised if you see your friends wearing them long after the party is over. (via Flamingo Toes )

37. DIY Golden Animal Placeholders : These would be the perfect way to number the tables or to tell guests where to sit. (via Brit + Co )

38. Party Animal Pumpkins : We’re not used to seeing pumpkins outside of Halloween, but it turns out they make really cool zoo animals. Especially that flamingo . (via Studio DIY )

39. Tiny Party Hats : Roll tiny hats out of colored paper and tape them to plastic animals. We can see putting one of these on each cupcake. (via Oh Happy Day )

40. Minimalist Safari Cake : Sometimes the simple look is the most effective and this white cake is charming with just a couple animals on top. Although we feel like they secretly want a party hat. (via Bleubird )

Are you ready to go on the prowl for some cool safari party decor? Would you go with bright colors or paint all your lions gold? Talk to us in the comments below!

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Planning a Safari Party: The Food

March 2, 2023, celebrations.

I  had so much fun planning Lucy’s 5th birthday party and wanted to share some deeper dive blog posts about different elements of the party. Today, I’m sharing all about the food ! You can find more about the party theme/decor HERE and party activities HERE .

SAFARI PARTY FOOD

My mom and mother-in-law handled all the food for the party and it was great! My mother-in-law blew it out of the park with these creative platters! She created a delicious berry tray with a watermelon elephant , and also lion-shaped veggie and hummus tray . They were SO festive and adorable! My mom also made an animal cracker funfetti + greek yogurt dip , topped with colorful sprinkles. We also had these yummy cheese sliders, plus chips, pita chips, guacamole, and applesauce pouches.

On the food table, I had these Safari Dinner Plates  (featuring so many cute and colorful animals!) and matching Safari Large Napkins .

For every birthday, we grab a cake from Whole Foods. In the past (for Winnie’s 1st birthday and Lucy’s 1st birthday party ), I’ve ordered custom cakes, but this time we just picked up a small, simple (but super delicious) cake for singing happy birthday / blowing out candles. I also ordered mini cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. They are bite-sized and perfect for big parties! I used these little animal party toppers to decorate the cupcakes and cake ( here’s another similar option ).

On the dessert table, I set out these adorable Safari Cheetah Plates and small Safari Animal Print Small Napkins .

SHOP THE PARTY

Note: I’ve included additional party items we didn’t use, but that are ‘on theme’ for this party. The products we didn’t use have an asterisk next to them listed below.

PARTY TABLEWARE: 

Safari Dinner Plates

Safari Cheetah Plates

Safari Large Napkins

Safari Animal Print Small Napkins

Safari Animal Cake Toppers

Lion Plates*

Elephant Balloon Napkins*

Zebra Napkins*

Party Animal Paper Cups*

Party Animals Cake Toppers*

Safari Candles*

PARTY DECOR & SIGNAGE:

Customizable Party Animal Signage Printable

Rifle Paper Party Animals Garland

Meri Meri Happy Birthday Garland

Customizable Party Animal Table Toppers*

Cheetah Balloon Garland Kit

Safari Balloon Bundle

4 Piece Gold/Pink Leopard Balloons

Gold “5” Balloon

Cheetah Foil Balloon*

Balloon Hand Pump

Balloon Electric Pump

Generously gifted by my Lucky Collective client, Manhattan Toy.

Loki Leopard – available on Maisonette , Target , and Amazon

Cozy Bunch Giraffe – available on Maisonette , Target , and Amazon

Cozy Bunch Zebra – available on Maisonette,   Target , and Amazon

Cozy Bunch Camel – available on Maisonette , Target , and Amazon

Luxe Liam Elephant – available on Maisonette , Target , and Amazon

Charming Charlie Lion – available on Target and Amazon

12 Piece Safari Stuffed Animal Set*

6 Piece Safari Stuffed Animal Set*

ACTIVITIES + EVERYTHING ELSE

Mini Party Hats

12 Piece Jungle/Safari Animal Headbands

Safari Make a Face Sticker Sheets

Jungle Coloring Posters*

Party Animals Tattoo Sheets*

Leopard Tattoos*

RELATED POSTS

Lucy’s 5th Safari-Inspired Birthday Party!

Planning a Safari Party: The Inspiration + Decor

Planning a Safari Party: The Activities

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Smart Party Planning

The Best Safari Party Ideas Everyone Will Love

Unisex Kids Parties

This post contains affiliate links. We may earn money from the products mentioned in this post, but this is at no cost to you

Head deep into the jungle with this collection of simple Safari party ideas. The kids will have a wild time with fun and playful party decoration.

There are plenty of ideas that are easy to incorporate with a little DIY planning. This is a great party theme for any little adventurer.

Related articles:

• How To Make An Easy But Awesome Monkey Birthday Cake
• The Ultimate Guide To Easy Party Ideas For Boys

A Safari party is perfect on so many levels. For a start it is great for not only birthday’s, but also baby showers and christenings.

It also works as a great party theme for both boys and girls. You could say in a way that it is the perfect party theme, one which all party guests will have a great time.

Everyone will certainly have the time of their life at a Safari party. With it’s striking decor, it’s adorable characters and it’s capacity for wild adventures, this is a party that everyone is going to love.

How Do I Decorate For A Safari Party?

Decorating for a safari theme party is going to be a LOT of fun. There are a lot of safari party supplies that can be purchased, as well as using other items found in the dollar store.

Whilst there are some specific party ideas further down the post with decorating ideas, the simplest way to decorate the party space is to stick to the earthy colors. Think of brown, green, yellow, orange and white as a good starting point and it’s easy to build from there.

It is a good idea to create a party backdrop . This can easily be achieved using budget friendly plastic tablecloth’s in your chosen party colors.

Next create some tissue paper garlands to hang around the area and suddenly you already have the perfect jungle feel. Make some vines by twisting together brown craft paper. Add vine and palm leaves to them for extra effect.

If you have any stuffed safari animals, use them as decoration props. It is also a great idea to look out for them at second hand shops.

Add some animal cutouts, animal print balloons and even some inflatable animals for some extra wild touches to the jungle theme party.

Real Safari Party Ideas

Use these real Safari parties to give you an idea of how to put the party together. Each of these parties takes a slightly different spin on the Safari theme.

The great thing about a themed party is that no two parties are exactly the same!

Typical Jungle Safari Party

Source: A Pumpkin and A Princess

This jungle Safari party is simply amazing. The party decor, the earthy color scheme, the funky cake and the simple yet delicious table display. It all works together perfectly.

The hanging rosettes are totally gorgeous and look awesome set back against the striking green leaves.

Cheetah Party

Source: A Small Snippett .

Another great way to hold a Safari party is to focus on one aspect of Safari. In this instance it’s the cheetah.

The cheetah print everywhere looks awesome. It’s even included on the ties on the chairs. Having the cheetah print as the focal point ensures that everything blends together perfectly.

Madagascar Safari Party

Source: Love Every Detail

For some amazing Safari party ideas, you can’t go past Madagascar. This is certainly a party that is deep in Safari.

The cupcake toppers are sensational and even the ‘dirt’ cups look delicious. Everything is matched perfectly with printable’s and the colors are bold and striking.

Venturing up to this party table, you are literally walking into the jungle.

Baby Shower Safari Party

Source: Stix N Pops

A Safari party makes a gorgeous theme for a baby shower.

The cupcake tower with the cake on top is stunning and creates a fantastic table feature. The baby curled up on top of the cake is just adorable.

This is a fun and cheeky party, and would certainly be a lot of fun for a mum to be.

Pastel Safari Party

Source: Grey Grey Designs .

Pastel decoration might not instantly be the decor that comes to mind when you think of a Safari party, but this example goes to show that it can be done.

Everything looks like you would see it in a nursery, the baby spin on the party is simply delightful. The cupcake display has to be my favorite part of the table display.

Safari Party Food Ideas

There are so many fun themed treats that you can make for a Safari party.

Creating theme food adds to the fun and helps to create the jungle atmosphere. For simplicity, stick to finger foods.

Some easy Safari food ideas include:

• Delicious and also fun monkey pops . This is an easy recipe and the monkey heads are available as a free printable.
• Kids love jello and this is so easy to have available at the party. Stick to jello in safari colors where possible.
• Have a fruit station. Fruit will always be found on safari, so this is a great excuse to get some healthy food into the kids.
• It would also be fun to use some vegetables and turn them into animal faces. For example, use carrot sticks to create a lion’s face with drip bowls for eyes, cauliflower for the nose and slices of mushrooms for the mouth. Or perhaps slice a cucumber and lay it out as a snake.
• Obtain an animal cookie cutter of choice for some fun cookies

Fun Safari Games & Activites

To throw the most awesome Safari party, it’s important to have some games. Examples include:

• A spin on Simon Says. Instead of saying Simon says, you could say, “The jungle says to swing your arms like an elephant”.
• Safari animal scavenger hunt.
• Sleeping lions. Play some music and when the music stops, the kids fall to the ground and lay as still as they can.
• Jungle Animal Charades
• Pin the tail on a (Safari animal of choice)
• Have someone available for face painting an assortment of jungle animal face masks.
• Create a craft table where the kids can color in jungle animal masks.
• Make a pair of binoculars by taping two toilet rolls together and fixing some string to the ends so they can hang around the children’s necks.
• Create a photo booth with safari props and animal party hats.

Safari-Themed Birthday Party Favors

Kid love to explore their goodie bags end the end of a party. There are lots of party favors that you could include that match the theme of the party such as:

• Plastic little animals
• Animal stickers
• Tiger tails
• Animal tattoos
• Animal eye masks

A Safari party is a whole lot of fun for the entire family. The kids might like to dress up in their favorite Safari animal costume or as a Safari explorer to really feel like they are entering the jungle together.

With the striking party decor and some fun themed food and games, this party is going to be a roaring success.

Need some ideas for a different theme? Check out more  party ideas  for a ton of inspiration with different themes, games and more.

Let’s keep in touch. Did you love these safari party ideas? Sign up to the weekly newsletter to be kept up to date with other easy party ideas, decorations and recipes. You will also have access to the library of free printables. See you there!

About Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt is the founder of Smart Party Planning . She is a stay at home mum with a passion for celebrating life’s little moments, with creative yet budget friendly ideas. Catherine often has a camera in hand capturing everyday events and is a self obsessed chocoholic! She loves connecting with other mum's on the blog and sharing party planning tips and tricks. Get all the answers to every aspect of party planning with her eBook today! If you want to hold a party with that ‘wow’ factor and have it tailored to the person you’re holding it for then this eBook is for you. Let Catherine take the stress and headache out of organizing your next party or event.

Connect with her on Twitter , Facebook , and Pinterest .

August 9, 2014 at 4:17 pm

I may never go to a safari party, but I sure enjoyed all these options! Thanks for coming and linking up at The Weekend Social. All posts get pinned in our pinterest board! Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on culinaryflavors.gr ! I hope to see you there!

August 9, 2014 at 8:29 pm

Thanks Katerina. They look so much fun don’t they! You never know, there could always be an excuse for a safari party 🙂

August 10, 2014 at 7:53 am

So cute! Thanks for linking up with The Caffeinated Crafters this week!

August 10, 2014 at 8:56 pm

Thanks April, glad you could stop by 😉

August 12, 2014 at 10:26 am

Awesome round up of Safari Parties! Thanks for sharing them at the Teach Me Tuesday Linky Party:) Hope you can join us again starting tonight!

August 12, 2014 at 7:17 pm

Thanks Adrian. I love the round up posts and seeing what other bloggers are creating 🙂

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Everything You Need for a Safari Themed Birthday Party

Lauren Miolene

We’ve all been to dozens of kids birthday parties , and we can probably agree they get repetitive quickly. That's why it’s always best to have a fun and exciting theme to make it stand out from the rest. If you’ve ever thought about hosting a safari themed birthday party, take this as your sign to get adventurous!

If your kiddo’s birthday is soon, take a walk on the wild side this year by hosting a safari themed birthday party using creative ideas from The Bash. Start with an outdoor venue, live animals, and of course plenty of safari inspired food and drinks. Use our handy kids birthday party checklist as a guide, so you don’t miss a thing.

Keep reading for safari themed birthday party ideas…

Safari themed venue.

You’ll want to establish a home base for this safari themed birthday party. We recommend keeping the festivities outside to enhance the adventurous setting.

Having the safari themed birthday outside just makes sense, so take the party to the park! Visit your local park that has plenty of tables, a pavilion, and a play area to celebrate the guest of honor. The park is also the perfect location so guests have ample space to run around and play.

You can never go wrong by hosting your child’s birthday party in your own backyard with the fresh air and sunlight. Sometimes the comfort of your own home makes the best party venue for everyone. Spend the day outside and easily transition the get-together inside depending on the weather.

If your child is an animal lover, organize this birthday bash at the zoo. Contact zoos in your area to set up a tour with different event packages. Visit different  website to read about animal interactions, a private party space, and other fun surprises.

Safari Theme Party Outfit

You’re probably wondering what to wear for a safari themed party, and the answer is all in the details!

Safari Hats

Invite guests to bring their dress up safari hats or take a trip to your local party store to distribute at the celebration. Your child and their friends will love this special touch that will get them into the safari spirit and provide additional protection from the sun. This creative touch also doubles as a party favor!

Animal Print, Camouflage, and Neutrals

Tap into the adventure for this safari theme with animal print, camouflage clothing, or neutral colors. Ask parents to dress their kiddos in these wild prints to help complete the safari aesthetic.

Safari Vests

To feel the part, guests will have to look the part. Stock up on children’s safari vests from Amazon so everyone can look like a wildlife explorer. These vests come complete with badges, patches, and plenty of pockets to keep some extra goodies in.

To complete any safari ensemble, you’ll need a set of binoculars. Of course guests can bring their own pair if they have them, but you can also distribute them in goodie bags so they can be used during the party. Shop binocular party favors on Amazon so everyone can have their own set.

Safari Theme Party Entertainment

These safari theme party entertainment ideas are guaranteed to bring a roaring good time.

Live Animals

This safari party requires animals, we don’t make the rules! Take a look on The Bash for live animals that can make a special appearance at the birthday celebration. Communicate with different animal handlers to decide which types of animals make the most sense for the faux-safari party. Choose from monkeys, reptiles, and much more!

Find Live Animals

Bounce House

The kids will feel like queens and kings of the jungle with an epic bounce house at the celebration. Browse various party inflatables including obstacle courses and waterslides that will match the safari themed birthday party. Jumping like kangaroos all day is the perfect way to release some of their energy.

Find Bounce Houses

Let the kids (and adults) unleash their inner animals by transforming them into their favorites! Face paint artists on The Bash use non-toxic paint to turn guests into safari creatures like lions, and tigers, and bears—oh my!

Find Face Painters

Photo Booth

A photo booth is exactly what this party needs to help create the safari feeling. Rent a photo booth for the day that will provide safari themed backdrops and props for an immersive wildlife experience.

Find Photo Booths

Allow the kids the opportunity to try different foods from various types of carts. From cotton pizza, to snow cones, and even donuts, party guests will love the freedom of choosing their own party food. Book your child’s favorites on The Bash.

Find Food Carts

Safari Theme Party Activities

Incorporate these safari theme party activities that will keep guests of all ages occupied and entertained.

You’ll need some sort of transportation for this safari adventure! Charge up your child’s mini trucks and cars, or shop safari vehicles on Amazon for guests to drive around the yard in. Block off an area with plenty of space so parents can keep an eye on the little ones.

Animal Charades

Put everyone’s acting skills to the test! A few rounds of animal charades is the perfect activity for this safari themed birthday party. Write various safari animals on a piece of paper for guests to randomly choose and act out. Their friends will have a ton of fun guessing and laughing about what animal they are.

Scavenger Hunt

Send the little explorers on a safari themed expedition during the party. Break everyone into groups, give them riddles to solve, and watch as they follow along to find the prize. You can keep this activity safari themed, but any type of scavenger hunt will work.

Outdoor Activities

Hosting your party outside means there will be plenty of space for all kinds of games and activities. Set up stations with things you probably already have like hula hoops, jump ropes, and other fun yard games that will keep everyone occupied.

Safari Theme Party Decorations

Get wild with these safari theme party decorations that will make this birthday extra special.

Any birthday party, especially a kid’s, needs balloons! Balloons are one of the best decor options because they are fairly easy to purchase or even assemble yourself. For this safari theme, use various shades of brown, green, and orange, or any other color you might find in the wild. You can also get balloons shaped like typical safari animals to incorporate. Details like this will help bring the wild theme to life!

Pro tip: Hire an event planner through The Bash that is an expert in assembling unique balloon arrangements.

Stuffed Animals

The key for any event decor is to make use of things you might already have. Incorporate your child's stuffed animals throughout the space to capture the safari theme. Find jumbo size plush animals including tigers, giraffes, and elephants that everyone will want to get a picture with.

One of the best places to incorporate themed decor for an outdoor party is on the tables. Whether you decide on multiple small tables or one large one, incorporate animal inspired tableware for guests to use. Shop animal print utensils , napkins, and tablecloths that will make the celebration pop.

For this safari, you can also use details like vines, pampas grass, and compasses for a wild dining experience.

Any experienced explorer most likely spends the majority of their time in a tent. Play into the safari theme by setting up tents in the outdoor space for a backdrop. Arrange a few blankets, pillows, and small activities like coloring books that will help keep everyone entertained.

Safari Theme Party Food and Drinks

Make sure there is plenty of fuel for the explorers at the safari themed birthday party.

Safari Themed Birthday Cake

You’re going to want to incorporate the safari theme into every party detail, including the cake. Place an order from your favorite bakery ahead of time to ensure there will be plenty of sugary animals, fake vines, and other wild accents on the birthday cake.

Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets

Who says dinosaurs can’t be invited to the safari party? Chicken nuggets are one of the most loved kid’s foods that are easy to make because all you have to do is pop them in the oven! Serve with different sauces, french fries, and maybe some broccoli trees.

It’s important that a safari explorer keeps plenty of snacks on hand that are easy to travel with, for example, trail mix. Make your own by purchasing a variety of nuts, dried fruit, and small candies. You can also set up a trail mix bar including separate ingredients so guests can make their own take home bag.

This dessert is a delicious DIY treat! All you’ll need to do is add crushed Oreos, gummy worms, and candy rocks on the top of a pudding cup to look like mud. If you don’t prepare these beforehand, kids will love decorating and customizing their own.

Ants on a Log

One of the best snacks for kids usually incorporates them being hiddenly healthy. Make a childhood classic of ants on a log that will help fuel the little explorers during the safari themed birthday party. All this classic entails is spreading peanut butter on a celery stick, and topping with raisins. This snack is easy to customize because you can easily swap the peanut butter with hummus in case of any allergies.

“Jungle Juice”

Whip up a big batch of kid-friendly jungle juice to quench everyone’s thirst. Add any ingredients you want; fruit juice, Gatorade, fresh juice, soda, the possibilities are endless. Serve in a beverage dispenser with a spout so kids will be able to easily refill their canteens. For an adults only drink, try adding champagne for a delicious and fruity mimosa.

Animal Crackers

Who doesn’t love animal crackers? Arrange a platter of plain and frosted animal crackers with different types of dessert dip. Guests will enjoy this sweet treat by dipping their cookie in edible brownie batter, cookie dough, and cheesecake dip.

Banana Splits

This safari themed birthday party will make everyone go absolutely bananas! Your child and their friends will love a homemade banana split that is the perfect treat to end the day.

Safari Themed Party Favors

You’ll definitely want to toss a few of these safari themed party favors into everyone’s goodie bags.

Custom Canteens

Once everyone RSVPs and the guest list is complete, place an Etsy order for customized canteens with everyone’s name. Kids will love having their own custom canteen to drink out of and make them feel like they are on a real safari.

Animal Bubbles

Little kids love bubbles, so give them their own to play with! Find animal inspired bubble bottles on Amazon for guests to use during and after the party.

Animal Ears

Once the face painter turns the kids into their favorite animals, give them ears to match. Visit your local party store or place an online order for lion ears, tigers, giraffes, and more. Try to stock up on a variety so everyone can choose what animal they want to be.

1st Birthday Safari Theme Party: Wild One

Turning one year old is wild! That’s why “Wild One” is such a popular first birthday party theme. You can easily incorporate these same safari ideas into this milestone occasion, but you’re not going to want to forget these details.

If you’ve seen kiddos go wild and destroy their gorgeous birthday cake, that’s exactly why smash cakes have become popular. Smash cakes are typically a smaller, homemade cake specially made for the guest of honor. After the proud parents help blow out the candle, let the one year old celebrate their special day with their own cake. It’s completely up to them if they play with it or eat it, but this way it saves plenty of birthday cake for the other guests to enjoy.

Photographer

A first birthday only happens once, so you’re going to want to remember it forever. Hire a photographer to capture every detail: the decor, the cake, and of course all the smiling faces in attendance! Miss no photo opportunity with our helpful 1st birthday picture list for ideas.

Photo Backdrop

You’re only going to be able to host a “wild one” themed birthday for your baby once, so make a photo backdrop for plenty of pictures. Create your own using a safari background, plush animals, and a big metallic “1” balloon. This backdrop will also act as a focal point in the party space.

Find more kids’ party ideas and inspiration here on The Bash.

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Go On a Wild Adventure with These Safari Theme Party Ideas

For a little explorer, there’s simply no better way to celebrate than a safari theme party. Whether you’re hosting a 1st birthday party or a birthday slumber party for tweens, it’s a theme that you can really bring to life with impressive decor, styling, and treats. 

If you’re ready to host one of the best safari or jungle theme party events of the year, we’re here to help. Get inspiration for your safari theme party with these decor, food, activity, and invitation ideas. 

10 Adventurous Safari Theme Party Ideas

Design: Noonday Design

You can really go wild with a safari theme party and transform your space into something magical. Here are some of our favorite safari theme party ideas for decor, activities, food, favors, and more. 

1. Make It a Costume Party

If you’re inviting lots of wild ones along to your safari theme party, this is a must-have. Take your birthday party idea to the next level by turning it into a costume party.

Ask your party animals to join you dressed up as their favorite zoo animal or safari creature. Keep it open and let them choose their own costume, or ask people to take an everyday T-shirt and customize it with animal prints or designs to show off their creativity. 

2. Host a Safari-Themed Sleepover Party

We love a sleepover or slumber party , and it feels like this is one of those themes that’s perfect for it. Celebrate an animal birthday or safari get-together by asking your guests to stay overnight and stay up late.

Transform your living space or bedroom into a safari camp with beautifully styled mini tents, or ask people to bring along a sleeping bag for a more rustic feel. Add some themed party decor like balloon garlands, strings of faux leaves, or animal cutouts to really enhance the experience. 

3. Go Wild with Animal Print

What better excuse than a safari theme party to go a little over the top with animal print birthday party decorations? There’s something fun about layering plenty of prints together to create a zany, unique take on the jungle party theme. 

Look for tableware, table covers, party plates, and more safari theme party supplies that heavily feature animal print. Keep it all to one type — like leopard print — or mix in some zebra or giraffe print for a more eclectic look. 

4. Transform Your Space into a Jungle

This idea takes a little more planning and plenty of safari party supplies, but it’s well worth it for a special birthday or occasion. 

Layer hanging backdrops filled with palm leaves or tree-themed fabric, and hang earth-toned balloons, cutouts, or decorations from your ceiling. Invest in some color-changing bulbs to add a cozy glow or create a sunset effect, and add natural textiles and animal decorations to complete the look. 

5. Fill Your Party Venue with Jungle Safari Animals 

When it comes to planning the ultimate safari theme party, you can’t go wrong with plenty of jungle animals. Whether you fill the space with them, or hide them around as a fun mini game for the kids, it’s a super fun way to bring the theme to life. 

Use animal cutouts to create an adorable photo booth area, or feature tiny toy jungle animals as part of a themed centerpiece or table decoration. How and where you display the animals is up to you, but it wouldn’t be a safari theme party without them.

6. Host a Jungle Obstacle Course

Design: Claudia Owen

If you’re looking for something to tire out your wild ones, a jungle-themed obstacle course is a wonderfully interactive idea. It’s an ideal activity for kids of all ages, and you can tailor it to your theme, group, or event type. 

You can create your own obstacle course using everyday objects like couch cushions or hula hoops, or invest in an inflatable obstacle course for a big milestone birthday celebration. However you choose to do it, this is a great way to use up some of that energy ahead of cake time.

7. Set Up a DIY Crafting Area

Create a space where younger guests can relax (and still be creative) with a crafting area. Set up a party table somewhere away from the noise and offer your guests fun ways to engage in themed crafts. Download printable animal coloring pages, or find the instructions and materials for a DIY safari craft for kids . It’s a sweet way to offer a place to calm down while still having plenty of fun.

8. Splash Out on a Safari Theme Birthday Cake

If you’re putting on a safari theme party for a birthday celebration, you’ll need a cake that fits the occasion. Whether you opt for an expertly baked masterpiece or a homemade treasure with an adorable cake topper, it’s sure to be one of the guests’ highlights. 

You can take a jungle theme cake in a variety of directions. Choose a simple sponge cake and add a personalized cake topper, or go minimal and stylish with a giant palm leaf design. Think about what the guest of honor would love to see as you all sing “happy birthday.”

9. Give Your Birthday Buffet a Safari Theme Twist

Buffets are great for a kids’ birthday party because people can pick their favorite snacks and treats without too much going to waste. It’s perfect for those picky little eaters who just want to fill a plate with cheese, crackers, or cocktail sausages. 

To liven up your birthday buffet, give your foods a safari twist. These monkey sandwiches are adorable, and this giraffe cake dessert board is a gorgeous way to get your guests enjoying lots of fresh fruit. For snacks, a jungle safari trail mix is easy to make and works great as a sleepover midnight treat. 

10. Create Themed Party Favor Bags

Your safari theme party is turning out to be epic, so you’ll want party favors that live up to the same hype as your main event. Luckily, you can put together goodie bags that match this theme quickly, easily, and affordably. 

Choose a favor bag or box with a safari theme or animal print design, then add in a few classic items like stickers, candy, and bubbles. For an extra treat, send your guests home with a safari animal cupcake or a personalized animal pencil or coloring set. 

Exciting Safari Theme Party Invites

Design: frau brandt (photo courtesy of Angela & Evan Photography)

This is one of those birthday party themes that absolutely needs an exciting party invite to match. Here are some of our most-loved online invitations for your themed get-together — whether it’s a jungle birthday party or safari baby shower party .

First Safari Invitation

Design: frau brandt

For all those little babies celebrating their first birthday, this First Safari invitation is a lovely way to mark the moment. The gorgeous, soft illustrations are ideal for this momentous occasion. 

Swing On By Invitation

Looking for something more contemporary? This Swing On By invitation is the perfect mix of modern and adorable, with a fun monkey illustration and modern typefaces. 

Calling All Party Animals Invitation

Design: Jessie Steury

For a safari theme party that blends cute with mischievous, this Calling All Party Animals invitation is an ideal match. We love the bold yet sweet illustrations on this design, which is great for an all-out costume party or an understated sleepover. 

Classic Cheetah Print Invitation

For a more sophisticated safari theme party, this Classic Cheetah Print invite is one of our top picks. The black and gold palette is ideal for an adult birthday party, or a teen who wants something a little more dramatic and contemporary than a cutesy jungle invitation. 

X Marks the Spot Invitation

Design: Shiny Penny Studio

Whether you’re hosting a slumber party or outdoor safari theme party, this X Marks the Spot invitation works perfectly. The watercolor background complements the sweet illustrations, and it says “safari” without being too over-the-top about the theme — leaving some mystery for your guests. 

Host a Spectacular Safari-Themed Birthday Party in Style

A safari theme party is one of the best ways to celebrate a special moment for adventurers of all ages. Whether you recreate a safari experience in your backyard or keep it simple with a more contemporary take on the theme, it’s a lovely way to get together and wish someone a very happy birthday. 

Once you’ve decided on your safari theme direction, look for an invite that’s just as creative. Explore our birthday invitation designs to choose a template, personalize it, and send it on its way to your excited party guests.

Roxy's Kitchen

Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party Part I – Dessert Ideas

August 6, 2014 by Roxy

Last week was a memorable one as we celebrated Daniel’s first birthday party. I can’t believe he’s one year old already! My baby boy is seriously growing up too fast so someone, please stop the time! Choosing a theme for his birthday party was super easy as his favorite toys (apart from empty water bottles, TV remote control & cellphones) are all the plush animals around the house from monkeys to teddy bears to elephants.

This Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party was completely styled by me – from choosing the decorations, designing my own banners to baking a cute jungle cake & his smash cake, cupcakes & cupcake toppers , jungle cookies and making all the finger foods (sushi included!). It’s a great party theme that I’m sure any kid would love regardless of the age and it’s a cute idea for a baby shower as well.

I wanted to make something special for Daniel’s 1 st birthday but at the same time we didn’t want to go overboard and spend a fortune. In this post I’ll show you how to throw a fabulous jungle birthday party on a budget for your little ones. Plus you can print all the labels, pennant banners, jungle animals stickers/toppers for FREE!

I wanted to share all food ideas and party decorations in a single post but it got ridiculously long so I split it into four parts:

• Part I – Dessert Ideas + Jungle Safari Cake
• Part II – Appetizers, Finger Foods & Snack Ideas
• Part III – DIY Decoration Ideas + FREE Printables
• Part IV – Cheap Party Supplies & Decorations

In the following weeks I’ll also post full tutorials with step by step photos for the two cakes I made, fondant cupcake toppers and fondant teddy bear cake topper . For the other food ideas, you can find some of the recipes on my blog and others on some of my favorite blogs/websites…I’ll explain everything in detail in these four posts. So sit back, relax and get ready to enjoy all the photos from our jungle party that will hopefully inspire you!

The cake topper is a fondant replica of our son’s favorite teddy bear.

I made two of these, one for the big cake and the other for his smash cake. Check out the tutorial on how to make this cute little teddy bear .

Talking about this, here’s Daniel’s JUNGLE FIRST BIRTHDAY SMASH CAKE. It’s a five-layer walnut cake (6 inches) filled with the same delicious chocolate walnut cream (full tutorial with step by step photos coming soon!).

And here’s my sweet little Daniel after he smashed his cake, we cleaned him and then he came back to play with his teddy bear , the fondant one that is :)!

Have some bananas around? Then place them in a basket and add a cute label named BANANAS FOR MONKEYS.

More monkey food coming up!

I made an easy BANANA PUDDING FOR MONKEYS. I don’t have a recipe on my blog but I like this Banana Pudding from Epicurious or this Homemade Banana Pudding from the Baker Chick . I adjusted the recipe a bit because I didn’t use any Vanilla wafers but placed half a ladyfinger in each dessert cup… just to keep things simple but still delicious!

Got some BERRIES FOR HIPPOS from the farmer’s market (blueberries, red & yellow raspberries and blackberries), placed them in some cups and made a few cute Hippo Toothpick Stickers (free printable coming soon in Part III of my post!).

Moving on to the cupcakes…oh my, I had so much fun decorating these JUNGLE ANIMALS CUPCAKES. They were Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Annie’s Eats. I’ve made Annie’s cupcakes before and loved them so decided to go with this recipe for the party.

I made every single JUNGLE ANIMAL FONDANT CUPCAKE TOPPER – from lions, teddy bears, monkeys to hippos, giraffes, tigers and elephants. Plus a few toppers with number one but you can personalize these based on your little one’s age.

If you don’t want to spend the extra time to make your own fondant toppers no worries, I’ve got you covered! You (can) will be able to download for FREE my Jungle Animals Cupcake Toppers that I’ll provide shortly in Part III of my post. Just print them on heavy cardstock paper, cut them out, tape them to ice cream sticks or toothpicks and pop them on cupcakes! Cute and simple decorations!

After all these yummy desserts I bet everyone is thirsty so let’s not forget the JUNGLE JUICE! Buy one of those water/juice glass jars with a faucet or borrow one from your friends (like I did 🙂 ). We filled it with orange peach mango juice but you could use anything you like.

Oh, I almost forgot, my Nutella Peanut Butter Monkey Cupcakes would be just perfect for this party theme as well!

Since I’ve been asked before what I use to bake and decorate my cakes, cookies and cupcakes here are some of the items:

And Daniel’s cute teddy bear in case you were wondering where I got it from :):

This must be the longest post ever but I truly hope it will help many parents out there organize an awesome Safari / Jungle Birthday Party on a budget. If you’ve found this useful I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for more birthday party ideas, awesome cake decorating tutorials and much more!

You might also like these posts…

Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party   –    Appetizers, Finger Foods & Snack Ideas

Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party –  DIY Decorations + FREE Printables

Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party   –    Cheap Party Supplies & Decorations

This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links for products I personally use and love. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, your costs will be the same but I will receive a small commission which is used for hosting and running this site. I appreciate your support! 

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May 26, 2016 at 8:25 AM

ohh woww awesome this idea jungle theme for birthday party is awesome, kids gonna love this and even adults going to have fun with such themes , thanks for sharing

August 11, 2015 at 9:56 PM

What are the tools required for the cupcake decoration?

October 31, 2014 at 7:44 PM

Mmmm so many yummy desserts. You’ve made me hungry for sweets now.

August 27, 2014 at 12:05 PM

This all looks amazing!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

August 24, 2014 at 9:47 AM

Great idea’s! Very creative. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!

August 18, 2014 at 10:20 PM

Cute Cute Cute – The garland, the cakes, the tags, the table and most of all the birthday boy!! Great party!

August 17, 2014 at 12:58 PM

WOW! This is beyond AMAZING!!! Your are super talented ♥ Happy birthday to your little one 🙂

August 16, 2014 at 11:40 AM

These are almost to cute to eat! I love the cake and jungle cookies. Thank you for linking up to Party Time and we hope to see you again next week!

August 15, 2014 at 3:16 PM

What a fabulous party – I love those fondant animals on the cupcakes! Glad you linked up to #PartyTime – hope you’ll join us again next Tuesday at 6pm.

August 15, 2014 at 5:40 PM

Thanks for stopping by Layne, I’m glad you like them 🙂 ! So happy I found your link up, I look forward to seeing all the ideas submitted at this week’s party and at future parties. Have a wonderful weekend!

August 11, 2014 at 6:17 AM

Happy happy birthday to your li guy! It’s amazing how fast they grow, he looks adorable! You did such an amazing job on this party! I absolutely love love love all the details! Way to go mama, you totally rocked it 🙂

August 12, 2014 at 10:46 PM

Awww that’s so sweet of you Kelly, thank you so much for your kind words & for the birthday wishes :)!

August 7, 2014 at 12:41 PM

Stunning work! Great party!!! This looks so very fantastic! You are an artist! All my best from Austria and a happy happy time Elisabeth

August 7, 2014 at 1:27 PM

Thanks so much Elisabeth for your kind words and for stopping by! I enjoyed a lot coming up with all these ideas, baking and decorating 🙂 ! Looking forward to showing you more of my work from the party in future posts. Hope you’ll enjoy it!

[…] Roxy from Roxy’s Kitchen organized a perfect Jungle themed party for her son’s first birthday. She has given links to DIY decoration ideas, printable and party foods making it easy for other parents to throw a jungle party. Thanks a ton Roxy!! […]

[…] Source: Roxy’s Kitchen. […]

[…] st birthday party favors id: 2176ww | Credit […]

[…] Monster Cake and Cupcakes | The Joys of Boys 16. First Birthday Carrot Cake | I Heart Baking 17. Safari Cake | Roxy’s Kitchen 18. Football Cake | Curly Girl Kitchen 19. Spiderman Cake | Amanda’s Cookin’ […]

[…] As promised, here is the full tutorial for making the cutest Teddy Bear Fondant Cake Topper, the one I showed you in Part I of my Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party post. […]

[…] Safari First Birthday by Roxy’s Kitchen […]

[…] One of our favorite entries from last week was a Jungle Theme party from Roxy’s Kitchen. Visit her blog to see the whole party. […]

[…] Part I – Dessert Ideas Part II – Appetizers, Finger Foods & Snack Ideas Part III – DIY Decoration Ideas + FREE Printables Part IV – Cheap Party Supplies & Decorations (coming soon!)  […]

[…] all the delicious desserts listed in Part I of my Safari / Jungle Themed First Birthday Party post it’s time for some appetizers, finger foods and snacks ideas now! As I mentioned in my […]

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Party Themes , Safari Party

Wild jungle party ideas.

It’s always such a treat to get great pictures from a customer!

This jungle party birthday set up is full of fantastic ideas with fun decorations, wild animal snacks, and roaring favors. All for your DIY pleasure of course.

Keep reading! I will show you where to get most of everything you see!

Jungle Party Decorations

Melissa did such a wonderful job setting up this jungle party table for her son’s 3rd Birthday. The parts in “ quotes ” are notes from Melissa.

“My son is really into animals right now, so a safari theme party was a no brainer. I did some searching on the Web for animal themed decor and came across your printables. I thought they would make for wonderful decorations for my son’s party.”

“I wanted a nice background for pictures and the kids could stand in front of the table without blocking view of the tablescape. Or the parents could stand behind the table and also get a nice picture. Your printables allowed us to put our own spin on almost all the decor used for the tablescape.”

She created a focal point with a custom banner she made herself with the jungle party printable set and and array of safari and zoo pompom animals. The green plastic tablecloth and grass skirt created a simple and perfect start to her table.

Note the rustic upside down basket on which she set the cake. It’s little inexpensive details like this, using things you have around the house, that can transform a table from boring to exciting.

I just love how she framed the full sheet jungle party sign on a frame with chicken wire then added some fresh leaves for a wild look.

“Your printables also added that personal touch which I loved and really made it my son, Megatron’s party. His real name is Sheldon Megatron Btw.”

“The little animals that were all hiding among the snacks and party favors were a last second addition from my husband and I agreed.”

Little plastic zoo animals were perched on everything, creating a real wild party. The Safari animal tattoos doubled as fun decorations too.

“The kids loved the animal masks and where making the animal noises of the mask that they were wearing which was super cute. “

Jungle Party Snacks

I was really impressed at the array of creative snacks on the table!

“After I found the decorations I next searched for safari themed baked goods. I was able to combine your printables, the baked goods and little extras like the little plastic animals toys I found at the local crafts store to make a sweet tablescape. I thought it would give all the little ones something to look at and each time they would notice something new!”

These tiger tails made with pretzel sticks look so yummy! Did you notice the gazelle perched on top?

The animal prints cake pops were so well presented in their own basket with tissue paper grass. I see a giraffe hiding in there!

The Hershey minis wrapped in the jungle party printable wrapper did double duty as decorations and treats. Even the Hershey kisses got their own labels. Buying the black Kisses and calling them bear poop was genious.

“The little animal poop chocolate kisses I thought would be cute given that there were little animals all throughout the table”

Simple cupcakes got a wild jungle make-over with printable wrappers and custom toppers!

And some super cute jungle cookies are being garded by a serious rhino!

Jungle Party Favors

Those were some very lucky kids at Megatron’s birthday party! They sure came home with a loot! Not only did the kids get a big favor box full of little gifts, they also went home with safari tattoos and animal cracker treats in individual bags.

It’s easy to style a beautiful party table when you start with a set of quality party printables. Use the printables to set the color scheme and theme of the party. Once you’ve done that, finding decorative elements and snacks to match becomes a piece of cake. See more pictures of the jungle party printable and for a different safari look check out our African safari party !

Jungle Safari Theme Party Decorations Printable Bundle

Jungle Cake Toppers & Wrappers Printables

Jungle Safari Theme Party Invitation Printable

If you use any of my printables, please take some pictures! I’d be thrilled to show your party off to the world!

Pin it for later.

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9 thoughts on “ wild jungle party ideas ”.

This them is a classic and you have great ideas to share here!! Love it!!

Adorable theme!! So many sweet details!! Loving that animal banner backdrop!! Super cute!!

Love the tiger tail pretzels! Actually, this is one fabulous kid’s party!

I love all of the details! The tissue pom animals are so fun!! The perfect way to display all of the fun printables!

I love those pompoms too but I just couldn’t find them anywhere on the web … too bad.

This animal party is adorable! The perfect details and decor.

Yes, she did such a great job!

I love how they incorporated your printables into every piece of the party! It really helped to create a cohesive feeling and make it so fun. Great job to that momma!

That’s why I love to have so many different pieces in my sets. You can do so much! It also gives a great template to start from.

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Safari Theme Party

Mar 25, 2022 by Amber · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

Planning a Safari Theme Party? I've got all you'll need right here! From the menu, to the cake, to the invitations, I've got all the ideas you'll need for a super fun safari birthday party!

Please excuse me while I crawl into a cupboard and cry my face off because my sweet little miracle baby is already a year old!

My husband chose the safari birthday party theme, gave me a budget, and away I went planning, preparing, and pinning like cray-zay. Everyone at the party inflated my ego like whoa, swooning about the food, decor, and paying me off for all of my hard work.

Today I'll pay it forward by giving you all of the deets and links I used to make this safari theme party all I wanted it to be. We had somewhere between 40-45 people at the party, and we had the perfect amount of food with zero leftovers.

I will add all of the recipes on one card at the end of the post so you can print them all at once so your own safari theme party will be a super success!

• Invitation Design: You can't have a party without a great invitation. I designed Owen's in Photoshop by downloading a free  African tree brush  pack and a free animal font  as well as a safari-esqe  font. However, this is an older post, so nowadays you can easily design your own invitations on Canva for free or order super cute editable printables from Etsy that you can print from home or have printed professionally.
• Printing: I had mine printed  for a great price (also try here ) and shipped to me. Try to allow at least 2-3 for shipping if you don't want to pay outrageous shipping charges!
• Envelopes: You can get envelopes  in an array of colors to match whichever safari party design you choose.

Safari Birthday Party Menu

Planning this safari theme party menu was so much fun! I have some serious back issues so I tried to plan things that were quick, easy, and delicious. I also made myself a strict timeline so I could make and freeze some of the food ahead of time in order to just throw them in the oven the day of the party.

The menu was completely safari themed, and I had such a blast putting everything together. The menu included:

• Snake Sandwich: Ham & provolone w/ brown sugar mustard & poppy seeds
• African Meatballs: Asian inspired w/ an African flair
• Simba's Veggie Tray: Veggie tray made to look like a lion's made
• Guano Funfetti Dip Funfetti w/ Animal Cookies
• Elephant Ears Palmiers
• Deviled Eagle Eggs
• Fried Ostrich
• Hippos in a Blanket
• Gorilla Grape Fruit Tray
• Chocolate Cat Tails
• Zebra Cakes
• Safari Sangria
• Green Apple Jungle Juice

Yes, it seems like a lot, but remember this safari party menu is really nothing, but finger foods. We had a huuuuuuuge guest list and we had ZERO leftovers. NONE-ZO.

The snake sandwich sliders slithered their way into the stomachs of my guests, and they were an absolute smash.

The recipe is a cinch and you may have even seen them called funeral sandwiches at some point because the original recipe blew up Pinterest several years ago. I've made them a ton, and they are always the first thing to go at a gathering.

The next biggest hit were the meatballs which I adapted from this recipe from Gimme Some Oven as well as this one from The Crockpot Ladies.

These things were incredible!!! I probably ate about 457 of them before I ever served them to my guests. They were more like Asian meatballs rather than Afrian, but whatevs. They were the bomb diggity.

Next up was Simba's lion veggie tray. People were so impressed by it , but it really couldn't have been simpler. Some people even commented that they didn't want to eat it because it was a work of art.

The "guano" funfetti dip was my husband's idea, and I thought it was disgustingly hilarious. Y'all know what guano is, right? #googleit

With our over abundance of blueberries , I couldn't resist, and it ended up being pretty good. Serve them up w/ animal crackers, and it just added to the awesomeness of the safari theme party!

Next up were the "elephant ears" or savory palmiers which are a recipe from Ina Garten on the Food Network. These were made with puff pastry, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. This recipe was one that I made in advance, cut, froze, then baked on the morning of the party.

The remainder of the menu was just some basics: deviled eggs , fried "ostrich" (aka fried chicken) from our favorite chicken joint, chocolate covered pretzel rods that looked like tiger, zebra, leopard, and giraffe tails, a fruit tray, and "hippos" in a blanket that I made several days in advance, froze, then reheated on the day of the party.

For the adults I had a Safari sangria that was completely swoonworthy. I soaked kiwis, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, peaches and plums overnight in half a bottle of Smirnoff Sorbet Light  mango passionfruit vodka then added that to the rest of the drink, and dear heavens I could swim in that stuff all day long.

Last but not least were the cupcakes! I was so happy with them. First off, the cupcake stand is nothing but cardboard boxes wrapped in dollar store wrapping paper, stacked, and taped together with duct tape. I also hot glued a ribbon around the bottoms of each box.

I got the cupcake toppers (along with the majority of the decorations) from this website and the cupcake wrappers from Walmart.

I made one double batch of my go-to  chocolate lover's cupcakes   (cake only) using Jessica's recipe from How Sweet Eats , and I also made one large batch of vanilla from The Little Kitchen. In total I ended up with about 65 cupcakes.

Owen had a gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free smash cake with coconut whipped cream frosting.

Since Owen has been feeding himself from the beginning, he didn't really go too crazy over his cake. He didn't really smash anything, but we're going to give him the real deal (probably using Jessica's funfetti cupcakes this time) on his actual birthday so maybe he'll tear that one apart instead.

Owen got a ton of wonderful gifts, but his absolute favorite was the giant teddy bear that is bigger than I am. This teddy bear was given to him by his great aunt who has given one of these to each of the great grandchildren in the family.

Owen can't get enough, and he likes to bite the bear's nose.

Well, I think that's it! I know it's a ton of information, but I'm hoping this post will help a mom like me who wants to throw an amazing safari party without having to scour the internet for every single little detail.

You can just bookmark this page and have all the links, recipes, and ideas stored in one place and make things a little bit easier for yourself.

Owen’s First Birthday Safari Party!

Ingredients   

Snake sandwich sliders:.

• 2.5 lbs thinly sliced Black Forest ham stacked and cut into quarters
• 2 lbs sliced provolone or Swiss cheese stacked and cut into quarters
• 3 sticks butter melted
• ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoon spicy deli or dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 2 black olives
• 1 small slice red bell pepper

For the African Meatballs:

• 4 lbs ground beef
• 1 small sweet onion minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 teaspoon fresh or ground ginger
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 18 oz jars pineapple preserves

• 1 teaspoon fresh or ground ginger
• toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro for garnish

For Simba's Lion Veggie Tray:

• 1 batch or package sweet potato boiled peanut, or store bought hummus
• 1 bunch celery sliced into sticks
• 1 red bell pepper sliced into strips
• 1 orange bell pepper sliced into strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper sliced into strips
• 1 package baby carrots
• 6 black olive rings
• 1 small cherry tomato or cherry pepper
• 6 bell pepper strips

For the Guano Funfetti Cake Batter Dip:

• 1 box Funfetti cake mix
• 1 8 oz carton heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoon pure cane or coconut sugar

For the Green Apple Jungle Juice:

• 1 packet unsweetened green apple Koolaid
• ½ cup monk fruit in the raw
• 2 quarts water
• 1 46 oz can pineapple juice
• 12 oz frozen lemonade concentrate thawed
• 3 liters of ginger ale

For the Safari Sangria:

• 1 peach sliced
• 1 plum sliced
• 2 kiwis peeled & sliced
• 1 cup strawberries quartered
• 1 cup green grapes
• 1 cup purple grapes
• ½ bottle Smirnoff Sorbet Light Mango Passionfruit vodka
• 1 magnum bottle 1.5 liters Yellowtail Pinot Grigio
• 1 750ml bottle Yellowtail Moscato
• 3-4 cans Sprite zero

Instructions  

For the snake sandwich sliders:.

• In a small bowl whisk together the butter, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, onion powder, and poppy seeds until well combined. Set aside.
• Place the bottoms of the rolls on a large baking sheet(s) lined with parchment NOTE: IT'S FINE IF THE SANDWICHES TOUCH.
• Add one small slice of provolone to each bottom, then add two slices of ham on top of the cheese, follow up with another small slice of provolone, then sandwich each slider with the tops of the rolls.
• Liberally brush the brown sugar mustard on top of each slider, cover with tin foil, then refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, but 24 hours is best. Refrigerate the brown sugar mixture in a sealed container.
• To serve, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees (F).
• Re-melt the brown sugar mixture, remove the foil, then liberally brush the tops of each roll again. Pour any remaining sauce over the tops of the rolls, recover with the foil, then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.
• Using one of the rolls from the corner of a package, secure two black olives with toothpicks for the snake's eyes and add one slice of red pepper for the tongue.
• Place the remaining sliders behind the snake's head in a slithering shape and serve.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine beef, onion, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix together until well combined. NOTE: DO NOT OVER WORK THE MEAT OR THEY'LL GET TOUGH.
• Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, shape the mixture into 60-65 balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Allow to cool completely.
• Put baking sheets directly into the freezer and freeze the meatballs for 2 hours then transfer to large freezer bags until party day.
• On the day of the party, add meatballs to a large crockpot, whisk together pineapple preserves, hoisin sauce, ginger, and sriracha then pour over the meatballs. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro right before serving.

For Simba's lion veggie tray:

• Spoon the hummus into the middle of a large serving platter and smooth into a circle.
• Starting from the outside edges of the platter and working in, arrange the celery in a large circle, followed by the bell pepper, and finally the baby carrots.
• Use two whole olive rings for the eyes, a cherry pepper or tomato for the nose, and sliced olive rings for the mouth and whiskers.
• Add blueberries and sugar to a large heat safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes or until hot and bubbly and sugar is dissolved. Cool completely.
• Pour whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in the cake mix until there are no lumps left then fold in the yogurt.
• Transfer to a serving bowl, top with half of the blueberry mixture, and serve with animal crackers of choice.
• Add kool aid packet and monk fruit to a large pitcher, top with water, and stir until monk fruit is dissolved.
• Add pineapple juice and lemonade concentrate and stir.
• Right before serving, pour in gingerale.
• Add the fruit and vodka to a large plastic container and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally.
• In a large drink dispenser, combine wine, guava nectar, and sprite and stir.
• Stir in fruit and half of the vodka (or more if you want it super strong) and serve.

*Disclosure:  By following the links above and completing a purchase, Slim Pickin’s Kitchen may receive compensation via discounts on products or monetary means from the respective affiliate programs* 

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Reader Interactions

Let's taco 'bout it cancel reply.

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September 04, 2014 at 2:52 pm

I want to be like you when I grow up and have kids. That all looks so amazing!

September 04, 2014 at 11:49 pm

Thanks, girl! Hope married life is treating you well!

Hannah says

September 04, 2014 at 8:36 pm

WOW!!!! Why did I have to miss out on this...

I wish you were there! Maybe next time. Hope all is well with you!

September 18, 2014 at 10:43 am

This is really adorable! Great job 🙂

September 18, 2014 at 8:22 pm

Thanks so much, Bren! I appreciate it!

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Coolest Safari Theme Party Ideas

Looks like a bunch of untamed kids are about to have a wild time at your safari theme party!!

Get ready for some ROARING fun!

First off, there’s an overwhelming selection of Safari theme party supplies.But don’t worry… You won’t need to go out on a wild expedition trying to find the best deal. Just compare between the packs below which cover pretty much all the Safari party items on the market:

Safari Invitations

Here’s a cool do-it-yourself idea for passport invitations. Write something like:

“This is your passport for a birthday safari filled with fun and excitement. (Birthday Kid) will be leading an expedition through (your address- adding “Africa”). The safari theme party adventure starts at (time). All explorers should bring their completed passports. Explorers may want to practice their wild animal sounds, especially roaring like a lion!!”

Ask the kids to dress up in khaki clothes and whatever safari-ware (or animals) they like.

Safari Decorations

Deck your safari theme party area with safari-colored balloons (brown, tan, green, yellow etc.) and same color streamers.

At the entrance to the safari theme party, you can also put up your own homemade sign post with lots of arrows pointing in different directions, such as “Zimbabwe —> 3000 miles” and “Ngorogoro Crater—> 899 miles”, etc…

Inside you can put construction paper animal prints that can guide the kids to the party area. If you’re having the safari theme party in the evening, you can place tiki torches all around your yard and everyone will feel as if they’re in Africa!

Use chalk to draw big animal footprints on your driveway and leading to your front door. Here are some animal footprints you can print out:

This is fun activity to do with your kid/s before the party. Go out to nature and collect all kinds of natural decor: all kinds of acorns, rocks, beautiful leaves, old branches, etc. and use them to decorate your Safari party area (easy, fun and doesn’t cost a thing!!). Also ask each guest to bring a favorite stuffed animal. Put them in a “corral” as the kids arrive. You have a free and SAFE petting zoo and adds to decoration.

You can also create animal stands that the kids can put their heads in the hole and take a picture as animals (send out these pictures when sending thank-you cards):

Unless you live in Africa, the only wild animals you’ll have at your safari theme party are the guests. And they sure can make a ruckus. But to get everyone into the safari theme party mood, you can download and play in the background animal sounds of leopards, hippos, rhinos, monkeys and other animals sounding their call of the wild!

The kids can wear safari pith helmets, animal headbands or ears out of construction paper, fake fur (glue or sew onto inexpensive headbands or barrette clips). If you decide to turn the children into animals instead of safari hunters, be sure to paint their faces accordingly!

Take a look at all the coolest homemade Safari costumes .

Safari Icebreaker Activities

When the kids arrive at your safari theme party, take their “passports” and send them to the Med booth where they receive a malaria pill (jelly bean in a glass bottle with a big red cross sticker on it – and explain to them what malaria is) and a typhoid shot (a toy needle) and can be warned about yellow fever, don’t drink the water, etc.

Charade Cards

One of the games described in the safari theme party games section is animal charades. To prepare for the game, put out a bunch of magazines and have the kids find animals, cut them out, and paste them on index cards. These’ll serve as the charade cards later on.

Binocular Craft

Have the kids take two toilet paper rolls, styrofoam cups, etc., and glue or tape them together. They can decorate their binoculars with all kinds of stickers, glitter, stamps etc. Next they can cut out cellophane circles (or colored saran wrap) and attach to the carton rolls with rubber bands or glue. You can then attach yarn for a nice neck strap.

We had the binocular craft at my daughter Maya’s 3rd birthday and it was a hit. I photographed the entire process and put together this page with all the info (and a few pictures from the party) to help you create your own Styrofoam cup binoculars.

Slithering Snakes

Not all snakes are scary! The kids will love making their own boas and rattlesnakes that they can wear around their necks. You can ask each kid to bring their own necktie, or purchase some from a thrift store. Let them open the large end of the tie and carefully cut the threads apart. Have them stuff each tie with cotton balls (or any other materials you may have), making sure to push it all the way up to the skinny end. Afterwards, sew the end up or glue it shut with a hot glue gun. Have the kids decorate their snakes with felt, glitter, wiggly eyes, buttons, etc.

Animal Masks

Check out these free printable animal masks (print them out and let the kids color in the black and white masks, later they can wear them!):

Make-a-Critter

This is a great activity that let’s the kids make up a whole new animal. Take a large sheet of white construction paper and hold it so that the shorter side is towards you. Then fold it in half (short side to short side) and then in half again (again short side to short side). Unfold the paper, and spread it out on the table, then give the kids crayons or markers and have one kid draw an animal head in the top rectangle of the paper.

When the kid finishes, fold back the top rectangle so it’s hidden from view, and only the three remaining rectangles are showing. Then pass the paper to the next kid to draw the body and arms of an animal in the next rectangle. Repeat, having the next kids draw legs in the third rectangle, and feet in the fourth rectangle. When they’ve finished, unfold the paper to see what new animal the kids have created. You can pass around more than one piece of paper at the same time, so the kids can create a whole bunch of new animals.

Homemade Safari Cakes

Take a look at all the coolest homemade Safari birthday cakes .

Safari Theme Party Food and Drink

Here are some cool safari theme party food ideas. (You can create a signpost with all the sorts of arrows pointing to the foods and describing what they are…)

• Animal-Striped Pizzas (you can be very creative with this one by making your own pizzas using alternates of white, yellow and orange cheese strips to look like animal print. You can also add toppings in alternates, like a row of olives in a diagonal, then a row of cheese, another row of olives, etc. for tasty animal stripes.)
• Pigs in blankets (hot dogs)
• French Flies (fries)
• Peanut Butter and Jellyphant sandwiches (Cut these out with an elephant cookie cutter)
• Toad-slaw (coleslaw)
• Crocodile eye balls and guts (yes, I know this sounds gross, but the kids love this spaghetti with meatballs.)
• Monkey Meal (Peel a banana and put it in a hot dog roll…. Then spread peanut butter and maybe a bit of honey and you’ll be amazed at how tasty the monkey sandwich is!)
• Snake dogs (Make multiple diagonal cuts into each hot dogs, not quite all the way through, and fill the slits with ketchup, mustard and relish. The kids love eating these “snakes”.)

Safari Theme Party Drinks

• Alligator-ade (green Gatorade!!)
• Swamp Juice – Kids will be mystified when they witness your power to turn ordinary green Gatorade into a steamy swamp! Start with green punch and after you’ve placed a filled glass in front of each kid, add a few Pop Rocks candies to each one. Since this candy is processed with carbon dioxide, it will crackle, pop, and split when it comes into contact with the green punch. AWESOME!

Tip: Make frozen ice cubes with raisins in them so it looks like flies are floating in their safari juices. Kids just love this!

Safari Theme Party Treats

• Unshelled peanuts
• Gummy worms
• Animal crackers
• Animal fruit snacks
• Any kind of animal-shaped foods
• Fire Ants (plain or chocolate covered raisins)
• Bugs on a Log – Take a celery stick, smother with peanut butter, and add little ants (raisins). Another variation is to dip a pretzel rod halfway into peanut butter and roll in chocolate chips. This is a fun activity for little children and a treat that can be instantly consumed. And, it’s even HEALTHY!
• Worms in Dirt – crumbled Oreo cookies topped with gummy snakes.

• Cheese Bugs – Slice cubes of cheese and add thin, curling snacks (like the type seen in the photo).

Tip: you can serve many of these things in pith helmets.

Safari Party Favors

A great safari theme party absolutely needs cool favors that’ll have the kids going wild! Use miniature safari trinkets as favors (such as little compasses, little flashlights, mini cameras, wild animal bouncing balls, gummy worms, animal crackers, plastic sunglasses, animal tattoos, and much more).

Safari Games and Activities

Take a look at this complete page filled with the coolest Safari birthday game ideas , such as:

• Monkey See Monkey Do
• Elephant Peanut Race
• Animal Charades
• Giraffe Stretch
• and many more (including visitor-submitted game ideas)…

You’ll also find several VERY important tips to help you survive (and enjoy) party time.

Your Safari Parties and Ideas

Some of our visitors have gone the extra mile and written up their complete Safari party story with photos and everything they did. We call these stories “Party Tales” and they serve as a great inspiration! Take a peek at other people’s Safari theme Party Tales and you’re sure to find lots more outstanding Safari party ideas:

Share your kid birthday party ideas here…

Now you’re all set to have a ROARING safari theme party!

Kid Birthday Parties  ›  Kid Birthday Party Ideas  › Safari Theme Party

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20 Best Safari Birthday Party ideas

A Safari Birthday Party is a fun and adventurous way to celebrate a special occasion. It offers a unique and exciting experience for all generations to enjoy. Whether you’re a nature lover or an animal enthusiast, a safari-themed party is the perfect way to celebrate in style. Here are 20 of the best Safari Birthday Party ideas that will leave a lasting impression on your guests.

1. Safari Outfits

In addition to khaki shorts, hats, and vests, encourage guests to wear animal prints or accessorize with binoculars and other safari gear. You could also provide a photo backdrop for guests to take pictures with their outfits on.

2. Safari Décor

Create a waterfall using blue fabric and foam to create a jungle pool effect. Add some faux leaves and vines to create a canopy, and place stuffed animals around the venue. You could also add some animal print tablecloths and serve food in wooden bowls.

3. Safari Snacks

Use animal-shaped cookie cutters to make sandwiches, or create a fruit platter that looks like a lion's mane. For drinks, serve green smoothies or create a punch with fruit pieces floating inside.

4. Safari Cake

Instead of a traditional cake, create a safari dessert table with cupcakes, cookies, and cake pops in animal shapes. You could also create a cake with a 3D animal head on top.

5. Animal Balloons

Use balloons in different shades of green to create a jungle canopy effect. You could also create animal balloon centerpieces for the tables.

6. Safari Photo Booth

Use a green screen to create a safari background, or use animal print fabric as a backdrop. Add some animal masks and hats for guests to use as props.

7. Animal Face Painting

Use stencils to create intricate animal designs on guests' faces. You could also provide temporary tattoos with animal designs.

8. Safari Scavenger Hunt

Create a map of the party venue and hide clues around for guests to find. At the end of the scavenger hunt, provide safari-themed prizes like stuffed animals or animal print hats.

9. Jungle Gym

Add a slide and a few swings to the jungle gym, and decorate it with vines and leaves to create a treehouse effect. You could also add a climbing wall or a zip line for older kids.

10.  Animal Petting Zoo

Hire a professional animal handler to bring a variety of animals like snakes, turtles, and small mammals. Provide hand sanitizer and supervise interactions between guests and the animals.

11.  Safari Dance Party

Hire a professional dance instructor to teach guests African-inspired dance moves. You could also add some glow sticks to create a safari disco effect.

12.  Safari Movie Night

Add some jungle-themed decorations to the movie area like a faux campfire or a tent. Serve popcorn in animal print boxes and provide blankets for guests to snuggle under.

13.  Safari Crafts

Provide safari-themed coloring pages, stickers, and stamps. For older kids, provide materials to make friendship bracelets or dreamcatchers.

14.  Jungle Book Read-Aloud

Set up a cozy reading nook with pillows and blankets. Serve snacks like animal crackers or popcorn and read from classic jungle-themed books like Tarzan or Jumanji.

15.  Safari Trivia

Divide guests into teams and provide prizes for the winning team. Create a mix of easy and challenging questions, like "Which animal has the longest neck?" or "What is the largest mammal in the world?"

16.  African Drumming

Add some traditional African decor to the area like masks or woven baskets. Hire a professional drumming group to teach guests how to play traditional African instruments.

17.  Safari Obstacle Course

Create challenges like crawling under logs, jumping over branches, and balancing on beams. Provide prizes for the fastest time or the most successful completion.

18.  Safari Tug of War

Divide guests into teams and use animal print rope. You could also create an obstacle course with the tug of war as the final challenge.

19.  Animal Yoga

Teach or hire a professional yoga instructor to teach your guests animal-inspired yoga poses. Animal yoga is a unique and enjoyable way to incorporate movement, and fun to your party.

20.  Safari Piñata:

Fill a piñata with animal-themed treats like animal crackers, gummy worms, and small plush animals. You could also create a custom piñata in the shape of an animal, like a lion or a giraffe.

These 20 Safari Birthday Party ideas offer a wide range of activities and games for all generations. Whether you're celebrating a child's birthday or hosting a party for adults, these ideas are sure to create a memorable experience.

When planning your safari-themed party, be sure to consider the age range and interests of your guests. Younger kids may enjoy face painting and crafts, while older guests may prefer a dance party or a trivia game. You should also consider the size of your venue and the amount of space you have available for activities.

To make your safari-themed party even more immersive, consider adding some additional touches like animal sounds or jungle-inspired scents. You could also create a custom playlist with African-inspired music or nature sounds to set the mood.

At Home & Hoopla , we a wide range of animal-themed party decorations, including balloons, banners, tableware, and centerpiece. Also a variety of animal masks and costumes, which can be a fun addition any safari-themed celebration.

No matter what activities or games you choose, the most important thing is to have fun and embrace the safari theme. With these 20 Safari Birthday Party ideas, you'll be able to create a unique and memorable party that your guests will never forget.

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Two Wild Jungle Safari Party

We originally decided to have one big 1st birthday party for each of our kids and then after that, celebrate with simple yet fun family traditions and cake and an experience. But when our daughter's second birthday came around, with little open to the public for an experience, we decided to go all out one more time for a festive outdoor jungle/safari themed party. I'll blame being cooped up inside for way too long.

We kept somewhat consistent with the "experience" idea by renting an XL bounce house and inflatable slide. After finding a jungle inspired bounce house, we settled on our theme since some of Everley's favorite things right now are watching animals at the zoo and her stuffed animals.

Thankfully we had decent weather as we wanted to have an outdoor party. Let's just say that bounce house was well worth the money as it was not only super fun for the kids but the parents too! I think I was bouncing at least half of the party!

For the decor, we stayed true to the theme with jungle animals, tropical leaf prints, and anything safari inspired. I wanted a mix of modern with whimsical so included Gold Jungle Animals for decor pieces as well as kid-friendly and kid-approved decor items as well. For the food table, we went with a dark green, mint green, white, and gold color palette.

Our XL bounce house and inflatable slide (on the other side) was the main attraction so this set the stage and theme for the party.

To welcome our guests, we of course wanted our best greeters so we hand selected the welcoming committee and they stood ready at the front. We actually borrowed quite a few of these from friends for the party but they definitely were a hit! If you're looking for a few friends, check out this Melissa & Doug Large Giraffe and this realistic looking Melissa & Doug Lion ! We made the "Welcome Party Animals" sign from a leftover pallet.

We of course had to take a photo by it since it was such a great photo op after all! My daughter's Leopard Outfit was a super inexpensive find on Amazon!

Since we had the party outdoors, we wanted to set up a little lounge area for the parents. We found these adorable tropical tables that doubled as extra seats. We added a few island style pillows and a tropical plant for the table. This set of 4 Tropical Leaf Pillow Covers would look so cute for a jungle party!

Of course our welcoming committee wanted to lounge after the party. Can you find the one that is unlike the others...?

I'm not sure our fur baby was thrilled with this costume change but it made for a fun photo op regardless.

So I made a last minute decision to buy this Jungle Safari Themed Balloon Garland Arch Kit . I told my husband there was a good chance I would be returning it still in the box as I didn't know how much time I would have... but it turns out, it didn't take long at all to do! I used this Electric Air Balloon Pump to inflate the balloons and made this arch by myself the morning of the party in about 2 hours. I had plenty of extra balloons leftover. I will say that if I didn't have the Electric Air Balloon Pump , it wouldn't have been made as this machine is worth its weight in gold! I was surprised how quickly it inflated the balloons and bonus, it comes with a little handy tying tool that helps you quickly and easily tie the balloons so your fingers aren't sore for the next few days!

Fun fact, I blew our arch up on Saturday morning and 1.5 weeks later, it was still up and still looked great! We ended up having to pop them all since the balloons stayed inflated for so long.

In hindsight, I wish I would have made this arch 3 days before the party as I would have loved to have more time to bounce in the bounce house before the guests arrive, but lesson learned for next time!

The charger plates and paper plates were from Party City. The gold rimmed mint green plates came from Hobby Lobby (also 75% off) and the table runner was actually 5 placemats (each one was only $0.75 after the clearance discount!

I found these 3 little vases at Hobby Lobby too (each one was $.75) and spray painted them gold and then added these faux tropical leaves (also from Hobby Lobby).

I found these jungle animals at Michaels and spray painted them gold to go with the decor. The white crates came from HomeGoods but I found these Distressed White Crates that I like even more so I'll be ordering them for the next party!

Along with the green, gold, and white ballon arch, I also mixed in a few Animal Print Balloons in various spots to tie in the theme. I also found an even better set of Animal Print Balloons after the fact so had to include them as they are adorable and would look great at the party!

For the beverage station, we found this fun lion picture at Hobby Lobby for $10 on clearance. There are perks of hosting a summer style party at the beginning of fall... Since most of the store already had Thanksgiving and Christmas decor out, I was super lucky to find all of our tropical decor for 75% off! I spray painted a mason jar gold and added some tropical foliage. I just added a few Gold Jungle Animals and leftover circles from the Silhouette machine sign and called it good!

I made this sign with the Silhouette machine. I was originally going to hang it above the food table, but once we made the balloon garland, I realized it was a little much. So in the bushes it went!

Sidenote and quick tangent, my Silhouette Cameo was a Mother's Day gift for me and is probably the BEST gift I've ever received as I have made countless mama t-shirts for my friends and myself, onesies for the kids, vinyl'd wine glasses and thermos bottles, birthday decor and signage, and so many other fun projects with it. The machine paid for itself the first month of me using it! This Silhouette Cameo Starter Set Bundle comes with all the tools you'll need, vinyl, t-shirt vinyl, transfer paper, and more! I couldn't recommend it more for all you crafty mamas!

The options are endless of things to make and projects to create!

When deciding on the menu, I found some inspiration from Pinterest and others just by walking around the grocery store. Since it was a kid's birthday party, most of our food was kid-friendly snack type of food that we tied into the theme with fun titles.

I had so much fun coming up with cheesy names for all the food. I'm pretty sure the inner kid in me was in full force.

The cake was of course the center piece. Our neighbor who is the cake designer/owner of Artsy Cakesy did an amazing job with our tropical watercolor inspired cake.

The morning of the party, I realized the cake was missing a cake topper, so I made the "Two Wild" cake topper out of glitter scrapbook paper on the Silhouette Cameo machine and added a cheetah for effect.

For the main course, we went with simple and festive with snake sandwiches. This was super easy to create. We just went to Costco for the cheese and meats and then cut up the extra long hoagie bun to form the shape of a snake.

We let guests make their own sandwiches to keep it simple with their choice of sandwich fillings, condiments, and toppings..

When it comes to baking and decorating cookies, I hire out as I know my limits when it comes to baking. These jungle animal and tropical leaf cookies were not only beautiful and festive but delicious!

One of our favorite family desserts is banana pudding, so I made individual "Monkey's Banana Pudding" and added the extra jungle leaf toppers to add a little flair. I made these on glitter scrapbook paper with my Silhouette Cameo machine and hot glued toothpicks to the back to give them some height..

I tried out my talents at food art and decided I'll leave that to the pros. With a little imagination though, you can get the idea... This "Parrot Fruit Parfait" was easier to make than it looks! If I had a larger flat plate, it would have been much easier, but I worked with what I had. I just used berries and mango for the bird's different colors and an apple for his beak and eye area.

One easy and fun item I made the day before were these chocolate covered pretzel "Animal Tails".

I used various colored Chocolate Candy Melts and then had fun decorating tiger, giraffe, and zebra tails. You have to use your imagination a little, but for my first try, I thought they turned out ok! My daughter still asks for "more tiger tails" so at least she liked them!

For another attempt at food art (but at a much more novice level), we served "Lion's Mane Hummus".

We just used red, orange, and yellow bell peppers for the mane but you could also include carrot sticks as well. Black olives completed the face along with crackers for the ears!

An obvious and no brainer snack for a jungle themed party is of course animal crackers ! You can always take it up a notch and add some dip to go with the animal crackers.

For "Safari Snacks" you really can do just about anything! I wanted to keep it simple and easy so I just mixed salted popcorn with the BEST Chicago Mix Popcorn (caramel corn and cheddar mix).

I had Lowes Foods make the cupcakes and then just added these adorable jungle cupcake toppers that I created with my Silhouette Cameo machine. If you don't have time or the machine to make these, you can purchase these Gold Glitter Jungle Safari Animal Toppers which would be just as cute!

Finding some Hershey's caramel kisses for "Tiger Kisses" was an easy way to tie in the theme with their tiger striped foil.

For the "Hungry Hippo Dip", again you can do just about any type of dip you'd like, but with little time, we went the easy route with store-made salsa and chips.

These "Zebra Cakes" were one of the easiest foods to serve! Just buy the box of childhood favorite Zebra Cakes and display on a festive plate!

Another super easy addition is peanuts in their shells for "Elephant Snacks". Clever and easy!

I drew the faces on these "Tiger Cub Cuties" a few days before the party. I promise it doesn't take an artist to make these. One word of advice - test out your marker in advance before making these. The marker I used did end up getting all over our hands so user beware! They did look cute in the bowl though!

It doesn't get easier than serving "Cheetah Cheetohs!" Who doesn't love just opening a bag and pouring it into a bowl?

One other food idea that I was going to have but ran out of time was "Jungle Vines" (Green Licorice) . This would have been a fun addition but I couldn't order them in time for the party since I couldn't find them at any local store nearby.

For the beverages, we served "Jungle Juice", 'Swamp Water", and Lion's Lemonade". For the "Jungle Juice", we just made an easy white sangria version and called it "Jungle Juice". We just mixed up 1 bottle of ginger ale, 1 bottle of Pinot Grigio, 1 bottle of lemonade, and 1 bottle of moscato an d then added sliced fruit. We have used these Galvanized Stands from Pottery Barn on many occasions as they give a fun rustic look.

Thanks for checking out our Two Wild Jungle Safari Birthday Party! For more party ideas, check out the Garden Party One-derland post for floral themed party ideas, food, decor and more!!

2 comentários

Everything is so beautiful i surely got ideas for my granddaughter party. Thank you for sharing.

How many guests did you feed at this party?

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Safari Birthday Party: Celebrating One Wild Child on a Budget!

Ever dreamt of encountering a majestic lion on a heart-pounding African adventure? Chances are your little cub is more into chasing squirrels in the backyard.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t experience the thrill of a safari birthday party!

You’re on the hunt for ideas to throw a jungle-themed bash that’s both adorable and entertaining. Fear not, fellow party-planning parent! My son’s first birthday party was based on safari animals, and I’m sharing all my ideas.

This guide will be your jungle gym to all things roar-some, from decorations that’ll transport your venue to the savanna to DIY touches to keep you under budget (because mine was low ). I’ll even cover some food ideas that are fun and delicious (because let’s be honest, meltdowns from hangry lions are no fun for anyone).

These ideas will work for any wild animal theme, whether it’s a safari, the jungle, or the zoo!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

DIY Safari Birthday Invitation

My son’s nursery was themed after jungle animals since he was born, but elephants were always prominently featured. He was gifted a giant plush elephant that he still loves, and he still has a plush elephant head hanging on his wall!

Naturally, I decided to feature an elephant on his invitation. I used a very, very old 6-inch-wide original Cricut machine to cut out the elephants, grass, leaves, and banners for the invitation.

I printed “Hugo is turning ONE!” on several pieces of white cardstock and trimmed them to size. The rest is also cardstock, with a black gel pen used to create faux stitching and add details to the leaves and grass.

The zebra print is patterned paper I found at Michael’s.

Venue & Decorations

There was no way I was hosting 40 guests at my house. Thankfully, my husband got a fantastic deal on renting space at the local community center back then. Problem solved!

The only catch was that it put a damper on my decorating ideas. Hanging anything on the walls was a no-go, and the ceilings were just too high for decorations to make much of an impact anyway.

Color Scheme

For a cohesive safari theme, I stuck with the natural colors of popular animals like tigers, lions, and giraffes.

Yellow, orange, and brown featured prominently. I used a bright green throughout for an extra pop of color. It reminded me of the beautiful grass in the savannah!

We had six round guest tables. Two had yellow table covers, two orange, and two green. Each had its own simple centerpiece with floating balloons attached.

DIY Centerpieces

I wish I’d gotten better photos of the centerpieces I made, but I don’t have any. Above, I’ve illustrated exactly how they were assembled.

I started with small green metal buckets and pushed a craft foam block down in each one as far as it would go.

Then I hot-glued craft popsicle sticks to the backs of several painted wooden jungle animals, making sure plenty of the stick was sticking out from the bottom of the animal.

I found the pre-painted animal cutouts at Hobby Lobby. Their designs have changed since then, but you can still find the same types of wooden animals there and at Walmart, usually for only $1-$2 each.

For each centerpiece bucket, I stuck two different animals into the craft blocks by their popsicle sticks, back-to-back so they would face out at the guests on either side. To finish, I just covered the foam blocks with green shredded paper .

We tied the balloons around the popsicle stick bases of the animals.

Believe it or not, Walmart sells decent-looking animal print balloons ! And they are SUPER cheap.

We just bought a couple of packs so we could have a few balloons floating over each table. They’ve changed over the years (the tiger stripes have been replaced by giraffe print), but you won’t find better safari-themed balloons at a lower price.

DIY Birthday Banner

I wish I had a better picture of this! I made my own birthday banner to match the theme colors.

For each letter piece, the letter was printed in green on white cardstock and trimmed down. I attached those to yellow and orange cardstock that I trimmed with a scallop border punch .

I also used my little Cricut to cut out a monkey, crocodile, and hippopotamus out of cardstock to put between each word.

The banners were hung over his high chair (where he sat for his smash cake presentation).

The plates and napkins were the only specifically themed decor-related items I bought for the party… and I don’t recommend them. The plates were small and paper thin, and the napkins were also small and rough to touch.

It’s almost always better to go with standard white napkins and sturdier heavy-duty plates in a solid color.

The cups holding the cutlery were pink because… I already had plenty on hand and was on a tight budget! No shame in my game.

Additional DIY Decor

Info chalkboard.

Despite being very low on energy and not really wanting to (I commuted and worked full-time), I thought it was only fair that I designed this cute “My 1st Birthday” chalkboard-style sign for my son’s party.

After all, I’d done a similar design for my daughter’s Mickey Mouse birthday party when she turned one.

So I made the time to design it in the wee hours of the night, then ordered an 8×10 print of it on black foam core through Mpix . I had a cute little black easel from Michael’s to prop it up on.

Wooden Letters

I bought unfinished wooden letters from Walmart and used cheap acrylic paints to decorate each one in an animal print! It was all freehanded while looking at photos of real animals, and they came out better than I expected. (I keep saying I’m not artistic, but the more I look at the evidence… maybe I am.)

I chose the tiger, zebra, and giraffe prints to match the main cake (and I just had to make the “G” giraffe print). The U is meant to look like an elephant’s trunk, which goes well with his smash cake and favorite animal.

After the party, my husband mounted the letters to a white wooden plank and they’ve been hanging on my son’s bedroom wall ever since!

I already had the white picture frame, and in the photo, he’s wearing the same onesie that he wore to the party!

Foods, Puns, & Drinks

I always incorporate food puns into my parties. Guests get a kick out of it, and thinking up alliteration that goes with theme-related terms inspires me to keep my party menus varied and unique!

These were my jungle-animal foods and drinks:

• Lion Pizzas: We used whole pepperoni slices to create lion manes around the edges of homemade pizzas, with cut up pepperonis to create the eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers. I got the pizza pans at Dollar Tree (and still use them)!

• Snake Subs: To this day, this is one of my favorite party food ideas I’ve ever had. We loaded up four large fresh French bread loaves with thinly sliced ham and American cheese, then cut them into party servings. Before the party, I had prepared many squares of wax paper to spread over the banquet table in a slithering snake pattern. We spread the sandwiches out to look like a snake, winding around other food bowls! I probably could’ve put them directly on the table cover since it was new and plastic, but I wanted to ensure the sandwiches were as contaminant-free as possible.

• Monkey Treats: Yes, I served a bowl of whole bananas at a birthday party. Monkeys are my favorite animal, so I wanted a food to honor them. And you know what? LOTS of guests happily ate bananas – especially the kids!

• Tiger Cub Cuties: I simply drew tiger “stripes” and cute cat faces on cutie orange peels. I used a Sharpie instead of a food-safe marker since the peel is not eaten.

• Tiger Tails: Cheeto Puffs are superior to regular Cheetos. I’ll fight about it. But either version would make a cute tiger tail.

• Animal Crackers: I mean… there’s really no explanation needed for this one. They make a great treat that kids will stop to eat, too.

• Elephant Snacks: This is not an appropriate food if anyone attending the party has a peanut allergy, but if you can have it, this is a cute idea. Elephants love peanuts, and so do party grazers!

• Kangaroo Kabobs: Before you leave a condescending comment, please know that I know kangaroos aren’t native to Africa. But it was the only “K” animal that sounded good with “kabobs”. Guess I could’ve called it Flamingo Fruit instead.

• Watering Hole: Once again, I am aware alligators don’t come from Africa. But ‘Gator’ade was a better pun for the green Hawaiian Punch drink… so just roll with it, okay? The Jungle Juice was a large jug of blue Hawaiian Punch, a 2-liter of Sprite, and a can of frozen lemonade mixed together. We also had sweet tea, bottled water, and other sodas.

First Birthday Safari Onesie

I ordered a custom onesie from BittyandBoho on Etsy featuring cute safari animals and the text “Hugo is 1”. This was the most expensive single thing I bought for the party!

They don’t have that exact style anymore, but they’ve got similar ones to choose from.

We did a little photoshoot at home before the party so I could frame his photo as part of the decor, and he also wore it throughout the whole party – even while eating his smash cake!

It is now folded up and kept in his keepsake box.

The Big Cake

Yes, this big ol’ three-tier birthday cake was entirely homemade! And it was a simple design, so it was actually pretty easy to do.

Each tier featured an animal print: tiger, giraffe, and zebra. I cut out the stripes and spots from the fondant using my fondant tools (all freehanded).

The “1” on the top was shaped out of leftover white fondant, with a toothpick in the bottom to hold it on the cake. The “grass” was buttercream piped around the edges (to cover up my messy fondant edges, haha).

Since there was no easy way to put Hugo’s name over the animal prints, I made a little yellow banner out of fondant ( tylose powder helped harden it so it would stand up). I wrote the message on it with an edible marker .

Elephant Smash Cake

Since Hugo’s official favorite animal at the time was the elephant, that’s what we made for his smash cake!

It was a homemade white cake baked in an actual elephant-shaped cake pan . My mother helped frost it with buttercream made from the Wilton recipe .

It came out so cute and was the perfect size for his high chair tray.

Party Favors

I couldn’t find any cute safari-themed party favors, so I bought a mega pack of little noisemakers and toys and divided them among some plastic favor bags I got at Walmart.

I did, however, find these cute jungle photo booth props that we placed on a table for everyone to snap selfies with. Many guests took a piece or two home at the end (with my encouragement).

We didn’t play any games because of the venue’s rules, but we had plenty to keep us busy. With such a large family the adults prefer just chatting and catching up with each other. The kids are perfectly happy chasing each other around a large room and playing with spare balloons.

Hopefully, my son’s safari-themed first birthday party has given you some great ideas for your little one’s party! No matter what, you’re going to have a roar-some time.

You Might Be Interested In:

• Toy Rotation – after opening those gifts, you’ll need to implement this!
• Printable Black and White Happy Birthday Banner – this simple DIY banner is neutral to go with ANY party theme.

Michelle is a two-time veteran mom of over nine years with a passion for family life, celebrations, food, and holidays. Read more about her experience in motherhood .

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