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!
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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!
Tables
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.
Balloons
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).
Tableware
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.
DIY Cakes
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.
