While most kids are happy with some cake, hamburgers, friends and a few games, adding a bit more to the birthday party festivities can certainly liven things up and up the fun quotient. Throwing a themed birthday party usually goes over quite well. If you are leaning towards an animal theme, here are some tips for planning a great party that will be enjoyed by all.
Invitations
The invitations will be the first thing to tackle, and of course, must be animal-themed in nature. There are a few things you can do. Cut out pictures of animals from books or print them out on the computer (of draw them yourself if you are particularly talented.) Fold the paper in half and glue the pictures on; add some three-dimensional features, such as feathers or googly eyes. If you live near a zoo, take pictures of some of the animals and use them on the invitation. If you are using envelopes, decorate them with animal stickers or stamps.
Decorations
The decorations will largely depend on what type of animal environment you are going for. If your child’s favorite animals are big cats and elephants, an African safari theme can work well. You can also do the jungle, farm or rainforest. Green and brown streamers look just like vines; hang up pictures of different animals in the party room. Place animal figurinesand/or stuffed animals throughout the room. Animal print balloons and tablecloths are great ideas too.
Costumes
As for costumes, you can go a few different ways.You can find adorable kids animal costumes at a variety of online stores, and you can buy some for everyone or request people come dressed up as an animal.
Food
Of course, you will include the staples of any kid’s birthday party such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers and pizza. But, you also want to serve some food that goes with the theme of the party. Pigs in a blanket fits right in—buy them per-made or make them yourself-by wrapping small triangles of crescent dough around mini hot dogs and baking for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Get some animal-shaped cookie cutters to jazz up cookies and sandwiches.Use an animal-shaped cake mold for the birthday cake—a lion would be a good choice if you are doing a jungle-themed party since he is the king after all. Serve milkshakes or smoothies with animal-shaped silly straws.A sign asking the ‘’Please Feed the Animals’’ can be a cute touch.
Activities and Favors
If the budget allows, consider hiring someone to bring real animals to the party so the kids can learn more about them and interact; a petting zoo would be great if the expense allows. Face-painting is a perfect activity for an animal-themed party. And do not forget the classics such as pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, and batting at an animal-shaped piñata. There is also jungle bingo, bunny hop relay race and animal trivia games.