Wild Safari Party

We’re getting WILD with a special birthday Safari Adventure!

My sister asked me to help her with my nephew’s second birthday and wanted to pick a theme that reflected something he loved, animals.  We decided on a Safari party but she requested that the animals not be too cartoonish.  Jen from Passion for Parties had the perfect invitation for our party vision and she created additional party printables to match.

This party was literally (I really am not kidding) thrown together in a day.  My nephew’s birthday is a few days after Christmas and with the holiday rush, sick kids and lack of creativity I put off really planning this party…I had some ideas in my head, but no real vision or idea of how I was going to execute.  So, the day before the party I started “shopping” my house and my mom’s for items I could use to pull it all together.  I’m telling you this because I want you to know that a fun, creative and inexpensive party CAN be done!

I created a jungle display using trees from my sister and mom’s house, along with some other rustic decorations.  The table was covered in burlap and I used wooden boxes, old National Geographic magazines  and baskets to add elevation to the table.  All of the food was store bought, except for the custom made Oreos from Love and Sugar Kisses, which made it easy to prepare.  We served Zebra Cakes, Simba Straws (veggie straws), Gorilla Grips (bananas), Hippo Dip (funfetti dip) with Animal Crackers, Trek Treats (fresh fruit), Okapi Oreos, and Monkey Mix (trail mix).  The chocolate cake was also store bought and I added one of my nephew’s elephant toys and a mini burlap banner with his name on it.  Since not everyone loves chocolate we also bought vanilla cupcakes and added the animal silhouette custom toppers from Love and Sugar Kisses.

As guest arrived there was a Passport Photo booth set-up for them to have their picture taken for their passport books.  My sister used a Polaroid camera to take pictures of each kid and then we put their photo in the handmade passport books.  The passport books were later used as part of the game they played.

After having their picture made guest moved to the “activity station” where they decorated paper bags for their Safari Adventure.  Each guest also received a pair of DIY safari binoculars, aren’t they cute!?  After everyone had their gear they were ready for an adventure.  The kids headed off on a Safari Adventure looking for plastic animals that had been hidden around the house.  We stamped their passport books to keep track of what animals they found on their adventure, when their book was full they could play with the animals or act silly with jungle themed props in the photo booth.

The birthday boy had lots of fun and was so excited he kept exclaiming “friends go on safari with me!”  Before he’s friends headed home they were given a back of animal crackers to add to their “safari bags” with all their other adventure gear.

This party was fun to “throw” together and it reminded me that a fantastic celebration doesn’t have to include lots of bells and whistles to be an EXTRAORDINARY event!  The best part is that this party only cost $100!  Here is how I spent my money on this party

• $25 on supplies – includes napkins, plates, cups and craft supplies
• $30 on food – fresh fruit, cake, cupcakes, trail mix, hippo dip and veggie straws
• $45 on custom fondant toppers and oreos – this obviously was my party splurge, but so worth it!
• $0 on decorations – I used items that either I had or I found at my mom and sister’s house

Thanks for joining me on our Wild Safari Adventure!  I’d love to hear what your favorite part was or other creative and fun ideas that could be incorporated in a Safari party, so go ahead leave a comment.  🙂

Vendors:

Party Printables & Invitation –  Passion for Parties

Chocolate Covered Oreos and Fondant Toppers – Love and Sugar Kisses