Zoo Birthday Party Ideas

 

 

Zoo party ideas, games, decoration ideas, invitations, party food, favors and more! 

Zoo themed party supplies from Amazon

Zoo Party Activities
Many towns have small petting zoos that will come to your home and bring a variety of animals for the children to interact with at the Zoo party. 

 

 

 

 

 

Make fun zoo themed frames with foam animal stickers, paint and glitter.  Take pictures with the zoo animals or with the other party guests for a fun memento of the Zoo party.

Use face paint to make party guests into their favorite Zoo animal! Homemade face paint recipes

Fun Ideas
Dress parents and older siblings up as zoo keepers.  Khaki shorts and shirts with safari hats.  Wear name tags such as "Zookeeper", "Feeding time administrator", "Lion keeper", etc. 

Zoo Party Games

Catch the Elephants Tail
Kids need a big space to run to play this fun game. Kids hold hands in a long line (the elephant). During the game they can't stop holding hands. Choose a child on one end to be the elephant's head. The child of the other end will be the elephants tail. The elephants head is trying to catch or tag the elephants tail ... and the elephants tail is trying to get away ... all while everyone is holding hands. When the tail is tagged then the head moves to the back of the elephants line and then becomes the elephants tail. Next child in the front spot of the line becomes the elephants head.

 

Zookeeper Roundup
Each team will need 3 black and white striped balloons and 2 brooms.  Team members have to "herd" the zebras (the black and white balloons) - using only the broom - around the party room and back again.  If a zebra balloon pops then the herder must go to the starting line, get another balloon and begin again.  The team which herds all the zebras with every player on the team wins.   If you are playing on a smooth surface floor try ping pong balls instead of balloons.

 

Zoo Animal Treasure Hunt
Make different animal prints (elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, bird) from construction paper and before the party hide them around the party area.  Give the party guests a pair of binoculars and tell them to find as many animal prints as they can.   After all the prints are found they can turn them in for candy or small prizes.    You can also hide small plastic animals around the party area and have them search for the animals.    They can turn in the animals for candy or keep them as a party favor.    



Giraffe, Giraffe, Elephant 
Played like duck, duck, goose only the kids hold a stuffed elephant and say "giraffe, giraffe, elephant as they walk around the kids.Feeding Time - Players try and toss peanuts (the kind that still has the shell) into buckets.  Place two buckets 15 - 20 feet from the teams.  Kids have to take a peanut and try to toss it into the bucket.  Set a time limit and then count how many peanuts each team has in their bucket.  



How many peanuts?
This is a fun Icebreaker game to do when the party guests are first arriving.   Fill a large clear plastic jar with unshelled peanuts or a fun candy like fruit shaped Runts.   While you are filling the jar count how many peanuts / candies you put in the jar.  (Write the number down somewhere safe. ) While guests are arriving ask them to guess how many peanuts are in the jar.  Write down their guess and name on a piece of paper.  Close to the parties end announce the guest who came closest to guessing the number of peanuts in the jar.  They win the whole jar of peanuts or another small prize.  

There are lots of fun game ideas on our party games page that are perfect for Zoo theme parties. 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoo Party Invitations
Send out invitations in the shapes of zoo animals or with zoo animals on the front. 

Buy a package of plastic animals and attach a card with the party information to each animal with curling ribbon.  Send them out to the party guests. 

Make cards that have the stripes, spots or patterns of wild animals found at the zoo. 

Verse:
We're going to have a Wild time!




Zoo Party Decorations
Decorate the food table with a solid color tablecloth that reaches the floor and then attach construction paper grey bars to the tablecloth to make it look like a cage.  You can also use grey duct tape for the bars.

Hang a please don't feed the animals sign on the table until you are ready to serve the food.  

Scatter stuffed zoo animals throughout the party area and make a habitat for each one using artificial plants, grasses and flowers. 



Zoo Birthday Food Ideas
Serve chips and snacks in new clean tin buckets.

Trays of fruits and vegetables with pictures of animals that like those kinds of treats.

Popcorn in brown paper bags that say "Gorilla Food".

Peanuts in small bags that say "Elephant Food". 

Animal crackers.

Make cupcakes with lines of black or grey frosting to look like zoo cage bars.  Place a plastic zoo animal on the top.

Cotton candy, snow cones, ice cream bars or anything you would find a vendor selling at the zoo.


Zoo Party Favors
Animal crackers
Plastic zoo animals
Zoo animal stickers
Safari hats
Animal shaped gummy candies
Beanie baby animals
"Put Me In The Zoo" by Robert Lopshire



Zoo Party Goody Bags
Chinese style take out boxes with lines drawn on the outside to look like a zoo cage.

Helium balloons attached to plain paper sacks.  Decorate the sacks with animal stickers.

Tin pails with a zebra, giraffe or leopard bow attached


Western Theme Party

Wish Upon A Star

Wizard of Oz Party

Watermelon Party

Texas Party




This creative Zoo cake was made using Twix candy bars around the outside of a 2 layer cake.  The grass is coconut that has been dyed green with food coloring.  The zoo animals are plastic and can be used as party favors to give to the guests after the party.