5 Ideas for a DIY Safari-Themed Birthday Party

Planning a kids’ birthday party? These parents take you through the basics so you can plan the perfect safari-themed birthday party for your child or baby

After their elder son’s 1st birthday celebration with an ‘Under the Sea’ theme, parents Dev and Shradha decided to celebrate a safari-themed birthday party for their second son Dylan. This time they picked the wide ballrooms of Holiday Inn Atrium, which they styled up with jungle decoration and entertainment.

Here are some of their tips for planning a Safari themed birthday party.

Read more: How we planned a DIY ‘Under the Sea’-themed first birthday party

“It’s for the kids after all…”

In planning a birthday party it is often easy to forget the most important aspect of a great party – fun and games for the kids. Keeping the kids contained to a fun activity area can help ensure adult guests have time to mingle and eat. Cant-miss activities include Bouncy Castles and Ball Pitts, Balloon Sculpting and Face Painting. A party mascot, like a lion, is always a hit, and bubbles (try placing an electric bubble blower in a strategic corner of the room) create a magical effect.

Nothing beats the sound of laughter and when you hear kids saying “Nooo, I want to play some more…” you know your party’s a hit. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, contact one of Singapore’s top birthday party planners. The lovable lion pictured above came to us via the fab folks at Party Mojo!

“Welcome to the Jungle…”

You could forego a dessert table and setup your own dessert table with toys and small trinkets from online platforms. The trick is to search online early, for just about thing related to the event theme e.g. stuffed toy animals and hunter equipment like plastic rifles, binoculars and safari hat. You’d be surprised how easy it is to put together. We really recommend decorating your goodie bags in the theme too.

Consider placing fake jungle leaves around the hall and hang posters in the spirit of the event. Signboards that say “swing from chair to chair”, “welcome to the jungle” and “have a roaring good time” can help create the ambience. Get your guests into the spirit of theme by indicating a dress code for the party, like safari shirts.

A great birthday cake adds to the feel and the theme, too. Be sure to check out Sassy Mama’s roundup of the best birthday cake bakeries in Singapore!

Another idea to make the memory as comfortable as possible would be to allocate some space for a nursing room and baby chairs if your venue can accommodate the space.

Cake pictured above by NaNa Bake

With a laptop, a portable speaker and YouTube or Spotify you have access to just about all the music you could need for a party. For YouTube, I’d recommend reaching out to the channel owners to ask for permission to stream the music at a party. Many independent artists would not mind for a bit of publicity. Otherwise, there are many purchasable options on iTunes. Here are some of our top picks:

Cool African Music – African Safari

Traditional African Music Compilation: African Tribal Music & African Melodies by Cat Trumpet

It is almost a staple now to ensure the kids have a little something to bring home – like it or not, sometimes the promise of a present is the only way to get a crying child away from his or her friends and into the ride home. Typically parents fill up a goodie bag with little sweets and treats, but it is worthwhile to consider the healthier option of giving just one nice thing, too. Consider an animal hand puppet wrapped in a net, or fold a small backpack in tribal colours into a leaf and tie it.

“Oh what a night…”

With a kids’ party, we think capturing zany and imperfect moments is the way to go. You could easily go with a family photographer, or a family member who knows who to focus on and capture memories of. Either way make sure they don’t miss the star of the day!

If you do go with a professional photographer, then plan with them in advance to take photos of your baby, and introduce direct family members for some family shots at a certain time in the party as this might otherwise be missed. A photo booth is another good alternative.

Last but not the least, bring an extra pair of clothes for the birthday boy or girl. It’s cool if other kids get messy, but not the star of the day. It helps to also pack medicines like Panadol or Ibuprofen to stabilize the temperature. Kids can get unwell suddenly, but it would be an overreaction to cancel the event and lose your deposits when it could be treated with some basic home medication kept handy.