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Zoology Party Planning Guide
Party Tips
1. Mail invitations two weeks before the party date.
2. Plan a safe, comfortable place for the party where the children can have fun, but will not hurt themselves or your home. If planning an outdoor party be sure to have a backup plan in case of bad weather.
3. Limit the party time to two hours or less for children under six years of age. Up to three hours is fine for older children.
4. Prepare more activities than you plan to use in advance. Activities often take less time than planned and you may want to keep the children busy.
5. Include the birthday child in preparations as often as possible. Let him or her stuff the party favor bags, make suggestions for games, help with the decorations, set the table, and mail the invitations - even if that only means putting them in the mailbox.
Fun Activities
Slithering Snakes
Not all snakes are scary! Your guests will love making their own boas and rattlesnakes to wear around their necks. Ask each guest to bring their own necktie, or purchase some from a thrift store. Open the large end of the tie, carefully cutting the threads apart. Stuff each tie with polyester fiberfill, making sure to push some all the way to the skinny end. Afterwards, sew the end up or glue it shut with a hot glue gun. Provide felt, glitter, wiggly eyes, pompoms, buttons, etc. and decorate!
Face Painting
Invite a face painter to come to your party, or let the kids have fun using face paint to create animals on each other’s faces. Provide a wide range of colors and lay out magazines or books to inspire the children, if necessary.
Zoology Trip
Even if you can’t take a trip to your local zoo, the children can still have fun pretending! Write the names of various animals on small pieces of paper and collect them in a hat or bowl. Let each child draw an animal out of the hat, and give them a few minutes to think about the way their chosen animal acts and sounds. If you can’t do this activity outdoors, designate a separate area of a large room for each child to stand. Take an imaginary walk through your own special zoo, and let each child act out their chosen animal as you pass. Stop at each "cage" and guess what each child is supposed to be. (Other "animals" can guess from their cages too!)
Ostrich Egg Relay Race
Separate the children into two single-file lines, facing the same direction. Place an ostrich egg (small balloon) between the knees of each child who is first in line. When the race begins, the first child turns to the second person in line, who must grasp the "egg" between his/her knees. The second child passes it to the third, and so on until the balloon successfully reaches the end of the line. If anyone drops the egg, the team must start over!
Elephant Peanut Hunt
The elephants’ favorite food is missing! Can you help them hunt down their peanuts before snack time? Hide peanuts throughout the house or party area. Based on the age of the children, put them in easy or hard places. Give your hunters a sack to put their peanuts in and let them loose to collect as many as they can find. It’s fun to see just how many peanuts actually make it the sacks!
Delectable Treats
Animal Face Pizzas
For this recipe, you will need half an English muffin for each child. Split muffins in half and spread with pizza sauce. Give each child a muffin half and let them decorate their own pizza. Provide pepperoni, sliced olives, sliced mushrooms, shredded American or mozzarella cheese, and other favorite toppings. Watch as your guests make unique animal faces! Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 5-10 min, or until cheese melts.
Frosty Root Beer Floats
Fill each guests’ glass half-full with root beer. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and carefully add more root beer. The kids will love watching the ice cream float to the top, settling amid the tasty foam. Serve with long handled spoons for added fun!
Lady Bug Lunch
This tasty snack can be quickly prepared beforehand, or used as a fun party activity! For each guest, spread a large leaf of lettuce on a plate. Set a canned pear half in the center of the plate to make the body. On either side of the pear, place a canned apricot half to make wings. Top the pear with red hots, or pimento pieces, to make spots. Take strings of celery (or thin licorice whips) to make antennae, and place cherries or grapes on the ends. To make legs, add raisins, or chocolate pieces. Hint: with a little creativity, this activity can be easily altered to make mice, caterpillars, or any animal your guests can think of. Let your guests use their imaginations and have fun!
Jell-O® Eatin’ Contest
Make a bowl of Jell-O® for each guest. Label each bowl with a zoo animal, such as a lion, tiger, hippo, rhino, zebra, giraffe, etc. Lay a protective covering on the ground and line the bowls up. Throughout the game, each player must keep their hands on the ground beside their bowl. When the command is given to start, all contestants can begin eating their Jell-O® without using their hands. The first animal to clean his or her bowl wins!
Zookies
Have your partygoers decorate their own animal cookies! Prepare your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Cut out zoo animals using as many different animal-shaped cookie cutters as you can find. To make glossy icing, sift confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and slowly add hot water (while mixing) until it becomes a smooth paste. Add food coloring to bowls of icing to make an array of animal colors. Lay the cookies, bowls of icing, sprinkles, etc. on the table and let the kids decorate 2-3 of their very own animal cookies.
Pigs in a Blanket
Your guests are sure to squeal over these delectable delights. Purchase your favorite brand of hot dogs, cheese, and refrigerator croissants. Slice hot dogs lengthwise and cut cheese into strips. Unroll croissants and stuff them with hot dogs and cheese. Roll croissants back up and bake as directed, or until golden brown.
These delicious treats are so good, your party guests will clean every last crumb from their plates. Don't be surprised if they make pigs of themselves and come back for more!
Decorating Tips
Spread your tablecover on your party table. If your child has any theme-related toys, you can add them to the table for a more festive display.
Cut several one-to-two-foot-long pieces of curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon by pulling it between your thumb and the blade of your scissors. Lay the resulting curls on your table for added color. Hang balloons in bunches for the best effect. If you choose to fill balloons with helium, wait until the party day to ensure they float well!
Use balloons to mark the party spot; hang them on the mailbox, near the front door, or tie them to the birthday child's chair to mark the seat of honor.
Place balloons anywhere that strikes your fancy. The more the better!
Gather six or eight streamers and attach them to the ceiling in the center of the party room (or over the table). Use a light fixture over the table, if you have one, as the center point for the streamers.
To create colorful two-tone streamers, put two differently colored streamers back-to-back, twist as you walk them to the wall, and attach at shoulder height.
Smile for the Camera!
Be sure to take lots of pictures. You and your child will want to remember this special party. A helpful hint: Order extra prints and send them to the parents afterward. Remember, it's not necessary to have everyone in each picture. Focus on small groups and avoid posing all the photos. Candids capture the laughter best!
