How to Throw the Perfect Jungle-Themed Birthday Party

We threw a “Welcome TWO the Jungle” party for our son’s second birthday party. But, you could use this theme for any age or even a baby shower.

This theme was a lot of fun to put together. Although, some of these animals may not technically be found in the “jungle” it all fit nicely together. Below are all the decorations I planned plus themed food!

Decorations:

For the table –

I found these table cloths that came in one pack that were perfect for the theme and covered the amount of tables I had.

After having the animal prints for each table – I decided to have the center pieces match that animal.

First, I purchased flower vases from Dollar Tree then filled them about 1/4 of the way full with sand. Then I placed the matching animal in the vase. A tiger for the tiger table, zebra for the zebra table and giraffe for the giraffe table. I used the cheetah print table cloth for the dessert table, so I didn’t do a center piece.

My son already had these animals and the toy trees I placed inside the vase, so I didn’t have to purchase, but you can also find them here. This is the same pack my son had.

I purchased these palm branches to stick in the sand of the vase as well. I used the bigger palms that come with that back to have the vase and character sitting on.

The paper animal characters I placed with the vase can be found here. With the leftover animals that came with the pack, I was able to place them in various places around the room including paired with themed food.

Miscellaneous decorations –

I found these jungle decor wall pieces at Party City (way before they closed) that I used as a backdrop for people to take pictures in front of. It was a good filler for empty space on the wall.

I found jungle party hats, here that I was able to get double use out of. The kids in attendance were able to wear them and I used them to place on jungle stuffed animals we already had at home. I placed these animals on a chair near the entrance with balloons. The balloon set was also found at Party City.

I made a “Welcome TWO the Jungle” sign in PowerPoint that I printed and laminated. I took a hole punch to the top of each side of the sign and ran green string through it to make it a necklace for the stuffed giraffe.

Food:

Planning food/snacks to tie into this theme was my favorite part! Overall, each food item was super easy too!

Lion Sandwiches –

What you will need:

• Mini sandwiches – we ordered these at our local grocery store, but you could also put them together yourself
• Plain hummus
• Black olives – I used whole olives. Cut into slices and use the end for the nose. Cut a few slices in half to place downwards for the “whiskers” and lines going down from the nose
• Ritz crackers
• Red, orange and yellow bell peppers sliced long way

“Jungle Vines, Gator Teeth and Cheetah Paws” –

These options were super easy, fairly cheap and zero prep so I highly recommend!

Jungle Vines – Veggie straws. I purchased “sea salt” but any flavor would work.

Gator Teeth – Bugels. I purchased multiple flavors of this one including original and nacho cheese.

Cheetah Paws – Cheetos Paws.

Snake Kabobs –

What you will need:

• Kabob sticks
• Green grapes
• Strawberries
• Candy eyes
• Frosting or icing

The frosting or icing is to use as “glue” for the candy eyes to stay on the strawberries. Assemble as pictured.

Tiger Tails –

What you will need:

• Pretzel rods
• Black icing
• Orange candy melts
• Parchment paper – lay the pretzels on here to dry without any sticking

This one takes a lot more prep than most of the others. You will want to melt the orange melts according to the package instructions then dip a little more than half of the pretzel rod into it. Once the orange is dry you can squeeze the black icing over them while moving your hand back and forth to make stripes.

Party Animal Dessert Dip –

You can use any type of dessert dip with this. The main part of this dish is that animal crackers are used for the dip – hence “party animal.” I thought a banana dip would be fitting for the theme because of monkeys. I found this recipe for “Banana Cream Pie Dip” here. It was delicious! I could have eaten by the spoonful.

Plates & Napkins –

These were all purchased at Party City (bummer) but Amazon has some really cute options as well!

For the kids:

I printed off jungle coloring pages for the kids in attendance to color. I found the jungle masks pictured below at Party City for the kids to wear along with the party hats mentioned above.

This party was one of my favorites to come together. The themed food really brought everything together along with the table decorations. Even though this was for my son’s 2nd birthday party, it could be used at any age or even a baby shower!