Whether you're hosting a safari birthday, a zoo party or festivities dedicated to your child's favorite animal, organize decorations and activities that coordinate with the theme. Choose animal games that let the elementary-school-age kids race, romp and growl for wild prizes. An assortment of challenging contests will make the event memorable for the group of party animals.
Follow the Theme
Set up animal party games that coordinate with the specific theme of the party. Organize activities for a safari party, such as a "giraffe stretch" to see which child can place his sticker the highest on a tree or a "cheetah relay race" to find the team that can run laps around the yard in the fastest time. Host a zoo party with games like a "feed the monkey" banana-eating contest or a "flamingo freeze" to see who can stand still with one leg up like a flamingo the longest. If the party has a horse theme, for example, play "pin the tail on the pony" or set up an obstacle course that requires players to run around pylons on a broomstick horse.
Study the Space
Organize animal-themed party activities based on the party location to ensure you have enough space, can withstand the noise level or have the proper weather conditions. If you're hosting the event outdoors on a summer day, for example, let the kids hold a raucous kangaroo hopping relay race or an "elephant trunk" water game that asks players to knock plastic bottles off a wall with a high-powered squirt gun. When you need to arrange quieter games to play indoors, play an animal sounds guessing game, a pet trivia quiz or a "big game safari" by telling guests to find and collect the 20 to 30 animal stickers hidden throughout the house.
Consider the Budget
If you have a strict party budget, devise kids' animal games that require no materials or that allow you to use supplies you have on hand. For example, let the kids play charades by mimicking an animal's mannerisms to help the group determine its identity. The kids can go on an outdoor safari to write the locations of as many stuffed animals as they can spot hidden in the yard in five minutes. Organize a tossing game that tests how many ping pong ball "berries" a player can feed to a bird stuffed animal sitting inside a laundry basket "cage" within 30 seconds.
Give Prizes
Give the winner of each animal game a themed prize like a stuffed animal, a child's pith helmet, animal non-fiction books or an animal sounds compact disc. You may also want to pass out party favors to all the participants like plastic binoculars, sports bottles printed with animal shapes or boxes of animal crackers.
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