Everyone loves the zoo, so why not make that the theme of your child’s birthday party? If you can't go to the zoo, you can always create a make-believe one. With all sorts of animals, activities and fun food that can be found at the zoo, the party is sure to be a big hit!

With zoo mania as the theme of your party, why not make your home into a huge zoo? Well, it won’t have real animals…just stuffed animals in cages! It is easy to find stuffed animals of bears, lions, tigers, monkeys, giraffes, and all sorts of creatures that can be placed all over your home. You could even have each guest bring one of their favorite "wild stuffed animals" to the party. To “contain” the animals, you can place baby style playpens, large cardboard boxes cut to look like cages, or even decorated laundry baskets around them!

You can make all those animals into a game, as well. Before the party, make a map of your house or yard. Have the guests each take a map and follow footprint cutouts you place on the ground. Have them fill in what animal is found in each location of your home (and if they can’t write yet, have them draw a picture).

If you are lucky and have some sort of wildlife refuge in your area, give them all call and see what kinds of animals they can bring to your zoo mania party. The guests will get a kick out of seeing large, colorful birds, strange looking rodents, and even long, slithery snakes!

After that, charades of zoo animals is a fun activity. Each guest can think of their favorite zoo animal and get up to act it out. All the other party guests have to guess what they are acting out. If the guests are a little older, they can play something along the lines of 20 questions. Each guest can ask a question, like “Do you have a mane?” The child standing in the front of the group answers based on their favorite animal.

Now, with several large beach balls, you can break the guests into groups of three to play “Monkey in the Middle”. Every few minutes you can tell each member of a team to “switch”, that way if someone is truly stuck in the middle because they cannot reach the ball, they will get out.

Food at a zoo mania party would be similar to any regular party. Popcorn, peanuts, ice cream and cotton candy would all be fun snacks to offer along with the cake. However, you can make the food at your party animal themed as well. The San Diego Zoo website offers great, nutritious recipes like “Warthog Waffles” and “Bonobo Banana Boat”. All are easy to make and fun to eat!

To wrap up the party after snacks have been devoured and presents have been opened, you can always read books to the guests as their parents are picking them up. Your local library is a great resource for books on any subject!

The zoo mania theme is easy to find in many party outlet stores. You will be able to find plates, cups, napkins, decorations, invitations and thank you notes, all with a zoo or wild animal theme. If you do happen to have trouble located paper products, go to your computer and look at the many quality party stores that are located online. (Tip: when ordering online, leave plenty of time for shipping!)

Since we all know that stuffed animals can build up in your home, once the party is over give the wild animals of your zoo away to the guests as their party favor. It will serve as a great memento of a fun event!