Every July we celebrate many important birthdays and anniversaries in our family…3 of them being my kids birthdays. Yes, I have three children with July birthdays. It’s a challenge every year to come up with a theme applicable to all three {especially that’s budget-friendly}, but with a boy obsessed with animals and all 3 that love to dance, a DANCING SAFARI made for the perfect theme this year.

With Kraft paper, animal print accessories and fabric, duct tape, a disco ball and creativity, this year’s party was a hit. Here’s the details…

APPETIZER TABLE
Fabric {from Hobby Lobby} cut into strips and then stapled over already existing curtain rod for a backdrop.

I revamped existing lamps and lampshades into Safari Hats by adding rope and a strip of Kraft paper around the lampshade. Just simple clear packing tape was used to keep the rope and Kraft paper in place.

We served Hippo’s Favorite, Avocado Salad, a Lion’s Share of beef and chicken sliders {toothpick with duct tape pressed together and cut into the shape of a flag}, Animal Artichoke Dip, a Cheetah Cheese Plate, Elephant Broccoli Salad and African Fruit Salad.

DINING TABLE
I used a strip of cheetah print fabric for the runner, and then placed an antique piece of wood on top of it. I lined the wood with candles, giraffe bowl and figurines {from a dear friend, Sandy, who carried them with TLC all the way back from Africa} and a bark vase filled with local mountain wild grass.

Place settings inside were made from Kraft paper and on each of them, I used animal stencils to paint giraffe, zebra, lion and hippo silhouettes, and used my alphabet stamp set to add an animal fact to each one.

DANCING DETAILS
I made the dance floor using cardboard and animal print duct tape. I bought cardboard boxes for .60 cents at Wal-Mart, and cut out each square side. I placed duct tape in rows to cover the cardboard, and once all the squares were complete, I laid out each square on the floor, and used black duct tape to ‘tape’ it all together. And, no dance party would be complete without a Disco Ball. I found the Disco Ball for $15 from Party City and used a hook to hang it from our outdoor patio roof.

OTHER DETAILS
The lemonade table is an antique wine barrel {$30 from Wal-Mart}, just turned upside down. The large Mason jar drink dispenser for the lemonade is from Pottery Barn.

For more DIY details, I taped a cardboard box together to make a box, and then wrapped it with Kraft paper. I added the words, “BEWARE” and “DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS” with black acrylic paint. And, I saved a large branch from my yard that I spray painted black to add a more ‘outdoor’ touch.

I covered the back of an antique window pane with Kraft paper and added photos of my children on the front, in each window pane opening. With bright animal print paper, I cut triangles to create a banner to add to the window pane, and a larger banner to hang from the curtain rod in the dining room.

My husband is a builder, so it often comes in handy when I need pieces of wood {conveniently and sometimes inconveniently located on my garage floor}. I used Acrylic paint to write my kids names on antique pieces of wood, and next to each name, my hubby nailed a wood number {from Hobby Lobby} for their age. This matched the look of the invite too!

Guests were greeted with a custom hand-painted wood arrow sign that read, “dancing safari” and an easel with a hand painted photo of an African scene.

FAVORS
Each Safari Adventurer  received a burlap bag with a water bottle and an African animal {hippo, giraffe, zebra, lion and rhino} and each family went home with a CD of all my kids favorite songs {think popular POP artists} to keep the dance party going at home.

VENDOR LOVE
Invites: Custom made by Jenna at Fleur de Lis, a paperie
Cupcakes: Mountain Cupcakes