Safari Baby Shower Ideas: A Little Wild One Celebration

01 A sand, ochre and green palette (without all the beige)

A safari palette is sand, cream, ochre, tan and deep brown, with green from real or faux leaves. Here’s the trap: everything turns beige. Beige balloons, beige plates, a beige watercolor giraffe on the cake.

It’s tasteful, and a little sleepy. Keep sand for the background, and layer real warmth and real green on top.

• Savanna sand for tablecloths, balloons and anything big
• Sun cream for paper, napkins and the cake
• Golden ochre for ribbon, napkin rings and a few gold animals
• Acacia tan in wood, rattan and woven baskets
• Deep bark for the lettering on signs and cards

Then add green, and plenty of it, from palm leaves, monstera and eucalyptus. It’s also a naturally gender-neutral baby shower theme: animals and earth tones don’t announce anything about the baby.

02 Safari baby shower decorations, from the door to the jeep

Eight safari baby shower decorations, in the order guests meet them: a welcome sign, a paw-print trail, a balloon garland, a photo corner, a runner of leaves, a wooden safari truck, gold animals at every seat and an olive runner under the leaves. About $95 buys them all, or $111 with a neon sign in the photo corner.

Not included: the kraft tags for the place cards ($1.98), eucalyptus picks, a paint marker, a balloon pump, removable hooks, tape, and tax and shipping. Prices are what US retailers showed online on October 13, 2026. Amazon prices change often, so yours may differ.

Safari or jungle? A safari theme is the open savanna: acacia trees, tall grass, giraffes and zebras. A jungle theme is the rainforest: palms, vines, monstera and a monkey or two.

You don’t have to choose. Savanna colors with jungle greenery look fuller than either alone, so most jungle baby shower ideas fit right in. Strictly speaking, lions don’t live in the jungle, but nobody at your shower will mind.

1. A “wild one” welcome sign

A sign on an easel by the door: “A little wild one is on the way. Welcome to the baby shower for Maya & Jordan,” with your own names. Deep bark lettering on white, with a palm leaf tucked behind one corner.

• Buy: a 20-by-30-inch white foam board ($1.99) and a beechwood floor easel ($11.99) at Hobby Lobby, plus a dark brown paint marker.
• Make: letter it in pencil first, then go over it in marker, the day before.
• Smaller: a 5-by-7-inch acrylic “A Little Wild One” sign is $7.99 on Amazon, for a table rather than the door.

“Wild one” usually belongs to first birthdays, but a wild one baby shower works just as well.

2. A paw-print trail

Paw prints from the front door to the party. Little guests will follow them all the way in.

• Buy: 36 paper paw prints, about 6 inches, for $1.49 at Hobby Lobby. Or 32 floor decals that stay put when wet, $5.99 on Amazon.
• Lay: tape the paper ones flat with painter’s tape so nobody slips, the morning of.

They’re dog paws, but nobody will check the tracks.

3. A balloon garland

The decoration almost every safari shower guide features: a cloud of sand, green, tan and brown balloons, with palm leaves tucked in.

• Buy: four bags of 25 balloons, 12 inches, at Hobby Lobby, in Neutral Green, White Sands, Tan and Brown ($1.59 each), and a 16-foot balloon strip (99 cents). Or a 166-piece jungle kit with palm leaves, $9.99 on Amazon.
• Make: blow the balloons up to different sizes, push each knot through a hole in the strip, and mix the colors in clusters of three or four. Tuck a few faux palm leaves into the gaps.
• Time: plan an evening, the day before. It goes much faster with a helper and a pump.
• Hang: on a bare wall with removable hooks, as the backdrop for the photo corner below.

4. A photo corner

Put a chair for the parents-to-be under the garland, and everyone gets a photo with them there.

• Buy: an “Oh Baby” LED neon sign, 18 by 19 inches, for $15.99 at Hobby Lobby. It plugs in and is for indoor use only.
• Set up: hang the sign on the wall under the garland, and set the chair in front.

5. A runner of palm and monstera leaves

Leaves laid down the middle of the table, overlapping, with the platters set on top of them.

• Buy: three 4-packs of faux palm leaves ($2.99 each) and two 5-packs of faux monstera leaves ($4.99 each) at Hobby Lobby: $18.95 for 22 leaves. Three eucalyptus picks add $4 to $6.
• Real leaves? The ASPCA lists areca and parlor palms as non-toxic to cats and dogs, and monstera, eucalyptus and sago palm as toxic. With pets or toddlers around, go faux for those three.
• After: faux leaves go in a box for the next party.

6. A safari jeep centerpiece

The centerpiece is a toy safari jeep or truck loaded with animals, in the middle of the main table.

• Buy: Melissa & Doug’s Animal Rescue wooden play set, $30.99: a wooden box truck with a zebra-striped cab, seven animals that slot into its sides, from a zebra to an elephant, and two rangers. For animals riding in the back, Schleich’s jungle off-roader set is $39.99: an open ranger truck with one baby elephant, so add a few gold animals to its bed. Siku’s metal safari jeep is only 3 inches long, $8.47 on Amazon: a cake topper, not a centerpiece.
• After: it’s a real toy, so it goes home with the parents-to-be.

7. Gold animals at every seat

A small gold animal at each place, with the guest’s name on a kraft tag around its neck. It’s the place card, and the favor too.

• Buy: 24 gold safari animals, about 2 inches, $11.99 on Amazon. Or paint your own: two packs of 18 plastic zebras, giraffes and elephants ($4.99 each) and a can of Krylon gold spray paint ($8.99), all at Hobby Lobby. Skip Hobby Lobby’s $7.99 animal pack: it comes with a moose and a polar bear.
• Tags: 12 kraft tags for 99 cents at Hobby Lobby, so two packs.
• Make: spray the animals outdoors the day before, so they’re dry by the party, and write the tags.
• Good to know: small toy animals are a choking hazard for children under 3, as Hobby Lobby’s pack says on its label. Skip the seats of children under 3.

8. An olive runner on an ivory cloth

A plain ivory table cover, an olive green runner down the middle, and the leaves on top.

• Buy: an ivory plastic table cover, 54 by 108 inches, 99 cents, and a Dusty Olive cotton runner, 13 by 72 inches, $8.99, both at Hobby Lobby. Burlap and jute runners are $4.99 there.

03 Safari baby shower food for a room full of grazers

Safari baby shower food is a grazing spread: animal cookies, a cheese board, a lion veggie platter, fruit, sandwiches, pretzel rods, snack mix and a zebra cake. For a 2½-hour afternoon shower, plan 12 to 15 small pieces a guest, the count Cooking For Crowds For Dummies gives for appetizers without a meal.

Grocery prices below are one store’s online price on October 13, 2026, and vary by store.

1. Iced animal cookies

Sugar cookies cut into an elephant, a giraffe, a lion and a zebra, iced in sand, ochre and deep brown.

• How many: 2 a guest, so 40 for 20. Cooking For Crowds For Dummies counts 2 to 3 cookies a person; with a cake on the table, 2 is enough.
• Make: with animal cookie cutters, about 3 inches, and royal icing.
• When: bake them two days ahead, ice them the day before, and let the icing dry overnight.
• Or buy them: one online bakery sells a dozen safari sugar cookies for $65, about $5.40 a cookie. The shortcut is Mother’s frosted Circus Animal cookies, $7.99 for an 18-ounce party bag at Hy-Vee, in pink and white rather than safari colors.

2. A cheese board with no cold cuts

Two or three hard cheeses on a wooden board, with crackers and a handful of animal crackers.

• Cheese: 1¼ to 2¼ pounds for 20, at 1 to 1¾ ounces a guest, the starter portion the cheesemaker Castello gives.
• Crackers: America’s Test Kitchen’s board chart counts 4 to 6 ounces a guest. With seven other dishes on the table, half is plenty: 2½ to 3¾ pounds for 20, and what’s left keeps.
• Which cheeses: cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan or Asiago made with pasteurized milk, the CDC’s safer list. Cream cheese, mozzarella and feta are on it too, when they’re pasteurized. Queso fresco isn’t, even pasteurized.
• The day before: cube or slice the cheese and keep it covered in the fridge.
• Serve: half at the start, the other half from the fridge an hour later.

3. A lion veggie platter

Hummus spread in a circle for the face, strips of red, orange and yellow pepper all around for the mane, olives for the eyes and nose, and two round crackers for the ears.

• How many: 2½ to 5 pounds of vegetables and about 5 cups of hummus for 20. That’s half of the 4 to 8 ounces of vegetables and ½ cup of dip a guest in America’s Test Kitchen’s board chart, since seven other dishes share the table.
• Vegetables: bell peppers in three colors for the mane, then carrots, cucumber and snap peas in bowls around it.
• The day before: wash and cut the vegetables, and keep them in airtight containers in the fridge. The FDA advises people at higher risk of foodborne illness, pregnant people among them, not to eat unwashed fresh vegetables.
• Serve: build the lion just before guests arrive, and keep the rest cold, to swap in a fresh plate.

4. Fruit around a pineapple palm tree

A platter of cut fruit with a palm tree standing in the middle: two bananas for the trunk, and a pineapple’s leafy top for the fronds.

• How many: one extra-large party tray, which Hy-Vee says serves 26 to 39, for $70, or two medium trays, which serve 11 to 16 each, for $58. Cutting your own? Those two trays work out to about 4 to 8 ounces a serving, dip included, so plan 5 to 10 pounds of cut fruit for 20.
• Make the tree: cut the top off a pineapple with an inch of fruit attached. Stand an 18-inch wooden dowel in a melon half, cut side down, in the middle of the platter. Thread on two peeled bananas cut into 1-inch rounds, brush them with lemon juice so they stay pale, and press the pineapple top onto the tip. Try it once the week before.
• When: cut the fruit the morning of and keep it in the fridge. Build the tree just before serving.
• Good to know: the CDC counts cut melon among the foods that shouldn’t sit out more than 2 hours.

5. Animal-shaped sandwiches

Small sandwiches cut with the same cutters as the cookies: an elephant, a giraffe, a lion and a zebra.

• How many: 1 a guest: 20 sandwiches, from about 2 loaves of sandwich bread.
• Fillings, no cold cuts: cucumber and cream cheese made with pasteurized milk, egg salad made with hard-cooked eggs and store-bought mayonnaise, or hummus and shredded carrot. Make the egg salad at home: the CDC lists premade deli salads, egg salad among them, as riskier in pregnancy.
• When: make the fillings the day before. Fill and cut the sandwiches the morning of, and keep them covered in the fridge until you serve them.

6. Animal-print pretzel rods

Pretzel rods dipped in white, orange or caramel candy melts, with zebra stripes or cheetah spots drawn on in dark chocolate.

• How many: 30 for 20, so some guests can have two.
• Make: dip two-thirds of each rod and let it set on parchment. Pipe thin lines of melted dark chocolate across it for zebra stripes, or dots you smudge with a toothpick for cheetah spots.
• When: the day before, in an airtight container somewhere cool.

7. Safari snack mix

Pretzels, animal crackers, peanuts and popcorn, served in paper cones. Peanuts for the elephant, if anyone asks.

• How many: ½ cup a guest, the serving Betty Crocker gives for its Chex party mix: 10 cups for 20.
• Mix: two 5-cup batches. Make the peanut-free one first, in a clean bowl: pretzels, animal crackers and popcorn. Then the other: equal parts pretzels, animal crackers, peanuts and popcorn. Before you call the first batch peanut-free, check every bag for a “may contain peanuts” line.
• When: mix everything but the popcorn the day before, and keep it airtight. Add the popcorn the morning of.
• Serve: the peanut-free batch in a different color cone.

8. A zebra cake

Chocolate and vanilla batter spooned into the pan in alternating rings, so every slice comes out striped. Frost the outside in plain cream-colored buttercream, and let the stripes be the surprise at the first cut.

• How many: two 9-inch layers, stacked: Wilton counts 24 party slices for a two-layer 9-inch cake, and about 12 for one layer.
• Make: King Arthur Baking’s zebra cake makes one 9-by-2-inch layer, so make it twice. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of vanilla batter into the middle of the pan, then 3 tablespoons of chocolate into the middle of that, and keep alternating. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350°F.
• The day before: bake the layers and keep them tightly covered at room temperature, and make the frosting. A buttercream made with butter and shortening can stay out up to 2 days, Wilton says; an all-butter one needs the fridge.
• Good to know: nobody pregnant licks the spoon. The FDA advises people at higher risk of foodborne illness against raw flour and raw eggs in batter.
• Variant: cupcakes. Order two dozen plain ones from a grocery bakery and top each with a gold animal from a second 24-pack ($11.99 on Amazon). Take the animal off before a small child gets one: it’s small enough to choke on.

9. The watering hole

Every safari needs a watering hole: a drink station with lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water and a pitcher of fruit water, with sliced pineapple, oranges and ice.

• How many: 1 to 2 eight-ounce drinks a guest an hour, so 50 to 100 for 20 guests over 2½ hours: about 3 to 6 gallons in all.
• Ice: 1 to 2 pounds a guest, Reddy Ice says: 20 to 40 pounds, or three to six 7-pound bags. More outdoors in the heat.
• When: brew and chill the tea the day before, and make one pitcher decaf. Slice the fruit the morning of.
• Wine? Set it at the back, so the parents-to-be and anyone else skipping alcohol reach the lemonade first.

The make-ahead plan

1. 1
   Two weeks before

   Order the cookies if a bakery makes them, and the fruit trays if you’re buying them. Buy the candy melts, crackers and dry snacks.
2. 2
   Two days before

   Bake the cookies.
3. 3
   The day before

   Ice the cookies, bake the cake layers and make the frosting, dip the pretzel rods, mix the snack mix without the popcorn, wash and cut the vegetables, make the sandwich fillings, cube the cheese and brew the tea. The sign, the balloon garland, the gold animals and the favor bags want the same evening: line up a helper.
4. 4
   The morning of

   Frost the cake, fill and cut the sandwiches, cut the fruit and add the popcorn. Build the lion and the palm tree just before guests arrive.
5. 5
   During the shower

   Bring the food out in small platters, swap them rather than topping them up, and throw away anything that has been out of the fridge for 2 hours.

04 Safari baby shower ideas for games and activities

Nine safari baby shower games and activities: guess the baby animal names, decorate a onesie, the animal cracker jar, a diaper raffle, a scavenger hunt, guess the birthdate, a safari Price Is Right, animal bingo and wishes on a kraft paper runner. Keep them calm and easy to join: the good ones can be picked up and put down between bites.

1. Guess the baby animal names

A card with 20 animals and a blank beside each. Guests write what each baby is called, like a calf or a cub.

• Players: everyone, alone or in pairs.
• Time: about 5 minutes.
• You’ll need: one printed card a guest, with the 20 animals below, and pens.
• How: no phones. When time is up, guests swap cards and mark them while you read the answers.
• Variant: two scrambled columns to match, for kids. Or turn it around: give the baby’s name and accept any animal it fits.
• Winner: the most right answers. Tie? The first to call out what a baby hedgehog is called (a hoglet).

2. Decorate a onesie

Plain white onesies and fabric markers on a side table: zebra stripes, giraffe spots, paw prints, a little elephant. The parents-to-be go home with a first wardrobe.

• Players: anyone, at a drop-in table open for the first hour.
• Time: 10 to 15 minutes a onesie.
• You’ll need: Gerber’s 15-pack of white onesies in sizes 0-3, 3-6 and 6-9 months ($30.56 on sale on Gerber’s website) and 12 Tulip fine-tip fabric markers ($10.99 at Hobby Lobby): $41.55 for 15 guests. Plus a piece of cardboard to slide inside each onesie, and twine and clothespins to hang them.
• How: wash the onesies before the shower, as the label and Tulip both advise. Guests decorate the front only, and write their name on a tag, not on the onesie.
• Variant: bibs or burp cloths instead.
• Winner: nobody, or the parents-to-be pick a favorite.

Tulip’s markers need no heat-setting: the onesies can go in the wash on gentle after 24 hours. Crayola’s fabric markers need ironing on the back for 4 minutes, so tell the parents-to-be which brand you used.

3. The animal cracker jar

A big jar of animal crackers, and a slip for everyone’s guess. Closest guess takes the jar home.

• Players: everyone, as they arrive.
• Time: a minute to guess; the answer comes near the end.
• You’ll need: a 1-gallon glass jar ($10.99 at Hobby Lobby), enough animal crackers to fill it, plus a spare bag ($2.99 for 13 ounces at ALDI): what doesn’t fit goes in the snack mix. And slips, a pen, an envelope and a kitchen scale.
• How: one guess each, with a name on the slip.
• Variant: closest without going over, the Price Is Right rule.
• Winner: the closest guess. Tie? The two share the jar.

4. A diaper raffle

Each pack of diapers a guest brings earns a raffle ticket, and you draw a winner at the end.

• Players: every guest who brings a pack.
• Time: a minute at the door, and a minute for the draw.
• You’ll need: a double roll of numbered tickets, so guests keep one half and drop the other in a bowl: 1,000 for $7.89 on Amazon. Hobby Lobby’s single roll of 500 is $3.99: guests write their name on the back of each ticket they drop in. Mailing paper invitations? Hobby Lobby sells 20 diaper raffle inserts for 99 cents.
• How: one ticket per pack, any size.
• Variant: a pack of wipes earns a ticket too.
• Winner: the ticket drawn at the end. A small plant or a gift card makes a good prize.

Put it on the invitation, so guests know before they shop:

Our diaper raffle invitation wording guide has more lines to copy, from a quick text to a formal card.

5. A safari scavenger hunt

Ten small toy animals hidden around the room before guests arrive. The hunt is to spot them, not to move them.

• Players: everyone, alone or in teams of two.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• You’ll need: 10 animals from Hobby Lobby’s pack of 18 ($4.99), a card listing them, and pens. Hide them in plain sight, out of a toddler’s reach: on a high shelf, on a picture frame, on top of the bookcase. Count all ten back into the bag at the end.
• How: guests write down where they saw each animal, and leave it there.
• Variant: kids 5 and up, the age on the pack, collect them in a basket instead. Keep the pack away from children under 3: it’s a choking hazard.
• Winner: the most animals found. Tie? The first card handed in.

6. Guess the birthdate

A calendar of the due month and the weeks around it, and each guest picks the day they think the baby will arrive.

• Players: everyone.
• Time: a minute at the door.
• You’ll need: a printed calendar of the due month, the one before and the one after, and a pen.
• How: guests write their name on the day they pick. Two guests can share a day.
• Variant: guess the time of birth too, for the tie-break.
• Winner: the closest date, announced by the parents-to-be once the baby is here. Two on the same day? Both win.

7. A safari Price Is Right

Ten baby items on a tray, and guests guess what each one costs, like the game show.

• Players: everyone, alone or in pairs.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• You’ll need: 10 items from the parents-to-be’s registry or the store, with the receipts, a numbered card a guest, and pens. The items become part of your gift.
• How: guests write a price for each item. Read the real prices out one by one.
• Variant: guess the total of the whole tray.
• Winner: a point for each closest guess without going over; the most points wins. Tie? Closest guess at the tray’s total.

8. Animal bingo

Bingo with animals instead of numbers. You call an animal, and guests cross it off.

• Players: everyone.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• You’ll need: a blank 4-by-4 grid a guest, the 20 animals of the baby animal game on slips in a bowl, and pens.
• How: guests fill their grid with 16 of the 20 animals, in any order. Draw the slips one by one and read each animal out.
• Variant: gift bingo. Guests fill the grid with gifts they think the parents-to-be will open, and cross them off as the gifts are opened.
• Winner: the first full row, column or diagonal. Two on the same call? Both win.

9. Wishes on a kraft paper runner

A roll of kraft paper down a side table, with markers. Guests write a wish or a piece of advice for the baby, and the parents-to-be roll it up and take it home.

• Players: everyone, whenever they like.
• Time: a minute or two each, all afternoon.
• You’ll need: a 4-by-25-foot roll of kraft paper ($5.99 at Hobby Lobby) and a few markers.
• How: tape the paper to the table, write one prompt at the top, like “A wish for your first year,” and set the markers beside it. Roll it up after the last guest leaves.
• Variant: wishes on the back of the place-card tags, dropped in a jar.
• Winner: none. It’s a keepsake.

05 Safari baby shower favors guests will actually take home

The best safari baby shower favors are small, inexpensive and on theme: animal crackers in a tagged bag, an iced animal cookie, a mini succulent or the gold animal from the place card. Here are ten, each with its prep, cost and count.

Pick one, two at most. Each count below adds about 10% for a surprise plus-one or a favor that breaks. Costs are per favor, before tax and shipping, from US retailers’ prices checked on October 13, 2026.

Set them on a tray or in a basket by the door, up where toddlers can’t reach, so guests pick one up on the way out. Tie on a small tag in deep bark lettering: “Thanks for joining the herd.”

1. Animal crackers in a tagged bag

A small handful of animal crackers in a clear cellophane bag, tied with twine and the tag.

• Prep: about a minute a bag. Fill and tie them the day before: tied shut, they stay crisp overnight.
• Cost: about 35 to 60 cents a bag: 1 to 2 ounces of crackers ($2.99 for 13 ounces at ALDI), plus a 4-by-9-inch cello bag and a kraft tag from Hobby Lobby (50 bags for $1.99, 12 tags for 99 cents).
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

2. One iced animal cookie

An iced sugar cookie shaped like an elephant, giraffe, lion or zebra, in a clear bag. Ask your baker how much notice they need, and for the ingredient list for the tag.

• Prep: about a minute a cookie to bag and tie. If you bake them yourself, bake two days ahead, ice them the next day, and let the icing dry overnight before you bag them. Use meringue powder, not raw egg whites (see the food section).
• Cost: about $5.40 a cookie at one online bakery, which sells a dozen safari sugar cookies for $65, plus shipping.
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

3. A mini succulent in a small pot

A succulent in a 2-inch pot. Mixed bulk packs usually include crassulas, like the jade plant, which the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats and dogs. Zebra haworthia, striped in white, is on its non-toxic list: pick that one for homes with pets.

• Prep: a few seconds a pot to tie the tag. Buy them up to a week ahead, keep them in bright light, and tag them the day before.
• Cost: about $1.70 to $1.80 a plant, in 2-inch pots, from a mixed bulk pack of 25 or 50 at Mountain Crest Gardens, or $6.49 for a single zebra haworthia there.
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

4. The gold animal that held the place card

The gold animals from the place cards, one at each adult’s seat, bought gold or painted. Small toy animals are a choking hazard for children under 3.

• Prep: nothing to do if you bought them gold. Painting your own? A few minutes of spray painting outdoors the day before, so they’re dry by the party.
• Cost: about 50 cents each for Deekin’s 24 gold animals ($11.99 on Amazon). Painted, 50 cents to $1 a guest for 18 to 36 guests, paint included: 18 small plastic safari animals cost $4.99 at Hobby Lobby, and a can of gold spray paint $8.99.
• How many: one at each adult seat, plus a few spares.

5. A chocolate bar in a zebra-stripe band

A regular chocolate bar wrapped in a band of zebra-stripe paper, taped at the back, with the tag on the front.

• Prep: print zebra stripes on plain paper and cut it into bands. Wrap the bars the day before, about a minute each, and keep them somewhere cool: chocolate softens in a warm room.
• Cost: $1.50 for a 1.55-ounce Hershey’s bar in Dollar Tree stores (online, it comes by the case of 72), plus printer paper and ink for the bands.
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

6. A small jar of safari snack mix

A little jar of safari snack mix: pretzels, animal crackers and, if you like, peanuts. Make a second, peanut-free batch first, in a clean bowl, and say which is which on the tag.

• Prep: about a minute a jar. Fill and close the jars the day before.
• Cost: about 67 cents a jar (twelve 4-ounce glass favor jars with a heart design for $7.99 at Hobby Lobby), plus the snack mix.
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

7. A mini plush animal, for a small guest list

A small plush elephant, giraffe, lion or zebra. It costs the most of the ten, and it lasts.

• Prep: a few seconds each. Tie the tag around each neck the day before. For a child under 3, check the age on the label.
• Cost: about $7 each: a 5-inch plush giraffe is $6.99 at Hobby Lobby.
• How many: one a household, plus 10%.

8. A packet of wildflower seeds

A seed packet with a tag that says “Grow wild.” If you can, choose a mix sold for your region.

• Prep: nothing to make, just a few seconds a packet to tag, any day before the party.
• Cost: 60 to 75 cents a packet at American Meadows, depending on sales, with a 10-packet minimum.
• How many: one a guest or a household, plus 10%.

9. A kraft bookmark stamped with an animal

A plain kraft bookmark, stamped with an elephant, a giraffe, a lion or a zebra, with “Thanks for joining the herd.” written underneath.

• Prep: a few seconds a bookmark. Stamp and write them the day before, so the ink has time to dry.
• Cost: about 3 cents each (50 for $1.29 at Hobby Lobby), plus an animal stamp and an ink pad if you don’t have them.
• How many: one a guest, plus 10%.

10. Safari animal erasers, for kids 3 and up

Two or three small erasers shaped like zebras, elephants and cheetahs, in a small paper bag. Hobby Lobby lists them for ages 3 and up.

• Prep: about a minute a bag. Fill the bags the day before.
• Cost: about 26 cents an eraser (25 for $6.49 at Hobby Lobby), so 50 to 80 cents for two or three, plus the bag.
• How many and where: one bag per child 3 and up, in a separate basket by the door.

06 A safari baby shower invitation guests can explore

Send the invitation four to six weeks before the shower, with the date, the time, the place, the RSVP date and how to reply. It sets the tone long before anyone spots a paw print.

Safari wording to copy

Swap in your own names and details. More are in the safari section of our invitation wording guide.

An invitation with a jeep in it

Rather send a link than a card? Modern Safari, our animal baby shower website, opens on “Tap the jeep to explore”: one tap, and four friends drop into the jeep, the palms part on your details, and guests RSVP right on the website. The example is filled in with fictional details.

07 When to throw a safari baby shower (any month works)

A safari baby shower works in any month: the theme has no season. January or July, the animals don’t mind.

A winter shower fills a room with green while everything outside is gray. A summer one outdoors needs real shade and plenty of water: CDC heat guidance notes that pregnancy can make heat-related illness more likely. On a hot day, food gets 1 hour out of the fridge, not 2, above 90°F.

Whatever the month, work backward:

1. 1
   Start with the due date

   Showers are usually held in the third trimester, often around weeks 28 to 34. Find those weeks on the calendar first.
2. 2
   Pick the day

   Choose a date that works for the parents-to-be, then book the venue.
3. 3
   Count back four to six weeks

   That’s when invitations usually go out. An early June shower means sending the invitations in late April or early May.

Torn between two themes? If your date lands in the fall, our fall baby shower ideas build the party around pumpkins instead.

Or trade the savanna for a shady forest with our woodland baby shower ideas.

08 Questions