A zoo theme for a first birthday party is a great idea. Everybody loves animals, especially exotic ones, and it’s a neutral theme that all genders and ages can get involved with.
And no first birthday bash would be the same without a showstopping cake, so we’ve cooked up some scrumptious recipes for you to work from.
Meanwhile, if you want even more inspiration for your zoo-themed party, read our handy blog post all about different decor ideas, party games and food options.
1. Party animals.
Go all out with a humongous two or three tiered cake, with different flavour options to suit all of your guests’ tastes. Top it off with some cute animal icing figures and fill in any blank spaces with decorative leaves, plants, flowers and jungle foliage. Lastly, you can personalise it with your baby’s age and name.
2. Save your neck.
Not great at making shapes from icing? Keep it simple, yet sophisticated with this incredible giraffe cake. The Hobbycraft blog talks you through the recipe step-by-step, but all you need is a few batches of cupcakes, coloured icing and some shards of chocolate.
3. Simple, yet effective.
Otherwise, stick to what you know and use completely non-edible plastic figurines to give your cake a jungle edge. We love this crafty idea of making adorable tiny party hats for the toys. Just be sure that the little ones don’t mistake the models as another part of the delicious cake.
4. Bitesize bakes.
Ensure that you have enough cake for each of your guests by making these sweet cupcakes. Offer an assortment flavours and top them off with friendly zoo faces. Kids and adults alike will love tucking into their favourite creature.
5. Get the kids involved.
Save yourself some hassle and get the older children involved in the baking process. Not only do these colourful animal cracker treats look yummy, this blog post has 49 other zoo-related crafts for families to try.
6. The wild side of baking.
If you’re confident at baking, try this scrumptious giraffe swiss roll. You could even try and make different animal prints. We’re thinking leopard, tiger and even zebra!
7. A roaring surprise.
This lion face cake is easy to achieve with basic piping skills and you can even add a little party hat to continue the birthday theme. Perhaps recreate this bake with your baby’s favourite animal?
8. Back to basics.
Everyone loves a Rice Krispie cake. Instantly make them fit your theme with some pre-made cake toppers. These ones are actually inspired by the book Dear Zoo, but you can get your paws on plenty of others in supermarkets, online and on Etsy. Again, these easy-to-make treats are great if you want to get the children involved in the party planning process.
9. Hippo birthday!
This charming bake can be sculpted from your own homemade cake or a couple of shop bought ones. Be brave, get stuck in and be as imaginative as you like. At the end of the day, it’s likely that your birthday boy or girl won’t recall the day at all, especially the cake, so just relax and have fun.
If you are planning a zoo-themed party, be sure to check out our how to host a zoo first birthday party post. We’d also love to see your snaps on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Jenni
Thank you so much for including my cake!