This March my baby Blake turned 2 years old. I planned a simple but cute safari theme birthday play date for him and four of his friends.

Decorations and Menu:

• I made vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Decorated them with animal faces made out of fondant.
• I took butcher paper to cover table and backdrop. I centered a cardboard tree cutout on the back drop.
• My husband cut three 3 inch thick pieces of wood rounds. I used them to display the cupcakes in a staggered pattern.
• I bought cute burlap bags to use as goody bags. Each bag had a stuffed animal and a pack of animal cookies.
• Instead of party hats the children got animal masks to wear.
• I found animal bottles on Oriental Trading.
• Inflatable animal balloons made the party space feel like a safari.
• The party took place around brunch time, so the menu was simple and light. Food was buffet style so guest could make their own croissants or bagel sandwiches. The menu consisted of croissants, mini bagels, assorted cured meats and cheeses, cream cheese, chicken salad, animal shape turkey cheese sandwiches, oatmeal cookies, and a fruit bar. Costco Wholesale is my go to place to buy food for all of my events.

Tips for a birthday play date celebration for a toddler:

• Invited a few friends around the same age as the birthday child. Since Blake was turning 2 I doubled his age and invited 4 friends, all 2 year old. I did have two older kid there, my other son Logan and nephew Joel.
• Parties for children should not be longer then 2 hours. Entertaining 2 years olds is a lot of work to have a party drag out. Also little ones get cranky when overstimulated.
• Plan the party early before most children have to go down for there nap. My son takes a nap around 1 PM so I planned the party to end around that time. Blake was so tired he took a 2 hours nap after his celebration.
• Food menu should be simple, healthy, and kid friendly.
• Limit sugary items. The cupcakes, cookies, and fruit on the menu was enough sugar so having candy was not necessary.
• Setup a few age appropriate games, set around the theme. The kids played frog hopscotch.
• Music and dancing make a party come alive. The children danced to my sons favorite group Kidz Bop.