There now three Madagascar movies – not to mention all the spinoffs – and kids love them all. Madagascar parties are a blast because there’s so much you can do with them. You can go with a zoo theme, a jungle theme, or a circus theme all while sticking to the overall Madagascar theme.
Madagascar Party Invitations
Breaking Out – Madagascar 1
You can make your own invitations by using images from the movie, or try wooden crates – the kind the animals were shipped in – on the front.
Sample text:
We’re breaking out for birthday fun at [Child’s Name] 3rd birthday party!
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Madagascar Party Decorations
Animal Prints
In your driveway or on the sidewalk leading up to your house, use sidewalk chalk to add various animal footprints. Kids will know they are coming to an extraordinary party when they see the prints outside.
Go Jungle
For the inside of your home, go wild! Vines are easy to make out of green paper streamers. Just twist them up and hang them from the ceiling, and over doors and windows.
If you have house plants, move them all into one area to give the room a lush, green look. Or buy silk greenery to hang up and turn your home into a jungle.
Go Circus
If you’re planning a Madagascar 3 party, a circus look is fun. Streamers and bright colors make for fun and easy circus decor. Add a circus canopy tent for a fun and festive addition to your decorations.
Tableware
Madagascar Party Food and Snacks
Trail Mix
Tropical fruit, nuts, all kinds of wild things… Trail mix is a great snack for a Madagascar Party. Try putting it in paper lunch bags – enough for each guest to have one – and marking it ‘Zebra Chow – For Zoo Animals Only’.
Fruit
Another great jungle food! Try chopping bananas in half (the short way). It makes good serving sizes, and also makes it easier for kids to peel them on their own – which they love to do!
Try some exotic fruits – kiwi is fairly easy to get, but most kids don’t eat them all that often which, of course, makes them fun! Or try starfruit. They taste a bit like apples, and when sliced, the pieces are shaped like stars. Fresh pineapple is usually a hit with kids, too. If you don’t think they’ll eat it, you can use them as decorations for the party.
Jungle Punch
Fruit Punch makes great “Jungle Punch”, just make sure the kids know they do swallow it, not spit it out!
Fish
Fish? At a kids’ party?? While Alex decided fish was better than steak, most kids won’t enjoy sushi at a birthday party. Try tuna salad on crackers with a small piece of lettuce on top to make ‘Alex’s Favorite Sushi’! Still too fishy for you? Go for goldfish crackers!
Other Party Snacks
Animal crackers and animal-shaped fruit snacks are always popular with kids, and go great with a Madagascar theme party. Or, for a Madagascar 3 party, try traditional circus food – popcorn and peanuts.
Madagascar 3 Movie Soundtrack
Madagascar Birthday Cakes
Madagascar 1 Jungle Cake
This is a super easy cake you can make yourself. You need an 8×13 cake and one cupcake, preferably chocolate.
Frost an inch or so of one of the narrow ends of the cake blue (water). Add a couple inches of light brown (sand) above the blue. Frost the remainder in green (jungle).
Peel the paper off the cupcake and frost the top green. If it is not a chocolate cupcake, cover the sides with chocolate frosting. This is the big tree where the lemurs hung out in the first movie. Place it at the other end of the cake(away from the sand and water).
Add a few plastic palm trees to the cake along with some plastic jungle animals (check your local dollar store). To finish it off, get a small plastic airplane (again – check your area dollar stores) and stick it in the cupcake tree, and you have an adorable birthday cake!
Circus Tent Cake
This circus tent cake is perfect for a Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted birthday party – just add some Madagascar figurines around the edges.
Supplies
- 9 inch round cake pan
- Wonder mold cake pan(the same one that makes those Barbie doll cakes)
- White fondant
- Colored fondant (or use icing if you prefer)
- 1/4″ dowel rods – you can use wooden dowel rods or plastic dowel rods
Directions
Make four 9-inch cake rounds for the base. Make the wonder mold cake for the roof. Stack two of the 9 inch rounds on top of each other. Cut the dowel rods to the height of the stack and place four of them in a circle about midway out of the center. Place the other two 9 inch rounds on top of the stack. Add dowel rods to these two rounds as you did the first two. The dowel rods support the weight of the tiers. Place the wonder mold dome on top of the four rounds, and cover with fondant or icing.
Party Games and Activities
Paper Plate Lion Mask, inspired by Alex the Lion
This Madagascar-inspired lion mask is a great startup activity (for when your party is just starting up). Kids can join in easily as they arrive, as everyone makes their own. You can offer this along with the penguin mask below if you like.
You need a paper plate (I used 9″ plain paper plates) for each child, crayons, and elastic to hold the mask on. Note: some kids hate to wear masks… consider gluing a popsicle stick to the side of the mask so kids can hold it up instead of wearing it.
I created a template for the mask, so the hard part is already done!
Download the Lion Mask Template (pdf).
Directions Overview
- Print the template
- Transfer design to plate
- Cut out eye holes
- Let kids color them
- Add yarn mane (optional)
- Add elastic or stick
Detailed Directions
Step 1: Print the template
Print the mask template on plain paper and print it out
Step 2: Transfer the template to paper plates
There are a few different ways to do this:
- Carbon Paper
Use carbon paper to trace and transfer the design, then draw over the lines with a black marker - Fake Carbon Paper
For those too cheap to buy carbon paper (no offense, I’ve done it this way:) )… color the back of the template in with pencil. You don’t have to do the white areas, just wherever there are lines to transfer. Then place the template on the paper plate and trace over the lines. The pencil marks will transfer to the plate, then you can draw over them with a black marker. - Glue
This is by far the easiest way. Print as many copies of the template as you need, then cut them out and glue them onto paper plates. This works fine, just make sure you glue all the edges well so they don’t peel up as kids are coloring. Also, make sure you give the glue plenty of time to dry as crayons don’t work well if the paper is damp from glue. Also note – the glue may show through when the picture is colored.
Step 3: Cut out the eyeholes on the lines.
Step 4: Have plates and crayons ready for when kids arrive.
For colors, I used brown for the face, black for nose, inside ears, and eyebrows, red for mouth, and brown, gold, and yellow for the mane. Most kids are more creative than I am, and may want a larger choice of colors:)
Step 5: Add a mane (optional)
If you want to do a little something extra with the Madagascar lion mask, use a hole punch to put a few holes along the forehead, and let kids tie yarn through the holes. You could actually add yarn all the way around, but it can be quite time consuming, and young kids will need help tying the yarn.
Step 6: Add elastic.
You can punch a small hole on each side of the mask level with the eyes, push the elastic through and knot it, or you can staple it on. Or attach a popsicle stick along one edge of the mask so kids can hold it up instead of wearing it.
That’s it – project done. Don’t forget to allow a little time to let the kids run around and roar!
Paper Plate Penguins of Madagascar Mask
Kids can’t get enough of Skipper and the other penguins. They can bring the characters to life with these Madagascar-inspired do-it-yourself penguin masks.
This penguin mask is a great startup activity (for when your party is just starting up). Kids can join in easily as they arrive, as everyone makes their own. You can offer this mask along with the lion mask above, if you like.
You need a paper plate (I used 9″ plain paper plates) for each child, black and orange crayons (or use orange construction paper), and elastic to hold the mask on. Note: some kids hate to wear masks. Consider gluing a popsicle stick to the side of the mask so kids can hold it up instead of wearing it.
I have created a template for the mask and beak, which you can download below:
Download the penguin mask template (pdf).
Download the penguin beaks template (pdf).
Instructions
Step 1: Print the template
Print both the penguin and the beak. Each penguin requires 2 beak pieces and each beak template page has 4 beaks, enough for 2 penguins
Step 2: Cut out the penguin mask template.
Step 3: Trace the penguin template onto paper plates.
Step 4:Trim
Trim the edges of the plate to match the template (where the neck curves in)
Step 5: Cut out eyeholes.
Step 6: Cut beak template
Cut the beak template page in half so there are two beaks (one square) on a page. It is easier for kids to color them if they are still on the page, not pre-cut. Note: You could put the beaks onto orange colored construction paper, then precut them.
Step 7: Color
Let the kids color the penguins and the beaks.
Step 8: Cut out beaks
Cut out colored beaks, or let kids cut them. Note: For the beaks, cut out the square, then cut the diagonal line in the middle, so you have 2 triangle shapes.
Step 9: Assemble beaks
Fold under 1/4″ at lower edge (longest edge) of beak pieces. Glue one beak piece on top of the other, so one folded edge is on top of other folded edge, and the two folded edges are inside the mouth. Glue beak onto Penguin.
Step 10: Add elastic.
You can punch a small hole on each side of the mask level with the eyes, push the elastic through and knot it, or you can staple it on. Or attach a popsicle stick along one edge of the mask so kids can hold it up instead of wearing it.
Binoculars
If you’re going to be on the lookout for any animals that may have escaped from the zoo, you’ll need a good pair of ‘binoculars’. This is a super easy craft that kids love!
Each guest needs 2 empty toilet paper rolls, plus you need heavy tape (I like electrical tape for this) and yarn to hang them with.
You can paint the rolls ahead of time if you like, or give the kids markers, stickers, etc. to decorate them with. Then simply tape the two tubes next to each other, and attach the yarn at the end so kids can wear them around their necks. I use a hole punch to make the holes for the yarn.
Just that easy you have a fun party craft activity that kids will enjoy throughout the party and afterwards.
Party Favors
Jungle Animals
You can get a tub of plastic jungle animals
Zoo Animal Finger Puppets
These zoo animal finger puppets
Jungle Animal Puppets
Animal Print Sunglasses
There now three Madagascar movies – not to mention all the spinoffs – which means lots of fun options for a Madagascar party.