My 4 year old wanted a Cheetah party. Since Cheetah supplies are so hard to find we decided to have the kids take a safari across the African Savannah for "Drew's 4th Cheetah Safari". The invites were a headshot of a cheetah which we downloaded from the internet. We used safari language inside to give the party details and included a separate small ticket with a picture of a cheetah and child's name. All the kids were excited to get their own ticket and wanted to know when they could use it.  Decorations:  My son was able to help with a lot of decorations. We just started way in advance. We had a big red arrow my son wanted so everybody could find the party. We made a big sign with a cheetah face welcoming them to the Cheetah Safari. We also used an overhead projector to trace images of animals which we painted onto butcher paper and then glued to cardboard. We had a huge elephant, tall giraffe, running cheetah, rhino, hippopotamu, zebra and lion. We also had an inflatable crocodile. For tablecloths I used yellow butcher paper and stamped different safari animals.  I used miscellaneous animal print material & wrapping paper, along with netting and other safari themed stuff that I had collected over time. Since we had about 30 kids mostly aged 2-5, I needed multiple activities at the same time. I corraled all Drew's aunts, uncles and grandparents to come over and be safari helpers. They got into the idea and came in costume while I supplied extra safari hats. We had 3 basic activities going on simultaneously for the first hour. A bouncer, an art-project & the safari.    My son wanted everyone to be animals at the party so I cut out headbands with ears out of posterboard that the kids decorated and wore. We had simple matching face painting for them to really get into their animal. They had their choice of becoming a cheetah, lion, elephant, zebra or giraffe. I had a sample of each headband made and kids colored their own. I used blank name-tag labels to close the headband for a comfortable fit.  When it was time for the safari, each child got their ticket stamped and received a "safari guide". Two assistants checked them in. This was fun for the kids, they had their height taken against a giraffe chart, they were weighed, hair and eye-color were written down and then they took a malaria pill (smarties) and got a shot. They also received a pair of camoflauge binoculars. Two guides took a small group of them through the sideyard and into the backyard and talked to them about the grasslands and a little bit about each animal they saw. They had to watch out for the rubber snake that would sneak out and the crocodile floating in the pool. They exited out the other gate full of new animal facts. They took their safari guide along to identify the animals. It was a fun little adventure for everybody.  After a break for eating and bouncing in the safari bouncer, we did the cheetah run. We set up a short course in the grass and put up a sign "Can you run as fast as a cheetah?" We timed each kid running the course with a stop-watch. It was an individual event and they received a safari animal print slap bracelet when they finished. They really liked running as fast as they could. Since they did it by themselves nobody lost. Several kids ran the race over and over.... I then got all the kids together with their animal headbands. A child pulled out an animal from a basket and everybody then pretended to be the animal. We roared like lions, snapped like crocodiles, etc. I snuck in a couple of group pictures and then we went on our animal parade around the yard over to the cake area. I had my son stand on a chair and thank everybody for coming before we lit the candles.  Food: Animal crackers were on the table for nibbling. At lunch, kids ate watermelon, meatballs, PB&J cutout in animal shapes and Cheetohs. Adults also had a 6' sandwich and pasta salad to eat. For beverages, I had lots of small waters and juices for the kids along with sodas for adults.  Cake: I made a chocolate cake in the design of a cheetah head (2 mixes in 10" pans and a full 6" pan). I cut the ears out of the 6". I just made yellow frosting and used black to decorate. I also used some melting chocolate to make the nose and brown eyes. For the kids I made yellow cupcakes. In advance I made the melted chocolate animal decorations suggested in the Wilton catalog, only I did Cheetahs instead of tigers. The kids loved the decorations and wanted to eat whatever animal they had chosen. I had a few extra animals so no kid would be dissapointed if the animal they wanted was gone.   Favors: I ordered the safari band hats from Oriental Trading because they had a cheetah print on the band. I then took brown paper bags and we wrote each kids name on it and stamped safari animals. Inside they found a compass/whistle, a safari stationery set with a pad, stickers and pencil. There were safari capsules, some smarties, a cool safari scene sticker set and a big homemade sugar cookie shaped and decorated like a cheetah. The hats were all set out along the fireplace in advance and each kid got to find their own name. For thank you cards, I used plain colored cards which we decorated. I used the same plain name tag stickers and ran them through the printer with Thank You" and a picture of a cheetah for the cover. We included a picture of the kids at the party and my son decorated them with stickers. We did a lot in 2 1/2 hours. It was a lot of work but well worth it. My son had a lot of fun. He keeps finding little things left over from the party which he gives to his friends so they can remember his "cheetah safari".