Noah's Ark Birthday Party Ideas

Noah's Ark is great for any birthday and works especially well for second birthday's (two x two), twins and sibling birthday's. 

Noah's Ark Decorations
Outside:
Hang balloons and yellow and black "Animal Crossing" signs on the mailbox.
Scatter hay along the sidewalk and walkway.
Place a few hay bales outside in the front yard.
Draw or stencil sets of different animal prints on the sidewalk or walkway to the house.
Place a large "Animal Crossing" sign taped to the door.
Decorate the party entrance like a wooden entrance into a ship.  Make a construction paper "plank" that looks like wood that guests will step across to enter into the "Ark".
Inside:
Decorate the party tables like an ark with brown table cloth and yellow balloons.
Or decorate the party table with a blue table cloth and rainbow helium balloons.
Cut out silhouettes of  animals and hang them from the ceiling and/or place them on the back of the party table chairs.
Make a large rainbow with balloons or paint one on butcher paper to hang in the party room.
If your party table will be outside place hay bales around it for the children to sit on.

Noah's Ark Icebreakers
Animal Sounds - Before the birthday party copy and print out sets of animal pictures.  Make sure there are only 2 of each animal.  Cut them out and fold so no one can see what the picture is - then place in a jar or container.  When guests arrive they pull a picture from the container and have to make the sound of that animal.  They must find their match by only using the sound of the animal.  When they find their match they can stop making the sound.

Noah's Ark Party Activities
Petting Zoo - Hire a petting zoo to come to the party and let the children pet different types of animals.

Bounce House - Rent a bounce house that looks somewhat like an Ark.  If you can't find one that looks like a house or boat don't worry ... kids have great imaginations.  

Make an Ark out of a refrigerator / appliance box or cover a Little Tykes playhouse with brown butcher paper to make an Ark for the children to play in.

Rainbow Piñata - A piñata is always fun! See our Pinata page for tips on how to set it up.

Face Painting - Paint the party guests faces like different animals on the Ark.

Noah's Ark Party Games
Follow the Leader - Fun classic game that children love.  Have an adult lead the children instructing them to do everything the leader does.   Skip, hop, walk like a duck, turn in circles, etc. 

3 legged Race - Divide party guests into teams of two.   Set a pair of stuffed animals out for the players to run around and then back to the start.  Tie the teams together with rope or just have them lock arms for the race.  The first team around the cone and back wins!  Play several rounds.

Rainbow Tag - "It" stands in the middle of the playing area. There are two sides of the field that the players have to run across, and by "it", to get to the opposite side where they are safe. Away from "it" each player chooses a color that they want to be called. Players line up on one side. "It" shouts a color out and the players matching that color run past him/her to the opposite side.  "It" tries to get as many kids as possible as they run past.  The children which tagged become "its" helpers and stay with "it". "It" can call 1, 2 or 3 different colors or "Rainbow" and then all the colors have to try and make it across the area.

Animal Roundup - You need 2 balloons and 1 broom for each team.  Decorate balloons to look like Noah's ark animals.  Example: Giraffe's - orange balloons with eyes and noses drawn on with marker and a piece of brown curling ribbon tied to the tied off end of the balloon for a tail.  Elephants - Grey balloons with black tails.  Divide party guests into 2 teams.   At one end of the playing area line the teams up one behind the other and at the other end of the playing field place 2 cones or objects that the children will have to run around before they can come back to their line.   Give each team 1 broom and 2 matching balloons.  One by one they must "herd" the balloons with the broom to the cone and back.  First team with all their players done wins.   Make extra balloons just in case some of them pop on the course.

Noah's Animals Scavenger Hunt - Buy plastic animals in pairs - buy as many different types of animals as possible so that no pair is alike.  Hide the animals before the Noah birthday party begins - hide the animals separately in the backyard, party room  or park.  Tell the children that they are to go out and bring back the animals in pairs - two by two.   When the children find an animal they can take it and look for another animal that matches it.  They can only have one animal in their hand at a time until they find the match to the animal they have.  When they find the match they bring it to a prize table and get to pick a prize.  Then send them out to look for another pair.
Variation:  Hide Dove eggs (Easter eggs) and let the children find them. 

Noah's Ark Party Food Ideas
Fruit tray with fruit slices on a plate in a rainbow shape.  Oranges for orange, strawberries for red,  pineapple for yellow, blueberries for blue, kiwi for green and purple grapes.

Let kids make their own ice cream sundaes or decorate big cookies by setting out dishes of rainbow colored sprinkles and candy.
Gatorade
Pigs in a blanket
Chicken Tenders
Animal Crackers

Noah's Ark Party Favors
Beanie Baby animals
Animal Noses (see Oriental Trading party favors)
Large rainbow suckers
Rainbow colored pinwheels
Plastic sets of animals
Boxes of animal crackers
Fruit snacks in animal shapes

Noah's Ark Party Goody Bag ideas
Make the goody bags resemble a rainbow. Place the party favors in bright paper bags in solid colors.

Punch 2 holes at the top of a brown paper bag and place raffia through the holes and tie a bow. Place a sprig of greenery underneath the raffia bow.

Tie up party favors in rainbow or brightly colored bandanas or squares of fabric.

Animal shaped containers.