Hey party animals! Here’s a fun DIY that’s great for kids. These hats are based on a few of our favorite creatures: zebras, elephants, lizards and giraffes. To get the colors we wanted, we built the hats out of card stock using our party hat template. But if you’re short on time, you can also use these. (PS – You should probably celebrate with these guys too.)

Materials: Party hat template, cardstock, scissors, elastic, stapler, glue, optional: ruler

Step 1: Use the party hat template to cut out the hat shape. (For the zebra: white, for the elephant: gray, for the lizard: lime green, for the giraffe: orange or yellow.)
Step 2: Cut out your animal pieces.

• For the zebra: First cut out wavy strips of black paper (that end in a point) and glue them onto the hat base. Then cut out two 3″x 7″ pieces of paper. Fold them together in half down the middle and then fold either side again about .25″ from the center crease. Fringe the sides of the paper all the way to the first crease (not the center crease.) This will be the zebra’s mane. Put glue along the center of the main (along the center crease) and then attach it along the side of the party hat base.
•  For the elephant: Use this template to trace and cut out the shape of the elephant ears. Place glue along the ear tabs and attach them to the hat base. The tops of the ears will almost meet at the top of the hat and extend down the sides diagonally to the bottom. For the tusks, trace and cut out this template onto white paper. Roll it up tightly and glue in place so that it forms a thin cone. Use the tabs along the bottom to attach the tusks near the bottom of the ears on the hat base.
• For the lizard: Cut a strip of green paper with a zig zag pattern so that it creates a strip of triangles. Make sure you leave a tab along the bottom. Use this tab to glue it to the side of the party hat.
• For the giraffe: Tear of small squares of brown paper. Glue them onto the party hat base.

Step 3: Attach the elastic to the sides using a stapler.
Step 4: Wear and enjoy!

Photos by Sarah Hebenstreit for Oh Happy Day