If you’ve ever read Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s book, The Lion Inside, you might think that Lion sounds like a fun creature to be around. Not only is he strong and outgoing, he also likes to laugh with his friend, Mouse. He’s exactly the sort of character you’d want at your birthday party. However, real lions are somewhat different - and inviting one along to your celebrations would be a pretty terrible idea. Here are all the reasons a lion at your party would be a cat-astrophe.
 

1. Lions are obligate carnivores

Like all cats, lions are obligate carnivores, which means they rely completely on meat to survive. Imagine your lion guest’s behaviour at the birthday picnic. It would eat all the ham out the sandwiches and gobble up all the cocktail sausages leaving none for anyone else. And when the cake is handed round it would simply sniff a piece and walk away. 

2. You’d blow your budget

Lions eat up to 7kg of meat a day - that’s about three legs of lamb. By the time you’ve kept the king of the jungle fed, there’d be no budget left to spend on decorations, entertainment or party bags. 
 

3. It wouldn’t join in

You couldn’t expect a lion to join in your party games. These big cats are famous for sleeping for up to 20 hours a day, so the chances are your lion guest would take a nap instead of playing Musical Statues. That said, if one of your games was Sleeping Lions, it’d probably win! 

4. Pass the Parcel would be ruined

Even if you managed to persuade a lion to join a game of Pass the Parcel, the chances are it’d be over in a few seconds. With its sharp claws, a lion would puncture the layers of wrapping paper, revealing the prize in the middle before the music stopped. 
 

5. It couldn’t sing Happy Birthday

If you’re hoping your lion guest will sing Happy Birthday when it’s time to blow the candles out on your cake, you’ll be disappointed. Lions can only communicate with grunts, chuffs and roars, as well as with visual signals like tail flicks. And at 114 decibels, you definitely wouldn’t want a lion roaring your birthday song - everyone would go home hard of hearing. 
 

6. You couldn’t ride it

Even if you had the best behaved lion in the world at your party, you and your friends wouldn’t be able to ride it around. Lions have very flexible spines that aren’t built to carry weight. Not only would you probably get bumped off its back after a few steps, riding a lion might actually harm it. 

Head to the theatre instead

Instead of inviting a lion to your birthday party, why not take your friends and family to see The Lion Inside instead? Based on Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s lion book, this fun family show is touring the UK between June and September 2026. The story about Mouse and Lion is read aloud and accompanied with stunning puppetry, songs and dancing. Don’t miss out - view the tour dates and book online today to join the adventure.