It's a fact that children love dinosaurs. There are the kids who love finding out cool facts about them, the ones who love to play pretend as one, and the ones who will consume any form of dinosaur media to feed their obsession. There's something so enticing about these prehistoric creatures to kids. What better way to indulge in their passion than by throwing a dinosaur party for their birthday or any other special occasion? If you're looking for excellent ideas on how to create the ideal dinosaur event, keep reading our roar-some tips!
Ideal for a party hosted at home or an event venue, you can find a template for dinosaur footprints online, cut them out in black or green card, and stick the prints along your garden path or up the steps to your venue, so your guests know where the party's at! You can even use them inside to guide people to the loos, the garden, or other areas you've sectioned off for the party. Simple but effective as an idea, you'll soon have kids trying to walk over the footprints to feel like they're walking with these fantastic animals.
No party is complete without some fun games to keep the kids entertained and help them wear themselves out to sleep well afterwards. There are plenty of activities and games you can play:
Dinosaur Egg Hunt: Hide a few chocolate eggs around the house or garden and send the kids off on a manic hunt to see who can find the most eggs! If you don't want to use chocolate, you can buy toy dinosaur eggs online or make your own by combining 50g of plain flour, 150g of baking soda, 125g of used ground coffee, 60g of salt, and some water. Mix your ingredients until you can mould them into your egg shapes, place them onto a baking tray lined with a baking sheet, and bake for around half an hour. Once they've cooled and hardened, you've got your own dinosaur eggs!
Dino Dig: Fill a sandpit or a deep tray with sand and hide little dinosaur toys, eggs, and surprises in it. Give the kids a paintbrush each, and let them pretend to be archaeologists searching for these lost dinosaurs! You can even get them to work in teams to see who can find the most within a specific time frame.
Pin the Tail on the T-Rex: Print off a photo of a T-Rex and cut it out, removing the tail. Mount the dinosaur and tail onto some card for stability for a great alternative to this traditional game. Blindfold the kids wanting to play and see if they can pin the tail in the right place - prepare for some hilarious results!
One of the most accessible and popular snacks for dino parties is simply a plate full of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets! Kids love chicken nuggets, and they'll especially love the novelty of having them at a party. You can also set out carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks with hummus or a peanut butter dip as a snack for herbivores, have pretzel sticks for dinosaur bones and make deviled eggs for a tasty dinosaur egg treat. If you can find some dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters, then you can easily cut your traditional sandwiches into the shapes of your favourite dinos.
You can get even more creative when it comes to sweet snacks: mini eggs make wonderful dino eggs, stamp the foot of a toy dinosaur into cookies before baking to leave an imprint, or make pterodactyl nests from cornflakes (or pretzel pieces!) and chocolate. You can also upgrade shop-bought cupcakes by sticking a mini dinosaur toy into the icing or using cupcake toppers to continue your dinosaur theme into the desserts.
One of the biggest party essentials is balloons. Use bold green balloons to fit the dinosaur theme, or use a Dinosaur Pinata to inject some additional colour and fun into the venue. You can find plenty of themed pre-made bunting online, but you can get creative with your little one by making your own using stickers, painting the feet of dinosaur toys to print on, or cutting out photos of your favourite dinosaurs to stick.
If you want your space to look like a jungle, cut out some tropical leaves to stick on the walls in green paper or card and lay your buffet or dinner table with a green tablecloth with a hessian runner for a nature-inspired finish.
If you want some more children's party ideas or want to look for things to put in your party bags, you can browse our Party and Toys departments or read any of the articles below.
