A birthday full of adventure awaits. From erupting a volcano to digging for dinosaur bones, young explorers will have a blast at this prehistoric extravaganza. Here's how to make a dinosaur birthday party, one to remember.
Dinosaur Invitations
There are many colorful styles of dinosaur birthday invitations available, from custom printed designs like Meri Meri's cute polka dotted dinosaur invitation to generic packages of dinosaur themed write-in note cards.
Evite also features a few invitations with dinosaur designs that can be found in the kids birthday section of their site. Another inexpensive option is to download free dinosaur birthday invitations and print them out on a home computer.
Exploration Activities
When each guest arrives at the party site, prepare them for the birthday adventure by giving them an explorer's hat to wear, along with a pair of binoculars. Having the children wear these two items is part of the fun and makes for really great photo opportunities.
- Dino Dig - Place a few bags of plastic dinosaur bones in a kiddie pool and cover with sand about a quarter of the way up. Place enough shovels for each guest in the sand. When guests arrive, tell them that they will be digging for dinosaur bones and have them each take a shovel and dig for the bones. Younger children especially love this activity.
- Dino Excavation Activity - This activity requires, taking small plastic dinosaur skeletons and encasing them in gray colored clay. They will need to dry and harden for at least a day or two before the party. Once dry, they should look like rocks. Give one to each child along with an excavating tool to chip away at it with. Allow party guests to excavate until they uncover the dinosaur bones, then give them a small soft bristled brush to brush away the excess clay.
- Volcano Eruption Activity - Purchase a volcano kit and put it together a day or two before the party. Place it on a table with a green tablecloth, and place lava rocks, plastic plants and small dinosaurs around it. During the party, let each child have a turn making the volcano erupt. The directions are fairly simple, and involve the child pouring vinegar into a tube filled with baking soda, which when combined causes a mild bubbling eruption.
These fun party activities which involve sand, clay and volcanic eruptions are best done outside. Sand for the dinosaur dig activity can be purchased in bags at most home and hardware stores.
Dinosaur Party Food & Volcano Cake
Fun party food to serve at this prehistoric celebration would be dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, a dinosaur egg style salad of greens with sliced hard boiled eggs, spinach dip with an assortment of vegetables, and a serving tray of fresh fruit.
For the cake, there are many creative options. One very popular option is a volcano shaped cake, that can be made by bakers or bakeries that specialize in more elaborate style pastries. A simple choice is to make cupcakes, frost them with green frosting, and place a small plastic dinosaur on top.
Dinosaur Party Decorations
Decorations are a very important part of a dinosaur party. Start by filling the party area with lots of lush greenery. An outside area full of tropical plants is an ideal party space. Add the following decorations to the jungle-like background for a perfect party setting.
- Giant inflatable dinosaurs
- Papier-mache dinosaur eggs
- Cover tables with green tablecloths and place tropical green plants or plastic vines in the center surrounded by plastic dinosaurs.
- Place green, purple, blue and orange balloon bouquets throughout the party area.
To make the papier-mache dinosaur eggs, which are great take home party favors that double as party decorations, follow these instructions:
Papier-Mache Dinosaur Eggs
- Take a small plastic dinosaur and place it inside a balloon.
- Blow up the balloon and tie a knot to secure it, the small dinosaur should remain inside the inflated balloon.
- Make a basic papier-mache, of newspaper strips and paste, and cover the balloons.
- Allow to dry completely, then paint the outside white with poster paint.
- Allow paint to dry.
When party guests take their dinosaur eggs home, they can break them open to find a tiny dinosaur inside. This is something the kids really look forward to doing, and it is a very fun and creative party favor for them to enjoy.
This dinosaur themed birthday party is packed with activities that are lots of fun for kids to do. Some of them may even try to ride the giant inflatable dinosaurs. One thing is for sure, most kids will really dig it.
