Dinosaur Party Ideas

These dinosaur party ideas will transform your house into a jurassic jungle that little cave-boys (and cave-girls) will love!

Is your little one crazy about dinosaurs? What better way to celebrate their big day than with a dino-mite party?

Take the prehistoric plunge and use these ideas to give your little guy or girl a birthday party they'll never forget!

Dinosaur Party Invitations

Dino-riffic party invitations really set the mood for the good times ahead! Give your guests a little glimpse of the fun that's in store by sending them irresistable invitations.

Here are a few dinosaur party ideas:

• Create your own dinosaur invites with scrapbooking materials. Use die-cuts to create dinosaurs hatching out of paper eggs, or create a paper jurassic jungle to display all of your party details. There is an amazing website out now where you can download dinosaur scrapbooking templates and print them as many times as you'd like, so the cost of creating your own invites is kept really low. Check it out here.

  

• Choose fill-in-the-blank invitations. Birthday in a Box offers packs of eight Dinosaur Friends Invitations at a very reasonable price that are cute for the younger kids. If your little one wants something more "scary" than cute, try these dinosaur party invitations from BuyCostumes.com.
• Personalized invitations are always a fun choice, but they can be costly. Being the bargain shopper that I am, however, I did my research to find out how to get the "custom" look for less! InvitationBox.com sells high-end invitations that they will custom print for you, but if you can't afford the customization, they allow you to order blank stock and print the invitations yourself. You can get ten quality invitations that are very affordable. Click here to see their selection.

Dinosaur Party Decorations

When searching for dinosaur party ideas and decorating tips, think back to the dinosaur days when plants and rocks were the standard scenery. Use that to set the stage for your dinosaur party decorations. Let your imagination run wild as you use those images to turn your party place into a Jurassic Park!

• Make a trail of dinosaur footprints for the guests to follow as they walk to your front door. Carry the idea inside by placing footprints throughout the party area.

• Use green crepe paper streamers to string vines across the ceiling. It will give the room a real dinosaur theme feel!

• Different shades of green balloons will add pizazz to your party area.

• Hang ferns throughout the room and sit them in corners to add to the atmosphere.

• Add to the prehistoric feel by decorating with large rocks.

• Use potted plants, pebbles and stones on the food table to tie into the theme.

• Create cracked-open dinosaur eggs (idea from The Parents Party Book) and place them all around the party area. To make, cover a large balloon with papier-mache strips; leave a small opening at one end. When they're dry, use a needle to burst the balloon inside. Using scissors, cut zigzags to enlarge the opening. Be careful to remove all pieces of the broken balloon. Paint the eggs, and draw cracks all around the opening, to indicate that the baby has hatched and is probably wandering around somewhere!

Dinosaur Party Supplies

There are some really cool party supplies available for a dinosaur birthday party, but by the time you buy the plates, cups, napkins, silverware, tablecloth, etc., the price can add up really quickly!

Birthday in a Box has made it easier (and less expensive) to purchase all of the party supplies at once by offering themed party packs that you can customize to fit your needs.

Choose from a basic themed party pack which includes all of the party supplies I just mentioned and then some, or select from the larger deluxe and ultimate packs which pretty much include everything you'll need for your party...all without ever leaving your house to go shopping!

Dinosaur Party Games and Activities

In your search for fun dinosaur party ideas, make sure you plan lots of activities to keep the little cave-kids busy! Here are some fun dinosaur party ideas that are sure to be a hit:

• Caveman Markings: This is a great icebreaker to do as the kids show up to the party! Cover a section of your party room wall with brown craft paper or brown paper bags that have been torn or burned at the edges. As the caveboys and girls arrive, have them color and draw on the paper to make caveman markings.

• Diggin' for Dinos: This is one of the most popular dinosaur party ideas around! Bury toy dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs or dinosaur bones in your sandbox and let them go diggin' for dinos! If you don't have a sandbox, fill a baby pool or wagon with sand to play this activity. For added theme fun, give them pith helmets to wear!

• Dinosaur Egg-Hatching Relay: Prior to the party, place little toy dinosaurs inside balloons and blow them up. Make sure to use soft dinosaur toys to avoid any boo-boos during the game.

  For the relay, split the kids into two teams. Have the kids line up at one end of the party area, and place a bucket of balloons at the other end of the play area. To play, one child from each team runs to the bucket, pulls a "dinosaur egg" (balloon) out of the bucket and "hatches" it (sits on it or stomps on it to pop it)...without using their hands.

  The player takes the toy dinosaur, runs back to the team and tags the next person, who then goes to the bucket and hatches their egg. The first team to have all players hatch an egg wins.

• Bust the Boulders: Crinkle brown paper bags then open them to fill them with shredded paper and pinata fillers. Tie them up with twine and hang them from a tree or stick. Have the kids take turns using a "caveman club" to "bust the boulders." To make it a little more difficult, blindfold the kids or move the boulder up and down as the kids are swinging at it.

• Painting Rocks: Gather "caveman rocks" for the kids to paint and take home.

• Finding Fossils: Prior to the party, collect small containers (like 1/2 pint milk cartons) for each child attending the party. Place a dinosaur skeleton in each container and fill with plaster of Paris. Give the kids little tools to chip away the plaster and discover the fossils inside! HINT: The plaster of Paris will take at least a day to dry so be sure to prepare the containers several days in advance.

Dinosaur Party Favor Ideas

The toy dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs, and dinosaur skeletons that were collected during the party games and activities can be used as party favors.

Package them in these crafty containers that go perfectly with this dinosaur theme:

• Boulder Bags: Make boulders by crinkling up lunch-size brown paper bags. Stuff them with goodies, tie them with twine and voila...you've got boulder bags!

• Caveman Cloth Bags: Purchase animal print or other caveman-looking material from the fabric store. Cut the fabric into squares and fill them with goodies. Fold the corners up and tie with twine.

If you are interested in using other favors either instead of or in addition to those items, you can purchase dinosaur favor sets at a very reasonable price.

Dinosaur Party Food

• Brontosaurus Burgers: Shape your favorite hamburger recipe into mini-size burgers. Serve on party rolls.

• Herbivore Veggies with Dino-Dip: Basically a veggie tray served with vegetable dip.

• Tyrannosaurus Trail Mix: Mix dry cereal, raisins, nuts and chocolate candies to make a yummy treat!

Here are some fun dinosaur party ideas to consider when you're serving your food:

• Make labels to put by each food so that the guests know what dinosaur treats they're indulging in!

• Cut large green leaf shapes to use as placemats and small leaf shapes for coasters.

Dinosaur Birthday Cake

Your dinosaur birthday party will not be complete without a dinosaur cake!

Follow these step-by-step instructions to make an adorable 3-D dinosaur cake! This cake is perfect for a dinosaur party theme and will really impress your guests!

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