Dinosaurs make a great birthday theme for all ages—but remember to tailor these dinosaur party ideas to suit the age of your child. Toddlers and younger kids up to five years old will probably prefer colourful dinosaurs that are less frightening, whereas older kids will want them to be as realistic as possible.
quick links: dinosaur Party Supplies
Invitations
Velociraptor CLAW INVITATION
These edible velociraptor claw cookies would make an amazing first impression as a 3D invitation, and they're less than $5 each! (see supplier 4). As these are so eyecatching, you could get away with just sending them out with simple homemade invitations printed at home on some textured brown cardstock to communicate all the party details.
More 3D Dinosaur Invitations
Other ideas for 3D invitations include sending out plastic pith helmets and toy binoculars for the 'Dinosaur Dig'. You can pick up both items for $1 each from supplier 2. Alternatively, use these foam dinosaur masks from supplier 3.
I'd suggest creating a small 'tag' style birthday party invitations (Read Using Tags on the Create Invitations page) with all the party details on. Then tie each tag with ribbon onto the binoculars / masks and mail out in a padded envelope or box. For an extra embellishment, you could take a photo of your child dressed up in a dinosaur costume and use this as the photo on the back of the invitation.
Personalized Dinosaur Invitations
There are lots of really nice birthday invitations available online that fit well with these dinosaur party ideas. These can be personalized to add your child's name and some even let you upload a photo. See supplier 4 for a full range here.
These personalized postage stamps are a really great way to embellish your birthday invitations. They're such as nice touch and show a real attention to detail.
Note: These stamps are only available in the USA
Drinks
Here are some themed drinks in keeping with the dinosaur party ideas.
Volcano punch
Make Volcano Punch by combining 3 quarts of pineapple juice and 2 x 6 ounce cans of frozen limeade concentrate in a punch bowl. When the kids are gathered around the table add 2 quarts of ginger ale to the punch bowl and a scoop of fruit sherbet to each glass for some extra fizz. Serve them in these cute dinosaur party cups or you can have personalized ones made with each guest's name—which would make great party favors—for $5. See supplier 4.
swamp juice
I love this recipe from Disney Family Fun for Swamp Juice. It was intended for Halloween but it's also perfect for dinosaur party ideas.
Dinosaur Juice
Serve green colored milkshakes or this Key Lime-Banana Smoothie from Betty Crocker, which can easily be renamed as Dinosaur Juice. Serve them in these dinosaur party cups from supplier 4.
lava juice
Try this recipe for Sparkling Strawberry-Lemonade Slush from Betty Crocker or use any red berry juice and call it Volcanic Lava Juice. Freeze some gummi dinosaurs from supplier 3 into ice cubes the night before and add to each glass. When the lava melts the ice, the dinosaurs will float to the top of their drink.
Dinosaur Ice Cubes
Make your party drinks more interesting by using these fossilized dinosaur bone ice cube trays, available from supplier 3.
Dinosaur Straws
You can also style your drinks with these cute dinosaur straws (below left) from supplier 3, or there are lots of other styles available, such as the one below right, from supplier 4.
Water
Give regular water bottles a makeover with these personalized labels. Lots of different designs available from supplier 4.
Food
Here are some cute recipes I came across to give you some inspiration for your dinosaur party ideas:
A lot of food markets sell dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets but go the extra mile and arrange them on a platter like this dinosaur foodscape created by Michelle at Muffin Tin Mom. It's a great way to make the dish a bit more healthy by sneaking in some veggies.
She used broccoli as 'low lying indigenous vegetation', string cheese and spinach for 'the tree', grapes as 'coconuts', cheddar cheese as 'the sun', and dinosaur chicken nuggets as 'nuggetus dinosaurus'. Don't forget ketchup as 'hot lava'.
Check out this recipe for cute baked potato dinosaurs (below left, from Love Potatoes). If you don't want to serve these to eat, you could still make one or two as decoration to arrange on the corner of food trays and serving platters.
Another cool recipe is for these mashed potato volcanoes (above right, by BumblingB's on food.com) which are the type of things you can get them involved in making. Have them sculpt their mash potato volcanoes and arrange their veggies while you make the lava sauce to pour over.
If you want a more substantial main course along a similar line, try these potato volcanoes with meatball sauce (left, from Love Potatoes)—or swap the meatballs sauce for chilli to make it more like lava.
Serve chicken wings renamed Pterodactyl Wings
Coat Pretzel sticks with white chocolate and call them dinosaur bones.
Alternatively, check out this recipe for Tomato Soup with Boney Grissini (below, by Susan at Diamonds for Dessert) which could easily be renamed Molten Lava Soup with Dinosaur Bones. Serve the soup in shot glasses.
There are various dinosaur cookie cutters available from supplier 3 which you can use to shape sandwiches.
You can also use the cookie cutters to make pizzas (see the examples below by Tonij.net). Or shape burger patties with them then add small triangles of cucumber along the back to resemble a Stegosaurus.
If you've got a steady hand use the cookie cutters to make dinosaur shaped cookies, fill a parchment cone with run sugar, cut a small hole in the tip and pipe a skeleton onto each dinosaur like these (below left, by Cookie Decorating).
Alternatively, you can buy cookies like this, below right, from supplier 4.
Alternatively, you can also get a range of different personalized dinosaur cookies, below left, or these fun bone cookies (below right) both from supplier 4.
You can also shape bagels into dinosaur shapes like this one, below right from Funky Lunch. (Technically this is supposed to be the Loch Ness Monster but you could easily pass it off as a Plesiosaur—a large aquatic dinosaur—to fit in with the dinosaur party ideas).
There are a number of dinosaur themed snacks you can buy to fill out a buffet table, such as these organic cheesey corn snacks (below left), Cadbury's mini dinosaur chocolate cookies (below center), or these gluten-free wholefruit dinosaur cookies (below right). All from supplier 3.
Here are a couple of recipes for creating dinosaur eggs. The first uses hard boiled eggs to create these amazing colored eggs with veins (below left, from Sara at Our Best Bites) whereas the other is for sweet dinosaur eggs using vanilla pudding and lime gelatin (below right, by Robin Werner on Taste of Home).
For some more sweet treats try these fossil cookies (below left, by Martha Stewart) or for a younger kids birthday, these cute green dinosaur cookies(below right, by Robin Werner on Taste of Home.
These molten lava volcano cakes (below left, by Debbie of Wants and Wishes) are really cool, or if you want a more healthy dessert create a fresh fruit Stegosaurus using watermelon, strawberries, banana, and orange (below right by WGBH Educational Foundation).
This baking sheet contains 8 dinosaur shaped baking cups (below left) which are perfect for making Dino treats. Alternatively, you can use these cute fossil baking cups (below right). Each one has a different 3D dinosaur 'fossil' at the bottom just waiting to be excavated. See supplier 3 for both.
Alterntively, you can buy dinosaur cake pops, such as these below left, although there are other designs available. Alterntaively, mix them with these cute volcano and dinosaur egg cake pops (below right). Both from supplier 4.
If you prefer to just decorate regular cupcakes, there are lots of different toppers available including personalized ones and these cute baby dinosaur ones. See supplier 4 for lots of different designs.
In addition, you can also buy edible fondant cupcake toppers—either cute ones for younger kid's birthdays or Jurassic World style ones for older kids. See supplier 4 for a full range.
There are also several different designs of dinosaur cupcake wrappers which you can use to add to the decoration. I particulary like these delicate die cut ones (below left, from supplier 3) with the dinosaur silhouhettes running around the edge or these handmade style ones (below right) from supplier 4.
There's also lots of dinosaur candy available which is an easy way to fill out a dessert table with extra treats. These include gummy dinosaurs (from supplier 3) or these dinosaur lollipops (supplier 4).
Alternatively, you can buy candy by the color from supplier 1 to tie everything in with your dessert table color scheme.
Or make your own chocolate dinosaurs or Jello wigglers with these molds from supplier 3.
Alternatively there are various personalized dinosaur treats available, such as these candy bars (below left), lollipops (below center) and chocolate lollipops (below right). See suppliers 1 and 2
Finally, if you haven't already got Clare Crespo's excellent book The Secret Life of Food then I highly recommend it. It's packed with lots of kooky recipes for kids from someone who regularly plays with her food. This dinosaur dip (below) —carved out of an acorn squash, zucchini, okra, and pickling cucumbers and served with vege palm trees (see video below)—is a sure fire way to get kids eating their vegetables.
Birthday Cake
If you want to bake your own birthday cake, there are a couple of different pans available that would work well with these dinosaur party ideas. See supplier 3.
If you're no cake decorating expert, you could just use one of these personalized edible images and roll it out into your birthday cake. There are several different images available from suppliers 3 and 4.
Or go for something personalized, below left, or an dramatic edible fondant topper, below right. Both from supplier 4.
Food & Drink Styling
Below are food styling and presentation tips to help you decorate in keeping with these dinosaur party ideas:
Buffet / Dessert Table
To create a dinosaur dessert table like this one, follow the steps below.
Create a backdrop using dark brown burlap by the yard (below left), then hang a section of reed fencing (below center) in the center to add some texture. You can buy quite large sections of reed fencing here for under $20. If you're on a budget and cant afford to use both, just choose one or the other. Then positional some potted kentia palms at each end of the table to add some tropical foliage.
You want to keep everything quite natural looking with a palette of browns, greens and stone. So either use a textured green fabric, such as burlap (below left), as the table cover or a stone color burlap see here for both sprinkled with some of this scatter grass from supplier 2 for extra texture.
Dress the table with clusters of small garden rocks and lots of ferns and other house plants to create a pre-historic landscape.
Use a mixture of square and rectangular white plates to present food on. I recommend these disposable Premium Plastic Plates (below left and center, from supplier 1), they're great value and look really stylish. Then line each plate with one of these plastic tropical leaves from supplier 3 and arrange some small plastic dinosaurs around the plates and over the tabletop.
For a centerpiece, use one of these large inflatable dinosaurs from supplier 3, there are lots of different types available and they range from approx 2 - 3ft tall so they'll make an impressive centerpiece—or just scatter them around the table.
I always lilke to create some height with a dessert table display, so that everything isn't all on the same level. This inflatable Pteranodon from supplier 3 would look great hanging from the ceiling on one side of the dessert table to help fill the space between the table and ceiling.
Frame the scene by hanging a personalized banner, such as the ones below, above the dessert table. Some of these can even be personalized by adding a photo of your child. For realistic dinosaur banners lilke this one, see supplier 2:
For more younger child-friendly ones like these, try supplier 1:
If your budget permits, there are a couple of huge 6ft T-Rex stand ups would add a really dramatic element to your decorations. I would position one of these to the side of your dessert table. See supplier 2 for full range
An alternative idea for a dessert table backdrop, which would definitely be a big hit with older kids, would be to use one of these large photographic backdrops. It will also double as a photobooth backdrop later. You could probably get away with pinning it to a wall, but if you thow parties regularly you might want to think about investing in one of these cheap photography backdrop frames which you can pick up for around $30. Both the backdrop and frame are from supplier 3
The great thing about the support frame is that you can use it again and again to create different backgrounds for dessert tables by hanging fabric,tissue pom poms, or streamers (as shown below using a backdrop support frame).
You can blend the edges of the photo backdrop by using these tissue paper or jointed palm tree decorations (from supplier 2).
Alternatively, you could use one of these dinosaur wall murals which are printed on paper—just like wallpaper. See supplier 4.
There are also a number of wall decals you could use to create a dessert table backdrop. Some can be personalized with the birthday boy or girl's name, while others have a cool 3D effect. The great thing is that most of these are re-usable so they can be repositioned to their bedroom wall after the party. See supplier 4
Food Presentation
Here are a few food styling and presentation tips.
These veggie palm trees are a perfect fit for these dinosaur party ideas. Position them on the corner of serving dishes as tray decoration. See the video below for how to carve these.
Alternatively, if you're not using some the recipes above such as the mashed potato volcanoes or the baked potato dinosaurs, consider making a few up to use as tray decorations.
When labelling each of the dishes put them into groups such as Carnivore, Herbivore, and Candivore (ok so that last one's made up) depending on whether they are meat, vegetable, or candy. You can buy some great labels, such as the ones below, from supplier 4.
To dress the table in keeping with these dinosaur party ideas, I would suggest creating a simple pre-historical landscape that runs down the centre of the table. Keep everything earthy and natural by using a palate of sandy beige, green, and browns.
Start with a stone /sandy beige colored tablecloth. You could use something like burlap (below left) which has a nice rustic texture. If you want to add some contrast, lay a dark brown table runner over the top of this so you have a darker section running down the middle of the table. If you can, use a runner with some texture such as wicker or bamboo, otherwise you could just use some dark brown burlap (below center) - the same suggested for the dessert table above. Then arrange a few potted ferns running down the center of the table and sprinkle some scatter grass from supplier 2 and garden rocks.
If you're not using burlap for the tablecover, use these straw placemats to add some texture instead. See supplier 2 or 3.
Instead of the usual approach of having a centerpiece, think of this as a 'long and low' arrangement so add lots of plastic dinosaurs to the landscape running down the middle of the table. If budget permits you could buy a large volcano craft kit (see supplier 3 and look for the 'mega' volcanos which are large size) and use this as a centerpiece. Most of them come with an empty vessel for you to add baking soda and vinegar to simulate an eruption. Alternatively, for a budget option you could use these small dinosaur stand ups (below right, from supplier 1) for a centerpiece in an among the ferns and rocks.
Alternatively, if you prefer a more traditional centerpiece, their are lots of differnet options available from supplier 4.
This range of dinosaur birthday party plates, cups and napkins from supplier 1 would work really well with the table styling ideas above. The color scheme echoes the natural palette of stone, green and brown.
Personally, I prefer some of these less obvious designs—some of which can be personalized. See supplier 7.
Scatter the table with this cute dinosaur confetti and place one of these treat holders at each place setting. See supplier 4.
Finally, hang a dinosaur mask or one of these prehistoric pith helmets on the back of each chair so that every child has one to wear. Both from supplier 2.
Decorations
Quick Links
For a full range of decorations and supplies to compliment these dinosaur party ideas, including many dinosaur themed products that I didn't have space to feature, see the links below. These are the best suppliers I've found and have a range of products suitable for all budgets.
I always think it's important to create a good entrance to a birthday party—it's the first thing your guests will see so it will set the tone for all your other dinosaur party ideas. It doesn't have to be anything too elaborate—these dinosaur footprints leading up the path to the front door should be enough to get everyone excited. See supplier 3.
Alternatively you could use a personalized yard sign (such as this one from supplier 4) or one of the personalized banners mentioned previously.
Or you could use one of these huge airwalker balloons (from supplier 1 or 3) or one of the inflatable dinosaurs mentioned previously.
If you do want to make something a bit more special use a camping tent or play tunnel (see supplier 3, you can pick these up for around $15) to create your own dinosaur cave. Line it with brown butchers paper and draw on some cave paintings, scatter some sand across the floor, and arrange some rocks, bones, and house plants along each side. Then stick some of these glow in the dark dinosaur stickers from supplier 3 on the inside of the tent / tunnel. If you don't have a tent or play tunnel I'm sure you could make something similar using large cardboard boxes or by draping some cheap brown fabric. If the tent you have opens at each end, position it near the entrance to the party so guests have to crawl through the cave to get inside.
You could also download some dinosaur sound effects from the web, connect a small speaker to your iPod, hide it behind a plant inside the cave and leave on repeat. Alternatively, use one of the motion-activated voice recorders (supplier 2) mentioned in the next paragraph to record your own dinosaur sounds.
Another fun way to great people near the entrance to your party is to print a life-size cut out (below left, from supplier 2) of your child dressed in a dinosaur costume. These are surprisingly cheap at around $20, and you can add a motion-activated voice recorder (also from supplier 2) for around $10 which means your child can pre-record a short welcome message that plays automatically every time someone walks past the cut out. Alternatively, use the voice recorder with a large inflatable dinosaur (supplier 3) at your front door.
Make your own dinosaur eggs by covering balloons with papier-mâché (like the ones below filled with treats, by Leslie from The Gingerbread Mom). When dry, pop the balloon inside then cut in half in a zig zag pattern so it looks like they've cracked open. Paint them in light green colors and use a marker pen to draw veins on the outside. Then arrange them on small beds of straw and dot them around the party. For older kids fill them with some green slimy goo and leave a trail of dinosaur footprints walking away from the egg so they appear to be freshly hatched.
Dog treats are an easy way to leave clusters of dinosaur bones lying around, alternatively use the recipe for bread bones from the food section above (pictured below).
If your budget permits there are some great dinosaur stand ups available from supplier 2 (or use inflatable dinosaurs if your on a budget) to dress the party. Kids will love these and play with them long after the party—or you can use them to decorate their bedrooms. When arranging stand ups, these work best when blended in with some plants or poking out of bushes if your party is in the garden.
These dinosaur paper lanterns would make cute hanging decorations for younger kid's parties. Available from supplier 4.
Use these cut outs and printables from supplier 4 to signpost different areas of the party.
To decorate large areas use bunches of balloons (supplier 1 or 2) but stick to a palette of brown, green and sandy beige (use metallic gold) to keep everything looking natural. Bunches of solid color balloons always look best when use in groups of 3 different colors.
Likewise, crepe paper streamers (from suppliers 1 or 2) in the same colors are a cheap and easy way to fill in larger areas and tie the whole room together with the same color palette. Hang them from a light fitting in the center of the room and then extend out to the perimeter wall working your way around the room. Again, alternate 3 colors when using these otherwise you end up with a candy stripe effect.
Don't forget to mix in some dinosaur shaped mylar balloons, such as the ones below. See supplier 3.
Costumes
There are some really cute dinosaur costumes available (supplier 1 has the best range) to fit with your dinosaur party ideas, but if you're on a budget then just provide dinosaur masks for all the kids to wear.
Also, if you have a family pet check out some of the really great dinosaur costumes for dogs (see supplier 3). Invest in one of these and your kids will have their very own dinosaur running around their birthday party.
For birthday party favors, there are lots of cheap little dinosaur themed novelties that kids will love, such as dinosaur paddle balls, bubble wands, and pocket volcanoes. See suppliers 1, 3, and 6.
If you prefer something a little more special, like this miniature dinosaur eggs that cracks open to reveal a personalized message, check out supplier 4 for lots of other great ideas.
Thank you Notes
Don't forget to follow up after your birthday party with thank you notes. See supplier 4 for the nicest range.
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Many thanks
Matt
Matt James is a professional event planner and owner of event agency Left Field Productions, which has produced events for Elton John, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kevin Spacey, Stella McCartney, David LaChapelle, John Waters, and Elvis Costello & Diana Krall. Since 2004, Left Field Productions has won 30 industry awards for excellence including Production Company of the Year.