How to Have a Dinosaur Theme Birthday Party

Dinosaurs are a favorite of kids who crave adventure and the thrill of scary prehistoric animals. Some children take an interest in dinosaurs after learning about them in school, while others have been fanatics since they were in diapers. Whether your child is a new budding paleontologist or knows the names of dozens of prehistoric creatures, he or she will “dig” having a birthday party with a Jurassic Park feel.

Things You'll Need

• Invitations
• Card stock
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Balloons
• Streamers
• Brown paper bags
• Posters
• Face paints
• Sandbox
• Small toys
• Small paintbrushes, shovels and pails
• Large balloon
• Paper mache
• Paint
• Chicken nuggets, sandwiches, food coloring and eggs
• Sheet cake, coconut, cookie crumbs, small dinosaurs and candy rocks
• Rocky road ice cream

Instructions

1. Buy pre-made dinosaur invitations or make your own. For each invitation, cut two identical egg shapes out of card stock. Cut a jagged top off one of the eggs and set it aside. Glue just the edges of the two eggs together, the one missing its "lid" on top of the other. Cut a slip of construction paper that will fit inside the pocket of the two egg shapes. Glue it to the back side of the jagged top. Write the party details on the construction paper and write "Pull" on the card stock egg top. Slip the construction paper envelope into the egg.

2. Hang brown and green streamers and balloons to decorate the party area. Cut dinosaur footprints from brown paper grocery bags and make a trail around the room or leading to the outside party area. Decorate the walls with dinosaur posters.

3. Ask an older sibling or other family member to man a face painting station. Bury small toys in the sandbox and give each guest a small pail along with a shovel and paintbrush. Have the kids dig up and dust off their finds, using the bucket to carry home their goodies. Create a dinosaur egg piñata by covering a large balloon in paper mache and painting it in a speckled brown motif. Cut a hole in the piñata when it is dry, fill it with goodies and glue paper over the hole.

4. Serve dinosaur shaped chicken fingers, or sandwiches cut into footprint shapes. Hard boil eggs and crack up the shells but leave them intact. Dip in food coloring to die the eggs to look like dinosaur eggs.

5. Top your child's favorite flavor of cake with green tinted coconut for grass, graham cracker crumbs for sand, chocolate cookie crumbs for dirt, small toy dinosaurs and candy rocks. Serve with rocky road or similar ice cream.

Tips & Warnings

• Use dinosaur toys your child already owns to add to the party decorations.

• Keep track of how many goodies you bury in the sandbox so that you will know when the children have found them all.

• Don't serve peanut butter and jelly if any of your guests have a peanut allergy. Stay away from ice cream with peanuts in it as well.

Resources

• Source for face painting kit