Dinosaur Party!

Another favorite party theme my children love is a Dinosaur party. It sounds somewhat daunting at first but broken down it can be a really simple and low cost theme. Starting with the invitation create a fun dinosaur theme by making the card into a dinosaur shape or bone and the suggestion that all guests arrive as paleontologists ready to explore. On the day of the event, provide a basket of clothes (outside the door so they have to dress before entering) that a paleontologist might wear (think Indiana Jones) as well as some shovels, magnifying glasses, digging tools and hats. Trying to get adults involved might be difficult but you could try to give them horns and dinosaur type accessories (the kids need some dinosaurs to hunt!).

Simple dino facepaint

Many people have sand boxes in the back yard, if you don’t you can place a few bags of sand in a small pool. Prior to the event, take small milk cartons and fill with plaster of paris then take small plastic dinosaurs and sink to the bottom of the containers, allow to dry completely overnight. Once dry, remove the cardboard exterior, you are left with a perfect dinosaur hunt! Take the plaster boxes and sink into the sandbox, make one for each child including the birthday child. When you start the activity, allow each child to find his/her own box in the sandpit and bring to a table with their adult. Then provide a set of tools with which they can then dig the dinosaur out (small hammer, chisel, forks, etc. – make sure adult supervision is provided as these tools can be dangerous). This activity could be a pretty large chunk of the party. Since you already of the plaster of paris, making hand prints of the children can be a really great give away and something everyone will remember for a long time. In addition, the children will learn how dinosaurs left their prints and how fossils are made.

Another really fun and exciting activity the children will always remember is to erupt a volcano. Make a volcano ahead of time and allow the birthday child to set it off (probably several times). Add some dinosaur toys around the base of the volcano for realism and to add to the destruction. In addition to the science volcano, you could also create a volcano drink, take sherbet ice cream (although others work Sherbet has the best fizz factor) add sprite and red food coloring, make some dino ice cubes and you are all set. I absolutely love this drink, whether as a volcano or not – so delicious!

Here are some other food ideas:

– Bronto Burgers

– Brontosaurus cake or volcano cake with rock candy around base.

– Deviled dino eggs.

– Dinosaur Eggs (jelly bellies)

– Rice Krispy dino eggs

Really the list can keep going on, anything with eggs or a dinosaur shape would fit in without any problem.

Some other fun games to play would be musical chair extinction, the last one to get a chair is extinct. Dinosaur trivia could be really fun to create with your child ahead of time and then play with the group, depending on the age of the children is whether adult involvement would be necessary but it is usually more fun if everyone is playing. Creating paper-mache asteroids to hang around the house. Teach the children how to make fire and use it as a great lesson about what era introduced humanoid and which dinosaurs were alive at the time.

A great addition to the goody bag would be some shark’s teeth. If you aren’t fortunate enough to live in Florida like us, you can usually get some shark’s teeth online, after you get the teeth you can either turn them into necklaces ahead of time or as a craft at the party.

While this party is pretty cram packed with entertainment, there is always room for more. Here in Tampa we are lucky enough to have the Rapping Pirates (not dinosaur but close) but perhaps finding a singing group would add a lot of excitement. While not discussing dinosaurs but perhaps the evolution of some other animals an animal expert might really bring some information and knowledge to the event. I personally love to paint dinosaurs on faces, either turning a face into a dinosaur or painting a dinosaur talking on the mouth or dinosaur bones – a face Painter can make that happen. Balloon twisting is also very popular and everyone loves the T-Rex balloon. Really, if you are looking for an entertainer the list is endless.

I’m sure no matter how many events or activities you plan for your party it will be a huge hit. Just taking time to think about it and make it memorable means so much to the children and family members. Just try to remember, the most important thing to plan is having fun. So no matter what allow the children to enjoy themselves and have a ball!

masks designs are great as they don’t cover the mouth and don’t have to go close to the eyes.

Lorrin is available for Face Painting, balloon twisting, airbrush art & glitter art in Tampa, Florida and the surrounding areas. She can be contacted with any questions at WagnerEvents@gmail.com.