Is your little one a dinosaur-loving roar machine AND about to get older? Embark on a prehistoric adventure with a dinosaur birthday party your little paleontologist-in-training will never forget. Whether you’re a seasoned party planner or a dino noob, this guide is designed to cover everything you need to throw a roar-some celebration.
My son had a dino-FOUR party (can you guess what age he turned?), and I had a blast coming up with fun ideas! I’ll go over every element of his party including fun games, delicious dino-themed treats, and the COOLEST cake I have ever made! Plus, I incorporated an extra-special surprise in this party I don’t usually do! Let’s get into it.
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Simple Canva Invitation
I’ve done more complicated birthday invitations before, like the one for Hugo’s Paw Patrol birthday party. This time, I went bright and simple. Everything was done in Canva, and it was done in about 30 minutes.
For the first time EVER, instead of mailing out printed invitations, I used the invitation as the featured image in a Facebook event invitation. I regret not ordering physical copies very much and will never do a Facebook invite again! Call me old, call me stubborn, I don’t care. I like having the invitation in hand.
Since this party, I have designed many MUCH better dinosaur invitations, including an awesome dino-four invite that I wish I’d taken the time to create for Hugo’s birthday.
Decorations and Theming
Main Colors
Most of the time, the theme itself leads me to choose the party’s colors. This time, it was both the theme and readily available pre-made decorations that helped me make my decision.
Yeah, I do a lot of DIY, but sometimes it’s cheaper to buy the thing at the store than try to make your own! I found a collection of dinosaur party stuff themed heavily in green and blue with a little bit of orange, so those were the colors I focused on with my DIY projects.
Two-Sided Chalkboard
The year Hugo turned four was also the year I got my hands on a double-sided easel chalkboard! I’ve been using it for every party since. On one side, I’ll draw something cute and welcome everyone to the party. As they leave, they’ll see a “thanks for coming” message!
Mine came from Kirkland’s but this exact one is no longer available. Amazon has a very similar one, though. I don’t use liquid chalk markers because I find them extremely difficult to wash off, but I love my dustless chalk!
Beware the Dinosaur Sign
This was another quick Canva creation. I printed it on white cardstock and taped it to the front door. The kids were young enough that it made them look twice!
Green Party Curtain
To add a little bit of a prehistoric jungle vibe, I hung up a couple of green party curtains over walkways. Little kids love running through stuff like that. They make good photo backdrops, too!
Giant Happy Birthday Banner
The opening between my kitchen and living room is huge, with a few feet of wall visible due to the drop in ceiling height. I LOVE it when I find these massive 10-foot happy birthday banners! They work perfectly hanging from that wall space.
Buffet Backdrop & Balloons
I went with a fairly simple wall design over the buffet for this party. The giant green number balloon, large faux jungle leaves, and balloon column all came from Amazon. The orange, green, and blue balloons, as well as the orange streamers hanging from the ceiling, came from Walmart.
Premade Centerpiece & Table Decorations
With the availability of matching table decorations to go with the birthday banner, I chose to buy them. They were super cheap, too! You can sometimes still find this set at Amazon or Walmart. It comes with two smaller dinosaur stand-ups and lots of dinosaur hexagon chips to scatter.
Dinosaur Tracks
I didn’t yet have my Cricut Maker 3 for this party, so I Googled a silhouette of a dinosaur footprint and printed it on white cardstock. I cut out that footprint and traced it several times onto teal cardstock, then cut those out by hand. A couple of loops of Scotch tape held them in place, even on our high-pile carpeted stairs!
Hugo’s Look
I happened upon this adorable soft Jurassic World costume head while browsing Party City for supplies. He still has it and occasionally wears it four years later! His dinosaur shirt was Garanimals brand from Walmart.
Dinosaur-Themed Foods and Drinks
Dinosaur puns were way easier to come up with than I expected. It was hard to narrow down the party menu!
Neanderthal Nuggets
Tyson’s dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets were an easy, no-brainer choice for a kid’s birthday party.
Raptor Rolls
For a little variety, I also made regular old pizza rolls and gave them a fun dinosaur-themed title.
For Carnivores
I provided a pre-made meat, cheese, and cracker platter for the meat-eaters to snack on throughout the party.
For Herbivores
Those who preferred lighter, fresher options to graze on, I got a ready-made veggie platter!
Dinosaur Eggs
Individually prepared cups of grapes were a BIG hit with everyone at the party. Hugo chose the green grapes over red, but either (or a mix) would be fine!
Dinosaur Bones
White fudge Flipz pretzels make pretty good “bones”!
Jurassic Juice
The green drink was simply Green Hawaiian Punch. No fuss, no frills.
Lava Punch
Red Hawaiian punch is the main ingredient, but I wanted it to look more like bubbling lava! So I added a 2-liter of 7UP and some raspberry sherbet. We also offered sweet tea and water. I had a few more ideas that I had to cut! You can steal them, though.
- Stegosaurus Scales – a bowl of Ruffles
- Dinosaur Claws – a bowl of Bugles chips
DIY Dinosaur Party Games
Feed the T-Rex
This is NOT a regulation cornhole board by any means, but it was all DIY and cheap to make! My husband found an old coffee table on the side of the road, took the legs off, and cut a rough hole in the middle. I cleaned it up and used simple acrylics to paint the T-rex head and “Feed Me!” on it. (It was repainted and reused for Lily’s Frozen birthday party!)
For the game, I had two different sets of bean bags. Standard cornhole bags were available to make the game more challenging for the adults. Mini bean bags that came with this game kit were available for the little kids to have a better shot at getting it through the mouth! I also used the cones and rings in another DIY dinosaur party game (see below).
For each game, I designed and printed a little title card that I stood next to the game area with these awesome photo frames.
Tricera-Toss
For this adorable ring toss game, I cut three holes into a cheap foam board poster large enough to stick the cones through (from the game kit I mentioned above). Using regular Crayola markers, I drew a cute Triceratops to fill the poster, positioning it so the cones formed its three horns!
Pin the Tail on the T-Rex
I love this classic party game, and it’s always hilarious with small children who haven’t figured out how easy it is to peek under the blindfold yet. This dinosaur version from Amazon is super cheap and worked great!
Homemade Dino Waterfall Cake
This cake is a masterpiece. Every time I look at it, I’m filled with pride. I’ve now made over 15 birthday cakes, and this is still, hands-down, the most visually impressive! The most amazing part? It is one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever done. Don’t believe me? Check out my step-by-step dinosaur cake tutorial that has been used by HUNDREDS of fellow party planners!
Party Favors
As usual, I tried to avoid a bunch of junk toys in the party favors. I dressed up mini water bottles in cute DIY printed dinosaur labels that called them “swamp water,” haha. The bags are simply snack-sized Ziploc bags that I stapled homemade cardstock favor tag designs on.
Inside were plastic “dinosaur” Silly Putty eggs and dinosaur party blowers that matched the banner and table decorations. The exact ones I got are discontinued, but Amazon has other dinosaur party blowers. You can get the fun letter board here! I update it with a fun phrase for every birthday party now.
The Big Surprise
This party had a little something extra I don’t normally incorporate. After we sang “Happy Birthday” and blew out the candles, my husband disappeared for a few minutes… and came out dressed as a dinosaur!
The inflatable dinosaur costume has been used many times since and led to a lot of laughs, so it was well worth the splurge. Hugo got a ride-on excavator for his birthday, and he drove it around while the “dinosaur” chased him. It was too cute!
I hope Hugo’s fourth birthday has given you ideas to make your dinosaur party a prehistoric paradise. The key is to embrace your creativity and have fun with it. Think of loud colors, playful decorations, and activities that keep those little minds engaged.
Most importantly, don’t forget to capture those priceless moments. These are the memories your tiny paleontologist will treasure long after the last roar fades. So crank up the Jurassic Park theme song, let out your best dinosaur impersonation, and celebrate a truly dino-mite birthday!
You Might Like to Read…
- Toy Rotation – Something you should do after every birthday and gift holiday!
- Printable Black and White Happy Birthday Banner – This is a banner you can keep on hand to hang for any party theme.
