Hello, Jen Carver of Banner Events here! When it comes to fun party themes, this dinosaur birthday party and prehistoric excavation was definitely a favorite to plan. Organized for my son’s 9th birthday, guests were transported back in history to a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Decorations were reminiscent of a lush jungle with tropical foliage. On the other hand, desserts like cake, cupcakes and cookies imitated dinosaurs, their eggs and remaining skeletal structures. Just wait until you see the cool paleontology inspired party games and activities! And don’t miss the fun party favors–dinosaur dig excavation kits, complete with pith helmets and binoculars! Karina Rigtrup of A Fresh Take Photography caught all the action!
Some of my favorite details from this Boy’s Dinosaur Birthday Party and Prehistoric Excavation include:
– Vintage museum style dinosaur printables
– 3 tiered dinosaur cake with smoking volcano topper
– DIYd Bamboo balloon garland (easy and inexpensive)
– Carnivore and Herbivore boxed snacks
– Dinosaur Excavation Kit & Hatching Dinosaur Egg favors
Take a peek at more fabulous dinosaur party ideas:
Pierson’s Dinosaur Dig Birthday Party – A Dinosaur Excavation!
A Dino-Mite Dinosaur Party
Pierson’s Dinosaur Party Planning and Inspiration – A look behind the scenes
Dinosaur Party
A dinosaur party invitation delivered by pterodactyl would definitely make an impressive (and somewhat scary) first impression. Our invitees got the next best thing. First of all, invitations were designed by the incredible talent here at Anders Ruff and printed by Driftwood Printing. Then, they were packaged in orange boxes filled with brown paper shred from Nashville Wraps. Next, a dinosaur skeleton toy was added to the invitation suite to heighten excitement. Finally, they were hand-delivered by my paleontology-loving son. Thank goodness coordinating address wraps were included for those doorstep deliveries. I can always count on Anders Ruff to be on top of the littlest design details! What little boy wouldn’t be thrilled to be invited to join in a dinosaur excavation? Imagine the fun of digging, dusting and discovering dinosaur bones! If that wasn’t enough to pique their interest, the details about dinner service for little carnivores and herbivores surely did!
Part of the fun at a dinosaur birthday party is being able to dig in the past. Or, should we say, dig up the past? Being a paleontologist-in-training, means dressing the part and being outfitted with the tools needed to make great discoveries. When guests arrived at my son’s party they received awesome T-Rex shirts in party colors (thanks to a $2 clearance). Each shirt was marked with a custom “property of” tag from the AR dinosaur printable collection. Once guests had their shirts on, the name tags were removed and attached to their individual dinosaur dig excavation kits. This helped us keep everyone’s excavation artifacts and take-home favors organized.
Dino diggers received official name badges with clip badge holders and orange lanyards from Oriental Trading Company. Legit!
Some other essential tools of the trade, namely pith helmets and binoculars from Shindigz, caused a roar of excitement! They were quickly pulled from dino dig kits for some imaginative play during the party. When not in use, party guests kept everything neatly stored in juco tote bags from Nashville Wraps. Not only did we love the natural look of these bags, but also appreciated how sturdy they were with rigid sides that held their shape, even when loaded down with lots of dinosaur birthday party favors. We added a custom dino dig party excavation kit label to the front of each tote bag and a coordinating thank you tag, both from Anders Ruff’s dinosaur party printable collection.
A dinosaur birthday party isn’t nearly as fun without dinosaurs! We incorporated plenty of tiny plastic dinosaurs as decorations, game pieces and even included as part of the party favors. Even so, we couldn’t pass up these adorable stuffed dino tails from Oriental Trading Company. They came in a few different color combinations which made for easy team divisions for playing various games. Don’t those tails just bring a smile to your face? (I’m told that party guests had fun playing with them long after the party was over!)
Always the main attraction at a Banner Events’ party, the dessert table was so much fun to put together. Using a mixture of natural and rustic decor elements, the scene was set for a dinomite celebration. The foundation for the table began with a weathered wood butcher paper backdrop. Green bamboo garland from Oriental Trading was added to create a subtle jungle vibe. A combination of air-filled latex balloons from Shindigz were tied directly to the bamboo greenery in a playful, haphazard pattern. As a result, a trendy balloon garland was created. I think it brought a little festivity and much needed pop of color to a mostly neutral table design.
Usually anxious to build something for one of my parties, my husband hit the home improvement store. He put together and stained a custom frame for the mammoth dinosaur birthday party sign! It was made from super lightweight wood, which we hung from a single push pin using clear fishing line. I loved the prominence of the sign over the dessert table clearly identifying the theme and guest of honor.
To display a creative variety of dinosaur inspired treats, I utilized a combination of faux nests, wood crates (Nashville Wraps), DIYd wood risers, galvanized cake stands, and wood round centerpieces (Oriental Trading Company). A touch of nature was added to the tabletop by way of green grass balls, boxwood garlands, faux grass and polished river rocks. I mixed in some plastic dinosaurs from the local dollar store. Set on a natural tablecloth, all props and decorations were intentionally kept simple and understated, allowing the desserts to be the true stars of the table.
And stars they were. This 3 tiered cake, masterfully created by Christina of 4 Kids Cakes definitely stole the show! Hand cut pieces of fondant were crafted into colorful prehistoric scenes. The volcano cake topper not only looked incredibly cool, but was extra impressive because of its ability to let off steam as if it was erupting! Christina was a genius and created a hollow center in the topper, just large enough for a small cup of water to hide for the addition of dry ice! The effect and resulting guest reaction was awesome!
Cupcakes were a store bought shortcut this year, which I outfitted in new green polka dot wrappers and dressed up with some chocolate rock candy and dinosaur toys from Oriental Trading added to the top. Party guests could eat their cake and keep the toy too!
A fun DIY project for the dessert table, these dinosaur jars were made using the heads from toy dinosaur grabbers adhered to short plastic lidded jars (Oriental Trading) with a bit of E6000 glue. Fierce! Whoppers candy balls became edible malt ball “rocks” with a “Thanks, you rock!” label attached to the jar fronts.
Cadbury Creme Eggs became “dino eggs” and were quick to disappear from the bed of orange chocolate candy where they lay waiting to hatch a creamy surprise.
A Taste to Remember artfully created these chocolate 3-D dinosaur skeleton cookies which I displayed on beds of brown sugar sand. They were like fun little 3 piece puzzles that could be pulled apart and eaten or put back together and played with by guests. A simpler, but equally as tasty 2-D version was showcased on wood rounds. Shauna’s chocolate covered Oreo dinosaur eggs were equally as cool with airbrushed detailing and that perfect egg shape.
Despite our prehistoric theme, we abandoned caveman-style manners and opted for civilized eating at our dinosaur birthday party. While some may be able to survive on a dessert table alone, we prepped a simple boxed meal the kids could enjoy. We utilized clear plastic containers to serve up crunchy herbivore munchies like carrots and broccoli (note the cute labels). Brown favor bags housed fresh-out-of-the-oven dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. A small cutie orange and glassine bag full of Dino-Tracks trail mix rounded out the meal. All items were packaged in Kraft boxes from Nashville Wraps and tied up with twine and a cute “Dig in” tag.
The dining area was decorated with another awesome oversized dinosaur print from Anders Ruff, boxwood topiary balls and garland, grapevine balls and dino skeletons (Oriental Trading). I wanted lots of textures and colors included in each place setting. Woven placemats were layered with chocolate brown linen napkins, wood patterned chargers (Oriental Trading) and green plates (found at the local dollar store). Wooden utensils seemed like the perfect choice for our serveware. Glass jars were embellished with dino-mite drink labels and included a party flag topped paper straw for easy sipping. Drinks were displayed on wood birch round coasters. Cupcakes served in brown baking cups (Hoopla Events) were accented with cute custom printable toppers and edible chocolate rocks. They were positioned at each place for a sweet conclusion to dinner. Plastic dollar store dinos topped off each plate and served as part of a trio of galvanized cake stand centerpieces.
A small favor station was established. Here, guests could store their favor bags or grab a coloring book to work on in between other party activities. They could even hydrate with some custom wrapped bottles of water.
Curious what guests dug out of their excavation kit favor bags? In addition to the items shared earlier, there were dinosaur shaped crayons to go along with the coloring books. Plus Oriental Trading had the coolest dinosaur mini puzzles and dinosaur hatching egg sets (really cool!) The pint-sized paleontologists especially loved the dinosaur skeleton kits! All of these items plus some dinosaur toys were packed in the tote bags along with a wooden tray and dusting (paint) brush.
In addition to energetic dino tail games and imaginary play, there were some other fun activities to enjoy. This “Dig-Tac-Toe game–a dino themed twist on the classic Tic-Tac-Toe game doesn’t use Xs and Os. Rather, players use different colored plastic toy dinosaurs to mark their territory.
The dinosaur dig area was set up in the kitchen. Because digging creates dust, I fashioned a disposable paper tablecloth and corrugated cardboard runner for easy clean-up. I added a natural moss runner (Shindigz), grass balls and 3-D wooden dinosaurs. Activity placemats and paintbrush dusting tools were fully stocked. Groups of kids rotated through the dig area. They used mini paleontology tools from their skeleton kits to dig away at dinosaur fossils. A lot of dust was created, but the wooden trays provided a little work station that helped to contain it. The kids loved practicing precision digging and patience while unearthing all the pieces to their dinosaur model.
This dinosaur birthday party was full of so much genuine excitement and fun! As a result, none of us wanted it to end! I can’t wait for the next prehistoric party!
A Boy’s Dinosaur Birthday Party & Prehistoric Excavation Vendor Credits:
Banner Events – Event Styling
Anders Ruff Custom Designs– Printable Invitation and Coordinating Printable Decorations
A Fresh Take Photography– Event Photography
Driftwood Printing– Large and Small Format Printing
4 Kids Cakes – Dinosaur Birthday Party Cake with Smoking Volcano
A Taste to Remember – 3-D Dinosaur Skeleton Cookies, Chocolate Covered Oreo Dinosaur Eggs
Oriental Trading – Hatching Dinosaur Egg Set, Dino Dig Puzzles, Small Dinosaur Dig Kit, Dino-Mite Dinosaur Skeletons, Dino-Mite Dinosaur Assortment, Dinosaur Tails, Realistic Dinosaur Grabbers, Short Jars, Medium Boxwood Decor Ball, Grapevine Balls, Easel Brushes, Small Grass Balls, Polished River Rocks, Wood Centerpiece, Birch Coasters, Wood Pattern Wedding Chargers, Galvanized Bottle Vases, Dino-Mite Dinosaurs, Sparkling Orange Chocolate Candies, Chocolate Rock Candy, DIY Large Wood Tray, Orange Nylon Lanyards, Clip Badge Holders, Boxwood Garland, Bamboo Garland,
Nashville Wraps – Medium Wooden Crate Assortment, Orange Tango Eco Tone Recycled Jewelry Boxes, 2 pc Small Round Clear Containers, Chocolate Burlap Twine 2-Ply, Chocolate Crinkle Cut Paper Shred, #3 Bio Plus Earth Recycled Kraft, Juco Tote Shopping Bags
Shindigz– Preserved Moss Matt, Black Plastic Binoculars, Pith Helmets, Buff Corrugated Paper, Brown Seamless Paper, Orange Bright Tone, Green Bright Tone and Crystal Clear Latex Balloons, Dinosaur Crayon Sets
SOURCES to create your own Boy’s Dinosaur Birthday Party
– Wooden Dinosaur Puzzles: here or here
– Clear Jars
– Faux Wheatgrass
– Greenery Topiary Balls
– Metal Cake Stands:
– Dinosaur Mold
– Bones mold here
– Wooden Crates:
– Kate Aspen Bird Nest Favor (Set of 12)
– Dinosaur Figurines
– Toy Dinosaurs
