DINOSAUR PARTY INVITATIONS

Purchase matching personalized dinosaur party invitations, or make your own with cardstock paper, stickers etc. Using pre-cut dinosaur shapes
from a teaching supply or craft store will make the job even easier. 
If hand delivery is possible, fold a small paper invitation
and place it into a plastic egg with some rock candy.
Don't be extinct!
Come to ______'s dino-mite dinosaur birthday party!
Include the party details and a suggestion to wear play clothes.

DINOSAUR PARTY DECORATIONS
Cover the party table with a white sheet and paper dinosaur foot prints. Scatter the table top with rock candy and dinosaur fruit snacks.
Make a simple centerpiece by tying a bouquet of helium balloons to a large plastic or plush dinosaur. Tape dinosaur footprints on the walls and floor. Create a jungle effect by hanging strips of green streamers in varying lengths from the ceiling. Place plastic and plush dinosaurs throughout
the party area. For advanced decorating, use large sheets of butcher
paper to make a jungle and/or paint a dinosaur or two.
Enlist a talented teen for this job!

DINOSAUR BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES & ACTIVITIES

Face Painting
As the party guests arrive paint a small dinosaur or dinosaur footprint
onto their cheek or hand. Tip: Hire a teenager for this job, so you can
be available to the children.

Pin the Horn on the Triceratops
Traditional game with a twist.
Draw or purchase a poster with stegosaurus.  Make simple horns with paper. Use double sided tape, or "sticky-tack" to attach the horns on the triceratops. Who can get the closest!

Ring Toss with Dinosaurs
SOLID, heavy plastic dinosaurs are the targets for this game.
Rings can be purchased or easily made with heavy rope and duct tape.
Play just as you would horse shoes or Ring Toss. 
Take turns and reward EACH child for a job well done!

Dig Time
The Real Memory Maker!


Fill a small pool with dirt or sand to create the excavation site. 
Or use construction tape to designate a dig area in your yard.
Bury any these items before the party: Real or plastic bones,
popsicle sticks, small dinosaur toys, or old coins. Provide each
child with a small shovel or soup spoon and a
paint brush to clean their finds (optional).

Have fun with this activity by sharing a tale of buried items
or relics from the past…
"This was the hit of the party !" Says Anne from Maine
"To make it easier, I used my unfinished garden patch
as the excavation site.

Make your own fossils with coffee grounds...here's how!
1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax or parchment paper
Mixing bowl
Small objects to make impressions in the dough (optional)
Cookie cutter or butter knife

Stir the together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed. Knead the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper.  Cut pieces for your fossils using cookie cutters or a butter knife. You can create fossil impressions using objects pressed into the dough,  or make bones, dinosaur teeth etc. Let the fossils dry over night or place in a low heat oven for a few hours. Drying times vary on the thickness...so keep watching. Bury the fossils and bones before the party.

Bowling Bones
One mother we spoke to, used empty pop cans and a ball to make
a bone bowling game.
"It only took 30 minutes to cover 10 cans with paper,
I drew a simple bone on each can. Every player took a few turns
and received a small prize."

Dinosaur Pinata
Kid's love pinatas! consider purchasing a second to add to your decorations. Kit's tip: For a more kid-friendly piñata activity, convert this to a pull-string piñata...click for instructions

"Lost World" Obstacle Course 
Set up the course in your garage, covered patio or back yard.
Mark a starting point and an end. Suggested obstacles...
Tires to jump through "Dino Swamp", stones to hop on, sticks to
navigate and dinosaur footprints made with craft foam sheets.
At the end of the course, each player will receive a small prize.
If the prizes are small i.e.. candy , chocolate coin, sticker...
the children can run the course several times. 

Dinosaur Seek and Find
Before the party trace and cut several dinosaurs from construction paper or craft foam. Then, cut the dinosaurs into two puzzle pieces. Hide the pieces
in the party area. At game time the children will each find one piece. then they must find the player with the matching pieces.

Dinosaur Arts and Craft Ideas for Your Party
Use dinosaur paint sponges and kid friendly paint to make a
  dinosaur scene to take home. Don't forget to cover your art area and to 
  provide large shirt smocks.
Use dino cookie cutters and play dough.
Cut a paper dinosaur shape for each child. Supply tissue paper and white 
  school glue. Show the children how to tear and crinkle pieces of the
  tissue paper and then glue it on the dinosaur. Repeat until your dinosaur
  is filled with color.

DINOSAUR PARTY TREATS
This very active party doesn't have much time for a meal.
Quick snacks during games and play time are fine: Pretzels, popcorn,
fruit and sandwiches cut with a bone or dinosaur shaped cookie cutter.

Dirt in a Cup Recipe

Make this fun treat before or during the party. The kids will enjoy making
their own treat and you'll have another fun party activity.

You'll need:
chocolate cookie crumbs
chocolate pudding
Gummi worms
rock candy "dino eggs" 
clear plastic cups

To Make:
Spoon a layer of pudding into clear plastic cups. 
Add a few gummi worms and then a layer of cookie crumbs.
Repeat this process and top with some worms and dinosaur eggs.

Dinosaur Party Favors
Send your guests home with a unique thank-you to match your dinosaur party theme. Before the party, spray paint large plastic eggs with textured speckled paint. Fill each eggs with a plastic dinosaur toy, stickers, and a
bag of dinosaur fruit snacks.

You can also order complete dinosaur party favors sets from
Birthday in a Box. You'll get everything you'll need in the mail!