How to Throw a Dinosaur Birthday Party Kids Will Never Forget

Dinosaurs are a favourite with lots of young children, and no wonder: what child doesn't want to be a palaeontologist for a day?

This guide covers decorations, activities, food and a two-hour timeline, so you can run a brilliant dino party at home without a professional party planner.

Decorations you can make at home

You don't need to turn your house into a prehistoric jungle. A few well-placed touches set the scene:

• A balloon arch in greens and browns — the backbone of the look
• Tropical leaves (real or fake) scattered on tables and taped to walls
• Dinosaur footprints — cut from brown paper, leading from the front door to the party area
• "Danger: dinosaurs" signs — print them yourself and tape them to doors and fences
• Toy dinosaurs dotted around the food tables and play areas

Most of this can be made from paper, card and toys you already have.

Activities that roar

Fossil dig (the star activity)

• Fill a plastic tub or sandpit with play sand (not builders' sand)
• Bury small toy dinosaurs, "fossils" (shells, bones) and gemstones
• Give each child a paintbrush and a bucket
• Let them "excavate" and keep what they find

Time: 20–30 minutes of absorbed play. Keep small gems and toys away from under-threes, who may put them in their mouths.

Volcano eruption

• Build a simple volcano from a plastic bottle, newspaper and papier-mâché (or buy a kit)
• Fill it with bicarbonate of soda, food colouring and washing-up liquid
• Pour in vinegar for the eruption
• Do it outside or over a tray, with an adult handling the vinegar, and let each child take a turn

Dino egg hunt

• Fill plastic eggs with small dinosaur toys, stickers or sweets (check allergies before choosing sweets)
• Hide them around the garden or party space
• Give each child a bag to collect their finds

Fossil making

• Press toy dinosaurs into air-dry clay or salt dough
• Let the children make their own "fossils" to take home
• These double as party bag gifts

The volcano cake

The classic dinosaur party cake is a volcano:

1. 1Bake a round cake (or stack two for height)
2. 2Shape it into a cone or mound
3. 3Cover it with chocolate icing (the "rock")
4. 4Add green icing around the base (the jungle)
5. 5Place toy dinosaurs around it
6. 6Optional: pour orange or red icing down the sides for "lava"

If baking isn't your thing, many bakeries and supermarkets sell dinosaur cakes, or you can decorate a shop-bought sponge with clean toy dinosaurs.

Food ideas

Keep the menu simple but on theme:

• "Dino nuggets" — dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets (available frozen in most supermarkets)
• "Herbivore platter" — vegetables and fruit with a green dip
• "Fossil crisps" — ordinary crisps in a bowl with a fun label
• "Lava juice" — red or orange juice
• "Dino eggs" — devilled eggs or chocolate eggs

Ask parents about allergies before you plan the menu. Our food allergy planning checklist covers what to ask and how to label the food.

Planning tip: Describe a dinosaur party when you create your Partyolo invite and add your child's photo, and the invitation is made fresh for them. Families reply from the link in their browser, then say who's coming, choose from your food options and note any allergies. See our dinosaur invitation ideas and wording.

Party bags

Each child goes home with:

• The fossils they made
• Treasures from the fossil dig
• A small toy dinosaur
• Optional: a "palaeontologist certificate"

Pack everything in a brown paper bag stamped with a dinosaur footprint.

Timeline for a two-hour dino party

• 0:00–0:15 — Arrivals, free play with dino toys
• 0:15–0:40 — Fossil dig
• 0:40–0:55 — Volcano eruption (group activity)
• 0:55–1:20 — Food and dino cake
• 1:20–1:40 — Dino egg hunt
• 1:40–2:00 — Fossil making (the party bag craft), home time

The bottom line

A dinosaur party is one of the easiest themes to do well. The activities hold children's attention, the decorations are mostly green and brown and easy to make, and every child loves digging in sand. Plan the rest, from booking to the day itself, with our birthday party planning checklist.

• Next on Partyolo:
• Dinosaur invitation ideas