Dinosaur themed birthday party ideas for a party at home

Throw a dinosaur themed birthday party at home in this order: send the invite, set one table, run one game, hide a short hunt, and put a dinosaur name on the food. That is the plan. Draw the pieces on paper you already have if you buy nothing.

Send the invite

Write the child's name, the age, the date, the time, the place, and who to reply to. One dinosaur line is enough: Come dig with us. Wording for the rest of the card is on how to make a birthday invitation.

The Graceful and Free recap starts with an invitation and a dinosaur dig for guests who ranged from 2 to 10, and that page does not include a scavenger hunt or food labels.

By text or on paper, the Dinosaur Birthday Invitation invites guests to a dinosaur birthday party. It includes an invitation front, 7 × 5 in, two per sheet. It includes an invitation back with RSVP and allergy lines. It includes a Party Maker file: type the details, print, or save a phone-size image to text. It lets you type the child's name, age, date, time, place and RSVP contact in the included Party Maker, or fill the blank PDF by pen. It needs a web browser, and a printer and paper or cardstock to print. It uses US Letter and A4 as separate PDFs. It is print-only. It has no RSVP tracking or sending service.

Set one table

Put the food on one table. Add green paper leaves, a paper dinosaur or two, and a footprint path from the door to that table. Chalk works on a sidewalk. Cardstock works indoors. A name banner can hang above the cups you already own.

The Graceful and Free recap put dinosaur footprints from the front door to the kitchen, and chalk footprints on the sidewalk. Other theme lists, if dinosaur is not the only idea you are weighing, are on birthday party theme ideas.

Run one game

Fill a bin with dry rice or sand. Hide a few painted rocks. Hand out plastic spoons. That is the game. One grown-up stays at the bin.

Playing with sand toys or plastic containers in a sandbox is on the CDC milestones by 2 years. A child who is already pretending can add a roar and a stomping lap around the table. Pretending to be something else during play, such as a dog, is on the CDC milestones by 4 years. Tag and follow the leader are outdoor games that page tells you to teach, if the dig ends early.

Hide a short hunt

After the dig, hide three or four clue cards only if the children can follow a spoken line. Each card names one next place. The last place holds a snack or a note. How to write those lines is on scavenger hunt clues.

Hide and seek is an outdoor game the CDC milestones by 4 years tell you to teach. A shared card works once children can take a turn together, the group-game skill on the CDC milestones by 5 years. A pair can share one card. A first birthday uses the dig. Save the clue cards for a later birthday.

Name the food

Serve food the children already eat. Fold a card and write a dinosaur name: fern sticks for carrot sticks, swamp cups for the drink you already pour. The name is the theme. The food can stay ordinary.

Uncut grapes, hot dogs, popcorn, whole or chopped nuts and seeds, and round or hard candy are foods to avoid on the CDC choking hazards list, which also asks you to have your child sit up while eating.

A first birthday or age two

A first birthday stays small. Pat-a-cake on a blanket, a board book, and a box to push are enough dinosaur play. Playing games with you, like pat-a-cake, is on the CDC milestones by 1 year. That page also says to let your baby push empty boxes.

At two, the rice bin is the party. One grown-up sits on the floor. The clue cards wait. A later birthday can add the hunt when hide and seek is already a game you play.

Paper for the dig, the hunt, and the labels

The Dinosaur Birthday Party Box holds everything paper for a dinosaur birthday party at home, so you can invite the guests, decorate the table and run the games and a scavenger hunt in one theme. It includes food tent labels, a welcome sign, Happy Birthday banner flags with age numbers and blank flags, cupcake toppers, favor tags, thank-you cards, and photo props. It also saves a phone-size invitation image from the Party Maker, beside a card at 7 × 5 in, two per sheet. It also includes 10 party activities: picture bingo, memory match, I-spy count, maze, word search, pin game, act-it-out cards, would-you-rather cards, roll-and-draw, and guess-how-many. It also includes a dinosaur scavenger hunt: 24 indoor and 8 yard clue cards, start and finish letters, and a hiding-order sheet. It includes a host guide with answer keys, a start-here guide and how-to-print note, and a Party Maker file: type the child's name, age and party details once. It lets you type the child's name, the age and the party details once in the included Party Maker and print, or fill the blank PDFs by pen. It needs a printer, paper or cardstock, scissors, tape, string, and a web browser to personalize. It uses US Letter and A4 as separate PDFs. It is print-only. It is for games written for ages 4–8; adult help with cutting and reading.

This plan is one table at home or in a park. A rented dinosaur show or a venue package has its own activity, and this page does not plan that visit.