Need help planning the perfect dinosaur birthday party for 3-year-olds? Then look no further, our 3rd dinosaur birthday party planning guide will help you every step of the way.
The first thing you need to think about is how many children are you going to invite to your party. For a 3-year-old we recommend a party size of around 12, this is enough to create a great atmosphere but not too many so as to make your child feel apprehensive about such a large crowd. Any more than 12 three-year-olds can start to become a problem to manage for the supervising adults too.
If your child goes to nursery or pre-school then they have most likely formed a small friendship group already and have a group to invite. It may help to talk to your child's teacher to see if there are any children who they socialise with more than others who could also be invited.
You should hold your party in a place that's familiar to your child so either your home, a local hall or at a much loved soft play centre. Hosting the party at your house can be the best solution as you will have anything you need at hand and also don't have to transport and set up any food/equipment to a new venue.
When planning a party for 3-year-olds it's important to take the length of the party and the time it's on into account. Some 3-year-olds will still be used to having an afternoon nap and often parents have other commitments with other children so it's important to host at a time that's less likely to interfere with other plans. We suggest holding the party in the morning or at lunchtime so as to minimise disruption.
We recommend the party is about 90 minutes long as this gives the children plenty of time to have fun and play games but any longer than that and they can become tired, irritable and distracted.
Now you've decided where you're going to have your party and who you're going to invite it's time to make/buy and send out some 3rd birthday dinosaur party invitations. Making the invitations from scratch can be a fun activity for you and your child to do and can help build anticipation for their party. If crafting isn't really your thing then there are plenty of professionally made dinosaur party invitations to buy most of which can be customised with your party details.
Here are a few of our favourite dinosaur invitations for 3-year-olds birthday parties
It might seem obvious but some people can forget to add important information to the party invitation, the invitation should include all of these:
It's important to decorate your venue to enhance the theme of the party, there are many different dinosaur decorations available from balloons and banners to tablecloths, drinking cups and bubble machines.
Here are a few of our favourite dinosaur party decorations for 3-year-olds birthday parties
Keeping every child at the party entertained is essential, luckily there are a plethora of options when it comes to dinosaur games and activities for 3-year-olds. Classic games like pin the tail on the donkey has been re-imagined as pin the tail on the dinosaur or pin the horn on the triceratops, you can buy readymade versions of these games or make your own. Another option is to get the children to decorate hard-boiled eggs as dinosaur eggs and then hold a dinosaur egg and spoon race. You can even jazz up pass-the-parcel by having the parcel wrapped in dinosaur themed birthday wrapping paper. Piñatas are also becoming more and more popular at parties and there are several dinosaur-shaped piñatas available from various stores.
Something to remember when designing your games is that 3-year-olds can feel left out if they don't win so it's a good idea to include lots of small prizes within each game that can be dished out liberally so that every child feels included and that they have won something.
Other activities you can offer are:
At 3 years old children aren't very focused on food and will be distracted from it by the party so it's a good idea not to overload them with too much food. You might find it difficult to find food items which are all dinosaur-themed so don't worry if you need to add some tried and tested party favourites such as sausage rolls, pizza slices, cheese and pineapple on sticks etc.
If you are inviting any children with allergies then it's important to have some options which will cater for them such as gluten-free or egg-free snacks.
When serving the food it's a good idea to have it outside if the weather is good and you have space or if not then try to keep it in the kitchen or a room with hard floors and little soft furnishings. This is just to stop accidents which will inevitably happen when you have a rowdy group of 3-year-old dinosaur fanatics.
Another thing to consider when serving the food is to have a mix of sweet and savoury then serve the savoury food first so that the children will get a variety and not get addicted to the sweet treats straight from the off.
As far as drinks go it's important not to give the children too much sugar so stick to milk or water if possible. If you are going to offer them juice then it should be diluted at least 10/1
One final word on food is that you should also be sure to cater for any adults attending the party as they will most likely prefer something a little more grown-up than what's on offer for the kids.
If your guests leave your party on a high note then they're likely to remember it as being a good party. As the last things you'll give your guests will be party bags it's important to get the contents right. It's a good idea to have fewer high-quality engaging items rather than lots of really cheap items which the children will probably not play with. It's also a good idea to have a nice mix within your party bags so have a couple of toys, a couple of sweet treats, some stickers and maybe some stationery items such as pens or pencils.
What the party bag looks like is also important, there are some great dinosaur themed party bags available including:
A few tips to help you plan a 3rd birthday party
