Planning a dinosaur themed birthday party can be a big task so let us help you through the process. You can read our party planning overview below or skip to more detailed guides on planning birthday parties for certain age groups here:
Who and how many guests to invite to your party will vary depending upon how old your child is and where and what you are planning on doing for the party. If your child is quite young and your having a party at your house then the budget might stretch to inviting their entire class from school however if your child is older or your planning on doing something more extravagant and expensive then you might only want to invite a few of your child's closest friends. Remember if your child is very young you may need to invite a few adults too to help supervise them.
This will again depend upon the child's age, the younger the child then the more restrictions you will need to have on the party. For the youngest children we recommend hosting parties at your house or somewhere familiar to the child such as a favourite play center or church hall they're used to going to. Older children may want to go to theme parks or go to the cinema to watch the latest dinosaur blockbuster.
Older children are more likely to have their parties on the weekend or one evening after school and they could last several hours to all day. Younger children will need to fit in with their parents and sleep routines more so its a good idea to host their birthday parties in the morning or at lunchtime. A typical toddlers birthday party may last only 60-90 minutes as they will get tired easily.
All parties need guests and there's not much difference between inviting a 3 year old to a party or a 12 year old. You might have invites with a more childish image on but that's about it. When inviting guests to the party it's important to include the following information on the party invite:
If your having your party at home or at a venue which needs decorating then there are a whole host of different dinosaur decorating ideas available from banners and balloons to cups, tablecloths and even bubble machines. Try picking a colour scheme or selecting an individual dinosaur such as the T-Rex to theme your dinosaur party around
Keeping the guests entertained is the most important thing when planning a party. Make sure the activities your planning are age appropriate and safe. You don't want to have to stop the party while you attend to an accident or have to explain to another child's parent why their child got injured. If your hosting the party yourself then make sure there are no sharp objects or edges to any of your furnishings or decorations and also make sure they're all from reputable brands and carry the necessary fire safe logos etc. If you're not hosting the party yourself then make sure the venue has all the appropriate insurances and safety certificates.
We would also suggest choosing games that have good participation from all the guests rather than games where one child may end up playing nearly all the time as this could lead to boredom from the guests. For younger children we would also suggest having games where everyone's a winner so none of the children feel left out.
What you choose to have for food and drink at the party will again vary depending upon the age range of your guests and where your having your party, there's a few key points which will be relevant for all ages:
A great way to thank your guests for coming to the party is to give them dinosaur party bags when they leave. What's in these bags is entirely up to you but it's always advisable to go for quality items rather than quantity. Kids will get much more fun out of 5 or 6 quality items rather than 20 little pieces of plastic rubbish. They don't necessarily need to be expensive items just well made and suitable for the age group. Try to mix it up and have a couple of sweet treats in there along with a couple of activity based toys or puzzles and a couple of things which follow your party's theme
