This year, my son really wanted a dinosaur theme for his birthday. I thought this would be a great party idea for a 5 year old. But…he didn’t want a “little kids” dinosaur party. He wanted a “big boy” dinosaur birthday party.
I had SO MUCH fun with this party (with lots of materials to work with).
Most of my birthday party themes have been a challenge to work on (like my Brown Bear, Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar parties). You just can’t run to Target or Walmart for supplies.
You just can’t run to Target or Walmart for supplies.
I had to make most of the items myself. This one was a little easier to work on. They sell dinosaur stuff EVERYWHERE. I actually got a lot of my supplies from the Dollar Tree.
“Dino” Display Table
One of my favorite parts about having a party is the display table. I just love working on them. This one was a lot of fun to do.
I used some burlap for my tablecloth and it worked out perfect. I found the leaves and green branches at the Dollar Tree.
I love how all the tree trunks turned out. I stopped by one of those BBQ places and they let me have some logs for free!
I had to sneak in some healthy treats for the kids. Putting veggies and ranch in a cup made it easy for everyone to eat.
I loved the idea of using chocolate covered pretzels as dinosaur bones!!
I made my dino dirt by adding layers of cake and pudding. Then sprinkling some candy rocks and fruit snack dinosaurs.
Aww…the dino teeth, it was a favorite with the kids. I covered Bugles with white chocolate.
For my backdrop, I used a tropical themed paper I found at Jo-Ann’s. They have a TON of different styles.
I think they’re actually used for bulletin boards in classrooms. It was around $8 and I used my “Handy Dandy” 40% off coupon. Then, lined it with some ribbon I got from the Dollar Tree.
“Dino” Treats
You gotta’ have a snack table at a party for kids! I usually have my parties around 3:00 PM, so I serve some light snacks. At this party, they were all “dino” snacks and the kids ate them up!
I have trees behind my house and was able to find some great leaves to add to my table.
What dinosaur party would be complete without dino nuggets?!?!
Like ALL my parties, I love using Mason Jars. They are great to hold plasticware or straws.
Veggie sticks are a kid favorite around here!
This was just a sheet of scrapbooking paper I framed. It turned out so cute! I found the picture frame at the Dollar Tree!
I saw these and thought they looked like amber fossils. Maybe…maybe not? Well, the kids liked them!
I don’t like plain waters on the display table. Then I thought, “Why not cover them in scrapbook paper?” I cut them into strips and hot glued them to the bottles. Voila!!
The boys loved the “Swamp Water”, but it was quickly renamed “Burp Juice” because they said it made them burp. Crazy kids!!
I had a pack of yogurt covered raisins and thought they could be little dinosaur eggs!
“Dino” Crafting Table
At my parties, I ALWAYS have a table for kids crafts. I know most parties have games, but I think craft projects are great for kids (especially at this age). Plus, it’s an extra party favor for the kids to take home!
All the kids had a great time decorating their dinosaur eggs. Here’s two of my sweet boys!
I paper mache’d eggs for the party. I added little dinos to each egg. So when they “hatch” the kids had a cute dinosaur to play with.
Here’s another frame where I used scrapbook paper. I used my Silhouette Cameo to add “Dino Eggs Craft.”
I used even MORE scrapbook paper for my table runner. Just added a little adhesive to the ends connecting them.
All the beautiful eggs the kids made!!
“Dino” Favors
I made most of the party favors myself (besides the dinosaur hats I found at the Dollar Tree). The chalk eggs were ‘eggs-ellent favors for the kids.
The chalk eggs were ‘eggs-ellent favors for the kids.
I know what you’re thinking…BUT I just had to say it (my husband made me do it)!
I found the dinosaur decals at the Dollar Tree.
I made my favors using scrapbook paper and clear bags from the Dollar Tree. I cut my paper the same size as the bag and stapled!! Then added rock candy and dino fruit snacks.
I really liked the idea of hanging up a picture for each year of my son.
We had a couple girls at the party so I wanted to make some “girly” dino hats for them.
All these chalk eggs were left over from my Easter party display. I had a TON of them.
I was so excited I found these at the Dollar Tree!!
The Birthday Boy-A-Saurus
What can I say, the I LOVE this little boy! I felt honored to make this super-fun dinosaur birthday party for him :)
Me and my special guy on his birthday!
I used A LOT of scrapbook paper for this party. I only spent $10 on a book of dinosaur themed paper at Jo-Ann’s.
I was able to use it so many ways (birthday banner, party favors, water bottles, picture that I framed and table runner). See…you DON’T have to spend a lot to have a great party!
