Dino Discovery: a dinosaur birthday party, planned
Best for ages 3 to 8
Dinosaurs are the rare theme that works for a three-year-old and an eight-year-old at the same party. The little ones like the roaring, the older ones like knowing the names, and a fossil dig keeps both busy for longer than any game you could invent.
What follows is the dig site, the invitation, a menu that survives sandy hands, the games around the dig and a two-hour plan. Start it in PartyPal and you get the checklist, budget and invitation for your own date and guest list.
The look: jungle green, terracotta and ferns
Earthy greens and terracotta, with ferns and palm leaves doing most of the decorating. Real or paper greenery makes a room look prehistoric in a way that printed banners do not.
The dig pit is the centrepiece. Put it where parents can watch it, because it is where the kids will spend the most time.
- Palm and fern leaves along the food table and on the walls.
- Dinosaur footprints cut from paper, leading from the front door to the party.
- Trail signs: "Dig site", "Roar zone", "Volcano snacks".
- A green balloon garland with a few terracotta and cream balloons for warmth.
- Toy dinosaurs on the tables, which double as favours at the end.
The invitation
A footprint, an egg or the theme's cover art all work as the invitation image. Say in the invitation if the dig is outdoors or messy, so parents send clothes that can get sandy, and ask for dietary needs in the RSVP.
Food and the dino cake
Keep it finger food; there is sand involved.
- Dino eggs: halved hard-boiled eggs, or grapes and melon balls in a "nest" bowl.
- Volcano dip: a bowl of salsa or hummus with veg sticks and crackers around it.
- Fossil sandwiches: cut with a dinosaur cookie cutter.
- Swamp juice: green juice or lemonade with a gummy dinosaur in each cup.
- Dirt cups: chocolate pudding, crushed biscuits and a dinosaur toy on top.
- The cake: green buttercream with a volcano on top, or a plain cake "stomped through" by toy dinosaurs, which is easier than it looks and every child wants the toy.
Games and activities
The dig is the anchor. Everything else fills the time around it.
- Fossil dig: a sandpit or a tub of play sand with toy bones and dinosaurs buried in it, and paintbrushes and spoons to dig with.
- Dino egg hunt: plastic eggs with a small dinosaur inside each.
- Freeze the dinosaur: dance until the music stops, then freeze in a dinosaur pose.
- Hatch an egg: dinosaurs frozen in ice, melted out with warm water and squeezy bottles. Best outdoors.
- For the older kids: a dinosaur name quiz with the birthday child as quizmaster.
How the two hours run
- 0:00Arrivals: follow the footprints in, and each explorer gets a name badge.
- 0:15Fossil dig, in two groups if there are more than ten kids.
- 0:40Dino egg hunt.
- 0:55Food.
- 1:20Freeze the dinosaur, or hatch an egg if you are outside.
- 1:35The cake.
- 1:50Favours: each child takes a dinosaur home.
What to buy
Pack sizes are for about 15 kids. In PartyPal the list sizes itself to your headcount.
🎈 Decor & backdrop
🎁 Favors & thank-yous
- Favor bags · 24 pack
- Thank-you tags
- Treat boxes · 24 pack
- Gift wrap
🎲 Games & keepsakes
Common questions
How do you do a fossil dig at a kids party?
Fill a sandpit, paddling pool or large tub with play sand and bury toy bones and dinosaurs in it. Give each child a paintbrush and a spoon, and run it in groups of five or six if you have a lot of kids.
What food do you serve at a dinosaur party?
Finger food with dinosaur names: dino eggs, a volcano dip with veg sticks, fossil-shaped sandwiches, swamp juice and dirt cups. A cake stomped through by toy dinosaurs is the easy showstopper.
What age is a dinosaur party for?
It works from about 3 to 8. Younger kids enjoy the dig and the egg hunt; older kids like quizzes and knowing the names.
What are good favours for a dinosaur party?
Toy dinosaurs used as table decorations, fossil or egg surprises from the hunt, or a small bag of play sand with a dinosaur inside.