Dinosaur Birthday Party

My little boy was about to celebrate his sixth birthday recently and we were a little stuck on what the theme of the party should be. He wanted a dinosaur birthday party theme but I just wasn’t convinced that I could pull it off. Seeing his little face and hearing his pleas about how much fun it would be made me realize I could throw it together. I started looking for ideas where I always begin; online. There are a lot of websites that give great tips on how to throw a birthday party. I found a few that had some details about a dinosaur birthday party theme. Everything from recipes to decorating ideas to costumes can be found online.

Costumes seemed a bit ambitious so I opted not to include them in the party. Instead I planned on buying decorations, table wear and a cake that all added to the dinosaur birthday party theme. I decided to first look at the party shop in my neighborhood to see if they had anything. A paper or plastic table covering is always the way to go when you’re planning a party for kids. You don’t want to put out one of your linen tablecloths for a group of little ones. It will be so stained and soiled afterwards that you’ll spend days trying to get it clean again. Instead I found a paper covering that had a bunch of pictures of dinosaurs on it. It was perfect. They also had napkins, paper plates and cups all with a dinosaur theme to them.

The cake was next. I’m a baker but I’ve never attempted the task of making and decorating a cake for any of my children’s birthday parties. The cake is a big part of the celebration and for the child’s sake you want it to be memorable. I went to a local baker and explained that we were having a dinosaur birthday party and I needed a cake to feed twelve children. He suggested that I order a vanilla cake and he’d decorate it with dinosaur figurines, that way the children could each take one home. I loved the idea and it fit wonderfully with the dinosaur birthday party idea.

Goody bags are also a fun way to end the party. I looked for some small paper bags with a dinosaur theme but couldn’t find any. So I decided to get my son involved. I gave him a package of crayons, some dinosaur stickers and twelve paper lunch bags. He spent the afternoon decorating them for his friends and even included their names on each one. They absolutely loved them as I filled them with a small pad of paper, a pencil and some candy.

Overall the birthday party was a big hit. I’m not sure what the theme will be next year but I’m fairly certain that it won’t be another dinosaur birthday party as children’s taste seems to change year by year, sometimes even week by week.