On Saturday we celebrated Foster’s birthday with a big dinosaur party at the house. A few months ago I lucked out and jumped on another mom’s listing for 2 boxes of dinosaur birthday decorations on a Facebook group for a steal of a deal. I’ve sold my party decor in the past (back when I spent hours on Pinterest coming up with ideas and then many more hours making the decor), so I was ecstatic to save the time and money this time around. Winning!
Dinosaur Party Decor
Instead of decorating the entire house, I kept the dinosaur decor in just the dining room, entryway, and the fireplace. My mom is a genius and gave me the idea to cover up my floral prints with construction paper and dinosaur cutouts. Super easy! I bought two different types of dinosaur grabbers as party favors (you can see the tall ones on the far left).
The other grabbers are seen in this photo. They light up and make a roaring noise. The kids loved them. We also had dinosaur masks as favors which you’ll see the kids wearing throughout today’s post.
And we did have a fun inflatable dinosaur on the porch to scare off unwanted party guests. 😉
Can There Ever Be Too Much Food?
Our party was late afternoon so we wanted to make sure we had enough food in case people were hungry. Let’s just say we’ll be eating leftovers all week!
I didn’t get a great photo of them, but the cheeseburger sliders (behind the flowers) disappeared fast! I love this recipe because you can bake the hamburger meat on a pan in the oven and then just cut them up into slider-size patties at the end. It’s a great dish when you’re feeding a lot of people.
These ham and cheese sandwiches were absolutely delicious! You can find the recipe here. I didn’t even pour the topping on (because I erred on the side of simple is best with kiddos). Even the adults loved them! Also, you can find my favorite mac and cheese recipe on the same Pinterest board. It’s a crowdpleaser for holidays as well.
My friend Joslen gave me the idea to individually wrap hot dogs in foil for an easy grab and go snack/ meal for the adults and kids.
Jumping for Joy
I cannot believe we almost had this party without the giant bounce house and slide Super Combo from Austin Bounce House Rentals.
The kids stayed entertained during the entire party, regardless of their age because of it.
The Giant Connect 4 game was also a unique addition to the party.
The biggest surprise, though, was the popcorn machine. Who knew how much EVERYONE loves popcorn?
(And, yes, I’m still finding popcorn in random places around the house two days later … but it was worth it. I’ll be posting more about Austin Bounce House Rentals later this week, so check back then for more details about this local Austin party vendor!
The Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt Was A Huge Hit
From the moment we decided to have the party at our house, I knew I wanted to come up with a scavenger hunt for Foster. That boy loves using his brain, doing puzzles, solving riddles, etc. I hoped I could find something to copy or use on Pinterest but unfortunately I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. So, I had to use my brain to come up with my own. Yikes! Thank goodness for online rhyming dictionaries. 😉
This was my favorite part of the party – hands down!
His face was priceless! He and his friends had a blast running through the house looking for the next clue.
Here is what the clues looked like before I posted them up around the house.
I just printed them off on white paper and glued them to green yardstick to give them a pop of color and sturdiness. Are you hosting a dinosaur-theme party or just want to do a fun activity for your kids? I made a Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt Printable just for you!
A Piñata Never Disappoints
The scavenger hunt finale led them to the giant dinosaur piñata.
Every kids’ party we host moving forward will have a piñata. It is just too easy of an activity and kids of all ages love it.
The Cookie Cake Finale
The birthday boy wanted a cookie cake, so I called upon Great American Cookie Company for their amazing cookie cakes. This was our second one since we also used them for his school party on his actual birthday a couple weeks ago. They’re cheap and reliable. Plus, if you’re like me and spent many Friday nights cruising the mall the your friends as a teenager you know they’re delicious!
I also made some cupcakes which you might have seen in the decor photos up top. 🙂
The Wrap Up
Foster had an absolute blast at his party and is already talking about his next birthday … “I’ve already done dinosaurs, cars and diggers, Thomas the Train, and Paw Patrol … what should I do next?” Ha ha ha. He just had so much fun, and I’m so thankful to my friends and family who joined us. And I owe those of you who helped prep and clean up.
I love this photo. The joy a 5-year-old gets when getting a five dollar bill. 🙂
And, as usual, we forgot to take a family photo during the party (or even just one with the birthday boy). Thankfully we got this one later that night … it’s too bad we couldn’t all smile and stop moving. 🙂
Also, check out our unicorn party for Parker! We love how it turned out!
Throwing Your Own Dinosaur Party?
And for those of you interested in throwing your kiddo a dinosaur-themed party, I’ve included the links below to the various items you can find online for a dinosaur party.
Light-up Dinosaur Grabbers (These were awesome! If you’re choosing between these and the dinosaur grabbers above, choose these!)
Dinosaur Happy Birthday Banner
Dig it Up! Dinosaur Eggs (Foster has used these before and loved them. They came with the box of decorations and I planned to have them out as an activity for the party, but we had SO much else going on that I didn’t even pull them out!)
Inflatable T Rex (on front porch)
Dinosaur Piñata (This isn’t the same one we used, but it is similar. My mom found ours at Wal Mart.)
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