How To Throw A Dinosaur Party At Home

If you're looking for a party theme that will impress inquisitive minds of all ages, a dinosaur party is the way to go! Once some of the biggest and most amazing beings on our planet, dinosaurs are nowadays seen everywhere except real life - movies, parks and museums all dedicated to dinos can be found across the globe. At Spotlight we've got all the party supplies you need for a dinosaur theme party at home, from colourful decorations to all sorts of costumes and costume accessories. Read on and discover our amazing dinosaur birthday party ideas here!

Quick Links

• Why Throw A Dinosaur Themed Party?
• Dinosaur Party Decoration Ideas
• Dinosaur Party Costume Ideas
• Dinosaur Party Game Ideas
• Food For Dinosaur Parties

Why Throw A Dinosaur Themed Party?

Most kids, at some point in their life, will become obsessed with dinosaurs - so get ready to throw a dinosaur-themed party that both boys and girls will love! Kids think dinosaurs are awesome because they are huge and scary, just like a make-believe monster… except they were real. With so many books, shows and movies about dinosaurs, it's easy to find all sorts of cool dinosaur decorations and toys to use at your dinosaur theme event and bring your dinosaur birthday party ideas to life. Plus, you may even inspire a few kids to explore palaeontology!

Dinosaur Party Decoration Ideas

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth it looked very different - you'll want to create a lush and exciting space in your home when decorating for a dinosaur theme party! Here are some of our favourite dinosaur party theme ideas:

• Vines and crepe paper hanging decor: Create a lush canopy just like a forest using some of Spotlight's gorgeous hanging decorations. Check out our range of wreaths and garlands to choose some realistic-looking vines and creepers you can hang across your ceiling, across the backs of chairs and along tables and benches. If you want to get crafty, use green crepe paper to make your own vines and garlands instead!
• A few plants around the house will help transform your home into a jungle perfect for dinosaurs to hide in. Bring in any of your larger potted plants from outdoors and collect your smaller indoor plants all into the party space and spread them across the floor and any shelves. If you don't have much of a green thumb, you can also use our great range of artificial plants to do the job instead! Use greenery walls, large potted plants and bushes and stems to create a dense jungle that doesn't require any pruning or watering.
• If you have access to them, logs are a great way to add some natural decor and interesting texture to your dinosaur-themed party. Use larger logs as stools and smaller ones on tables to hold snacks, drink dispensers and even the birthday cake! Check out free firewood piles around your neighbourhood or hardware stores for easy access to good-sized logs.
• Boulders and rocks are featured prominently in most dinosaur media, and you can make your own to use in your dinosaur theme party (rather than dragging a boulder through your house to use as a decoration!) Use blankets, large sheets of butcher paper or old cardboard boxes to cover things like footstools, ottomans and side tables and turn them into craggy boulders just like you'd find on a prehistoric volcano! You can also sprinkle handfuls of gravel across tables for a smaller but more realistic look.
• Add some colour using orange, green, brown and red latex balloons. Whether they're tumbling loosely on the floor or bunched up high and filled with helium, they're an easy way to add pops of colour to your dinosaur party. You can also find many amazing foil balloons shaped like all sorts of popular dinosaur species like the t-rex, triceratops, spinosaurus and ankylosaurus.

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Dinosaur Party Costume Ideas

If you're after dinosaur costumes for your event, Spotlight has you covered! You can find everything from simple dinosaur masks to full-on dinosaur suits for both adults and kids - here's a breakdown of what you can choose:

• For spectacular headgear that's comfortable to wear, check out our paper dinosaur masks or more realistic Jurassic World masks, with half-head and full-coverage versions available! Pair with dark green and brown clothes for a simple but effective dinosaur costume you can wear all day long.
• Full-body dinosaur costumes are your next step - from comfy onesies to more scary-looking body suits and mask combos, our full-body dinosaur costumes are perfect for dino enthusiasts who still want to be able to move around easily.
• Inflatable dinosaur costumes are the final kind of dinosaur costume you'll find at Spotlight. While they may be a little fiddly to inflate, looking like you're riding a dinosaur - or fully transforming into one - makes the effort worth it! With both child and adult inflatable dinosaur costumes available, everyone can enjoy looking like a dinosaur at your event.

For an easy way to make your own dinosaur costume, try this project where you make a child's dinosaur costume out of cardboard! You can paint it any colour you like and kids can even take turns wearing it during the day.

Alternative costumes also include caveman, explorer and if you really want to stand out, time traveller and alien costumes!

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Dinosaur Party Game Ideas

Games are an important part of any kids' party, and we've got some great dinosaur-themed games you can try that everyone will enjoy!

Dinosaur egg hunt

Egg hunts are normally seen at easter, but you can easily tweak this game to be perfect for a dinosaur theme party! No matter what kind of egg are you using (edible or plastic), choose ones in realistic colours like yellow, orange, red, white and brown if you can find them. If you have fillable eggs, pop a treat or even a small dinosaur figure inside that kids can take home.

Hide the eggs in small 'nests' around your house or backyard just like a dinosaur might have left them - make nests out of sticks from your yard, small piles of towels or blankets or brown crepe paper.

Dino egg cracking competition

You'll need white balloons and some cords for this game! Blow up a white balloon for each child and tie it securely to their ankle using about one metre of cord - children must try to stomp on other guests' eggs while protecting their own, just like a real dinosaur! If the bangs of balloons popping aren't what you're after and you've got some time, you can also make the eggs out of paper mache.

Cave painting

Less of a game and more of a fun activity, cave painting is easy to set up and can be done with markers or acrylic paints. Create a 'cave' (more like a blanket fort with a big opening at the front) either out of cardboard or out of cushions and blankets and then lined with cardboard or paper. Leave the cave painting supplies inside and allow kids to crawl inside and paint the 'walls', caveman style!

If possible once everyone has painted and the designs are dry, bring out the artwork and display it for everyone to see!

Lava tug of war

Tug of war is a classic party game, but you can easily put a prehistoric spin on it to make it suit your dinosaur party theme. Instead of the classic rope, choose one that is green and add a few faux leaves along it to make it a 'vine'. Then, create a lava pit in the middle for the unlucky losers to fall into - a red or orange blanket is perfect for this!

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Food For Dinosaur Parties

It's not a party without some delicious party food, and there are plenty of ways to transform ordinary snacks into something more dino-licious!

• Herbivore and carnivore platters: A simple label like 'herbivore' or 'carnivore' can transform ordinary platters into something much more fun to eat! Create a meat platter featuring 'pterodactyl' wings (chicken wings), carnivorous flowers (deli meats rolled into roses), dino ribs (pork or beef ribs) and the classic dino nuggets, as well as classic pies and sausage rolls. Your herbivore platter can feature 'stegosaurus spikes' (watermelon slices), dinosaur scales (pineapple chunks or cucumber circles), 'ankylosaurus' tails (raspberries or blackberries on skewers) and dino egg shells (peeled slices of apple), as well as some classic veggie sticks and dip.
• 'Bone' sticks: These sweet treats look like the classic bone shape but are in reality a sweet white chocolate snack! Use a stick-shaped treat (like a musk stick, pocky stick or fad stick) and carefully push a marshmallow onto each end. Dip the whole piece into melted white chocolate and let dry before stacking them into a 'bone pile' on a platter!
• Frozen 'egg' nests: Freeze green grapes and then place them in small brown bowls to create dinosaur egg nests!
• Dino 'dirt' cups: Use brownie, cake or pudding layered with Oreo or another dark biscuit crumb to fill small, transparent plastic cups 2/3 of the way up. Then top with realistic-looking rock candy to finish.
• 'Volcano' cakes: Use your favourite self-saucing pudding recipe to create a tray of mini volcano cakes that are perfect in colder weather! Add a little red food dye to your sauce component to give it a more lava-like look. You can also make small bundt cakes and fill them with melted red chocolate or syrup as an alternative.
• Dino bone cake: This easy recipe makes a delicious chocolate brownie cake that will stand out, with its deep colour and fantastic white bone design! Place on a 'dirt' base (Oreo crumb) to make it look like a freshly dug-up fossil.

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Celebrate With A Dinosaur Themed Party From Spotlight

Ready to have a roaring good time with these dinosaur party ideas? Get all the dinosaur party supplies you need online, pay your way and we'll deliver them straight to your front door. You can also visit your nearest Spotlight store to shop for dinosaur party supplies in person!

Want more fun party ideas? Check out our blogs on throwing unicorn themed, jungle themed and 90s themed events at home. And for more information on what party supplies you should purchase, read through our buying guides on party decorations, party tableware and cake decorating supplies.