At the start of July 2023 we celebrated our dino-loving Miles with a RAWRSOME dinosaur party! I've never seen someone who loves dinosaurs as much as Miles but obviously this is a popular theme for many young kids so I wanted to share all the details. We hosted at home and tried to keep things minimal in order to keep the cost low (let's be honest, 2 year olds don't need a lot to be happy), but still wanted it to be full-on dino fun. Now y'all to be honest, I started this blog post one year ago right after Miles's 2nd birthday...fast forward and we now have a 3 year old who once again requested a dinosaur theme so I referenced back to this for food ideas for round two and everything was still a hit!
Ps best decision I've made regarding kids' parties is hosting from 3-5pm. Odds are good it will work with most kiddo's nap schedules (if they still nap) and you can focus on serving a variety of fun snacks without having to feed everyone a full meal. Plus it all ends with time to clean up and still relax once all the birthday magic comes to an end for the night.
THE DECOR and PARTY FAVORS
Let's be honest y'all, until age 3 or 4 kids birthday parties are more for the adults than the kids, but I wanted to make sure when my dino-obsessed toddler walked into our living room and dining room he would have plenty of fun, exciting dinosaur decorations without going over the top. He LOVED that his house became dinosaur central for one day (ok, ok the balloons on the wall and mini dinosaurs on the mantel stuck around longer than one day).
*exact favors we used are no longer available so I linked most similar
We let kids play with these in our water table and make for an awesome, easy additional party favor to take home
Dinosaur Books
The week of the party I decided to add a little extra element on our coffee table book by checking out several toddler-friendly dinosaur book from our local library which continued to be a hit with Miles until the books were due back.
THE FOOD
The food came together so well and so easy! I love a good theme so the second I come up with one themed food idea, I just have to commit the whole spread. Firstly, my husband actually found the cute table cards on Etsy. There are tons of free or paid for options if you search Pinterest too. Now time for all the food deets...
Dino Melons
These were definitely the biggest hit with the kids and grown ups who couldn't believe such a simple trick made the kids so excited. All I did was cut a mini watermelon (it was a small party for go big if you're hosting a crowd) into rounds then used dinosaur cookie cutters to make the variety of shapes. I even saved any extra parts of watermelon to freeze for watermelon slushees at a later date. It has been over a year since this party and I still use the cookie cutters for my boys' watermelon. Dinosaur Cookie Cutters
Asteroids
Obviously the most simple, but who doesn't love a good cheese ball?
Triassic Treats
Great themed name for any party sweet whether you go with cookies, cupcakes, or anything else to satisfy your guests'' sweet teeth. Ps if you're in the Kansas City area, definitely recommend Mclain's Cakery for custom cookies, cakes, and cupcakes.
Tar Pit
My kids loved learning about the La Brea tar pits at a local natural history museum so we made our own with chocolate hummus (Good & Gather at Target has a yummy option) along with sliced strawberries and graham crackers.
Prehistoric Pasta
Every mom asked me for this recipe! I used Pastabilities dinosaur shaped pasta to keep the dish on theme (found at Whole Foods, but linked Amazon 2 pack). Then I just used a simple Italian pasta salad recipe
Cook pasta according to box instructions. In a large bowl add cooked pasta, 6 oz sliced salami, diced red and yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh basil, and mozzarella pearls. Drizzle and toss with favorite Italian dressing, or homemade option- 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp honey, and 1 tsp dijon mustard. I would also usually include thin slices of red onion, but that doesn't fly with my boys
Volcano Dip
Another option that could not be easier. Roasted red pepper hummus with pretzel thins, mini naan and vegetables.
THE OUTFIT
Personally I'm not the biggest fan of buying birthday shirts featuring the number so I prefer to just get an outfit that will be spot on for the theme and continue to be an outfit they want to wear for months to come. The shirt for this one was too cute to resist! The shirt has held up well over the last year since Miles's 2nd birthday party which has been impressive given the low price. Unfortunately, the shorts included in the set were too big so he just wore a pair of pull- on Cat & Jack shorts we already owned, but we run on the shorter side so the included green shorts would probably work for any kids who are taller, or on the 3 year age range (sizing is 2-3 yrs).
As I already mentioned, I love a good theme, but also want to be practical that a 2 year old isn't fully aware of the effort that goes into a birthday party so I'm all about making it really special in simple, creative ways. Hopefully if you have a dinosaur-loving kid too these ideas will help you pull off a RAWRSOME party!
-Lauren
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