Party Supplies for a Dinosaur Birthday

Party PlanningFor peace of mind, begin planning your  2 months in advance. This will allow you time to gather all the dinosaur party supplies that you need, including dinosaur tableware, decorations, favors, and menu items. Planning ahead also gives your guests time to RSVP and make travel plans, if needed. Don't panic if you find yourself short on time; you can still plan a great party! Planning ahead simply reduces the risk of conflicts with guests' plans and may increase your dinosaur party's attendance.InvitationsLook for fun dinosaur-related images when choosing your invitation, such as a tyrannosaurus rex or stegosaurus, pterodactyls, volcanoes, jungle leaves, a cracked spotted egg, a huge footprint, a dinosaur skeleton, and archaeologist's tools.DecorationsTake your party room back to prehistoric times with plenty of dinosaur-related accessories! Round up every dinosaur toy your child has (and you know that's a lot!), and place the dinosaurs around the room atop tables and windowsills, on serving trays and in unexpected corners. Dinosaur plush toys can sit on couches and chairs. Pterodactyls should be hung from the ceiling. If you've got a spare wall, cover it with large paper or oaktag sheets and create a mural complete with dinosaurs, palm trees, and a volcano!ActivitiesKids enjoy playing junior paleontologists; that is, they love digging for dinosaur bones! If party activities can be taken outdoors, hide small plastic dinosaurs in a sandbox prior to the start of the party, then give partygoers a few small plastic play shovels to uncover their finds. Indoors, older children can be kept busy with model kits to build their own dinosaurs, while younger children can create dinosaurs using Play-doh or clay.SnacksDinosaurs can also be dug up -- with a spoon, that is -- in Jello. Just place one well-washed plastic dinosaur (that's small enough to fit into a dessert bowl, but large enough not to be a choking hazard) into gelatin mix before letting it set. Peanut M&M candies can be presented in bowls as dinosaur eggs. Dinosaur-shaped cookies are fun, as are dinosaur gummy candies.CakeRecreate the shape of your invitation in birthday-cake form by baking a rectangular cake (any flavor) and trimming it into the dinosaur shape. Icing and sprinkles are all that's needed to create a dino-mite cake that's sure to please!Goody BagsSend partygoers off with a goody bag they?ll enjoy for hours after the party. Take a brown paper lunch bag and draw a dinosaur face upside-down, to make the bag double as a hand puppet. Then, fill the bag with more dinosaur treats: another dinosaur-shaped cookie, dinosaur stickers and/or rubber stamps, and a small book or coloring book about dinosaurs.Thank-you'sAgain, make your child part of this experience by having him or her sign their name on each dinosaur-shaped thank-you. Don't forget to mention what the gift was that you're thanking the person for -- and how much your child enjoyed it!