30 ideas for a dazzling dinosaur themed party

Set the scene for your dinosaur birthday party with themed invites and transform your venue with roarsome decorations…

Let people know your party theme from the off with a dinosaur party invite. You can buy ready made invites, design your own using pictures you find online, or even have your kids create their very own designs.

If you think kids might forget to give them to their parents for a few days, send out a text to the adults as well to make sure you get all your RSVPs in time.

Make your venue look like a prehistoric jungle by creating lots of cool foliage. You can bring in a few real plants such as ferns (as long as you don't mind them getting a bit knocked about) and make the rest from paper.

These monstera leaves are really easy to make. Just draw a big leaf (or find an image of a leaf online and print it off), then cut it out and use it as your template. Draw round the template and cut your shapes from green card or paper.

You can get the kids involved to help with party prep so you don't have to make them all yourself. Add biodegradable glitter or use different shades of green for an even more impressive effect.

You can buy camo nets relatively cheaply from outdoor supply shops and they'll look amazing draped over tables or hung from the wall to create a leafy jungle effect.

Try looping toy snakes through some of the holes to make your guests jump. You could even put green fairy lights behind to create a jungle light effect.

A few dinosaur-shaped balloons will look great placed around the room. You could even get enough for each of your guests so they can take one home with them at the end of the party.

For a cheap and effective way to decorate a party venue, get balloons in dinosaur colours. Greens, browns and oranges work well.

Tie them in groups and place them around the room.

If you want a quiet corner of the room where kids can chill out for a minute or take part in an activity, then a tent is a great idea.

If you've got an indoor tent, jazz it up with some foliage and place some toy dinosaurs or dinosaur books inside.

If you really want to bring the dinosaur theme to life, give guests some toy binoculars and maybe a jungle hat when they arrive. That way they'll feel like real explorers searching for dinosaurs in the jungle.

Most kids have a dinosaur T-shirt or jumper in their wardrobe and some will even have full-on costumes.

If you want, you could have a dinosaur fancy dress theme for your party – just make sure you put it on the invites so people have plenty of time to prepare.

An alternative is to have a fancy dress box full of dinosaur onesies, masks, jungle explorers' outfits and more. That way your guests can try on anything they want and wear it over their party clothes.

Keep your guests entertained at your dino party with prehistoric party games and amazing activities…

If you've got one or two willing adults, ask them to dress up as a dinosaur. You can then play lots of games that involve them chasing the kids around the room.

You can change 'What's the time Mr Wolf' to 'What's the time Mr Dinosaur'. Or keep it simple by lining kids up at one side or a room or garden and placing the dinosaurs in the middle.

The space between is the jungle. The kids need to run to the other side of the jungle without getting caught. Last one standing is the winner!

Find loads more party games for kids of all ages here.

This is lots of fun and will keep the kids entertained for ages. Fill a large container of sandpit with slightly damp sand and bury toy dinosaur bones and fossils.

Arm the kids with paintbrushes and small sticks and set them to work excavating the bones.

You can buy toy bones online or, if you're feeling creative, make your own from salt dough using our simple salt dough recipe.

Dinosaur piñatas are readily available in shops and online. At the start of your party they'll look great as a decoration and later on, kids will love taking it in turns to bash the papier mache shape and release the sweets.

Set your intrepid explorers an epic adventure by sending them off on a dino treasure hunt.

Place toy dinosaur eggs, fossils and toy dinosaurs around the garden or party venue and split your guests into small teams. You can give them a map with the dino treasure marked on it or write clues for them to find along the way. Just make sure one team doesn't win everything!

If the thought of hosting a dinosaur party fills you with dread, take the kids out for the day instead. There are loads of dino-themed attractions across the UK that your child and their friends will love.

From dinosaur crazy golf to dinosaur theme parks, check out these amazing dino days out.

Can your guests transport their dino egg safely to its nest without dropping it? And who will get there first?

Turn the egg and spoon race on its head by using toy dino eggs. You could even build a nest from twigs or straw where kids have to place them when they finish the race.

Don't forget to buy a few prizes for the winners.

Face paint is always a winner, especially with younger kids. You can do it yourself, rope in another parent or even hire a professional.

Find a face painter near you here.

A simple way to keep younger kids entertained is to set up a play table or play area with sand and toy dinosaurs. They'll spend ages playing in it.

If you're using sand indoors, place some plastic sheeting underneath the sandpit to help with the clear up!

Craft tables are always fun, particularly if kids want a bit of time out from boisterous games.

One idea is to make or buy plaster of Paris dinosaur figures or dinosaur eggs for kids to paint. Or you could have a dinosaur drawing competition and ask kids to invent and draw their very own dinosaur!

From great dinosaur cake ideas to crispy 'dinosaur toenails', get inspired with our selection of dinosaur party food…

The cake is going to be the centrepiece of your food table so you want it to look impressive.

We love the idea of a dinosaur volcano cake. Make a volcano to place on top of your cake from fondant icing or a mixture of rice crispies and marshmallow.

When you bring it to the table, place a fountain candle in the middle of the volcano so it looks like it's erupting – just make sure you keep the candle at a safe distance from the kids while it's burning. You can have some smaller normal candles for the birthday boy or girl to blow out afterwards.

An easy way to give your birthday cake a dinosaur theme is to add toy dinosaurs on top. You can add chocolate eggs to represent dinosaur eggs, too.

Try our simple sponge cake recipe for your base.

If you prefer your dinosaurs cute and cuddly, try making some out of fondant to decorate your dinosaur birthday cake. There are loads of step-by-step YouTube videos to guide you.

If you're not confident in the kitchen, you can buy ready made fondant dinosaurs and dinosaur cake toppers from bakers and craft suppliers online.

These cupcakes couldn't be simpler, just buy some dinosaur toppers – available from party stores and supermarkets – and pop them on the top.

Try our easy cupcake recipe or buy ready made.

Buy a dino-shaped cookie cutter and whip up a batch of dinosaur biscuits. You can decorate them yourself using coloured icing or get kids to decorate their own as a party activity.

Try this easy biscuits recipe.

These footprint biscuits are really easy to make. Buy a fossil footprint cookie stamp or just press a toy dinosaur's foot into a biscuit before you place it in the oven to bake.

You can add cocoa powder, cinnamon or paint the footprint with food dye to make it really stand out.

Of course no dinosaur party buffet would be complete without some turkey dinosaurs or Quorn Roarsomes vegan dinosaurs.

Cheap and easy to prepare, they taste good served cold as well as warm. You could even place some broccoli spears around them on the plate to look like trees – although good luck getting your guests to eat their greens.

Gross! Place bowls of Bugle crisps around the table and make little signs saying 'dinosaur toenails'. Who will dare to eat one first?

Make sandwiches more exciting by cutting bread with a dinosaur cookie cutter. Top with cheese or ham and a dot of tomato ketchup for an eye.

Say thank you for coming, and give your guests a reminder of what a good time they had, with a dinosaur-themed goody bag to take home. Here are some ideas for perfect party bag fillers…

Buy a selection of mini dinosaur toys and either place one in each gift bag, or put them in a box with a sign on saying 'adopt a dinosaur'.

Place the adoption box by the door and kids can pick their favourite when they leave.

Kids love stickers so pop a few dinosaur ones in their party bag. Stickers often come with a few sheets in a pack. To make things more cost effective, open the pack and give one sheet to each child.

Pop It stress toys are really popular right now and dinosaur-shaped Pop Its are readily available and low cost, making them a great party bag filler.

Lots of sweet companies make bags of dinosaur jelly sweets. Buy some big bags and divide the sweets up between your party bags so each child gets three or four.

Jelly sweets aren't always vegetarian or halal so make sure you check for any dietary requirements first.

Want some more party bag filler ideas? We've got loads to choose from.