For Parents
How to plan a dinosaur birthday for children
You do not need a life-size T-Rex in the garden to throw a dinosaur party.
A few recognisable dinosaurs, two or three simple activities and somewhere to sit with a snack can be plenty. Start with what your child enjoys, then choose ideas that fit your space, budget and the children coming along.
For toddlers through to seven-year-olds, keep the plan flexible. The best bit might turn out to be the cardboard cave you nearly threw away.
Choose a small dinosaur party plan
Pick one main activity, one movement game and one quieter option. You can always repeat a favourite rather than filling every minute with something new.
- Arriving: drawing dinosaur pictures or exploring a toy dinosaur table.
- Playing: a fossil picture hunt and a dinosaur dance.
- Pausing: food, cake and a story if the children want one.
For younger children, make activities easy to join and leave. Older children may enjoy helping set up the hunt or giving the grown ups dinosaur clues.
Make a fossil hunt with pictures
Draw dinosaur footprints, bones or eggs on pieces of card and hide them around a safe play area. Give children a basket to collect the pictures, then see what they have found together.
You can make it cooperative: the whole group is finding the missing dinosaur collection. For children who enjoy a challenge, add clues such as “Find the dinosaur with three horns”. Our dinosaur spotter’s guide has plenty of shapes to borrow.
Use large cards rather than tiny objects for younger guests, and keep hiding places within the area you can supervise.
Play dinosaur musical statues
Put on a favourite song and invite everyone to move like a dinosaur. Stomp like T-Rex, stretch towards the treetops or spread pretend wings.
When the music stops, freeze in a dinosaur pose. Nobody needs to be out. The next round can start with a different dinosaur or a wonderfully ridiculous new dance.
For extra inspiration, try the moves in Why T-Rex chose to dance by himself, or enjoy the rhyming story in Dinosaur Disco.
Keep the decorations and food simple
Paper footprints leading to the party, a few dinosaur drawings and a table of favourite toys can set the scene. Let your child help choose a colour or make a sign for their dinosaur world.
Ordinary party food can become “dinosaur picnic food” without elaborate recipes. Check guests’ dietary needs with their parents or carers, and choose food that is suitable for the children attending.
If you are making a dinosaur cake, a simple shape or picture can be just as exciting as a complicated design. The birthday child is allowed to love it even if the icing looks slightly prehistoric.
Offer a quiet dinosaur corner
Not every guest wants to roar all afternoon. A small corner with cushions, crayons and dinosaur books gives children another way to join in.
You could share a short story while the food is being prepared, or leave the books for anyone who wants to browse with a grown up. Our picture book guide for ages 2–7 can help you choose something suitable for the group.
What if the party does not go to plan?
Games get interrupted. Someone wants the same dinosaur as someone else. The birthday child decides they would rather play with the wrapping paper.
Have a simple fallback, such as drawing or another round of dancing, and give yourself permission to drop an activity. You are making space for a happy time together, not producing a flawless performance.
That is the idea at the heart of Dinosaur Birthday. Tricky plans a perfect party, then discovers that things do not have to go perfectly to be fun. The rhyming picture book for children aged 2–7 is available now for £9.99.
A dinosaur birthday gift to read again
A picture book can keep the dinosaur fun going after the party. Choose a story your child will enjoy sharing, whether that means dancing, friendship or tomorrow’s next adventure.
My Dinosaur Universe is written by Michael Savva and brings familiar dinosaur characters into colourful rhyming stories. UK delivery is free; international delivery is £5 per order.
Discover Dinosaur Birthday