How to throw the ultimate prehistoric dinosaur party

Set the scene

There is lots of gorgeous dino stuff in the shops. A trip to your local toy store will unearth skeletons and fossils and plastic dino and their eggs. Your own garden will yield some interesting bits and pieces, like logs, bark, leaves and stones. We used ordinary play sand on the table, and dotted it with inexpensive dinosaur goodies.

• For more birthday party ideas, click here: Lots of birthday party ideas!

Invitation

Get guests into the swing of the dino dig right from the word go by making a themed invitation. We sent a message in the bottle, a simple idea that can be adapted to other party themes, too.

Type up the invitation on computer and print onto transparency or regular paper. Roll it tightly and pop it into the neck of the bottle. It will spring open when you let go, and be readable from the outside.

Add sand, fake bones or other odds and ends if you wish.

An alternative is to attach a paper invitation to one of the “tools of the trade”, like a magnifying glass or a specimen tube.

Party games

Scratch patch

Create a scratch patch in your sandpit, or fill a large basin with sand. Bury the treasure (small plastic dinos and semi-precious stones are a good choice) and let kids dig.

Blackboard games

Write one of those long and complicated dinosaur names, like diplodocus or tyrannosaurus, on a black board or large sheet of paper. Divide the kids into teams and let them see how many different words they can make using the letters in the word. Give a prize for the most words and one for the longest word.

True or false

Read up some strange dinosaur facts and let the children vote on whether they are true or false.

Party gift

Give each child your version of a fossilised dinosaur egg to break open for their gift.

1. Buy enough small plastic dinosaurs (or other insects and animals) and some egg shaped candle moulds.
2. Mix up plaster of Paris and add a few handfuls of sand.
3. Fill the one half of the candle mould with this mixture and set the plastic animal into this half. Allow to set for a few minutes.
4. Join the two halves of the candle mould together and fill it up with the rest of mix. It will then take about half an hour to set.
5. Separate the mould carefully to loosen the egg. We gave ours an interesting effect by lining the moulds with fern leaves before filling – the leaves make a pretty impression.

On the day of the party, hide the eggs in the garden and make the egg hunt one of the party games. Each child is allowed to find one egg. Let the children loose with hammers, chisels and other small (not too sharp!) implements to free their own party gifts.

Dinosaur themed party food

Home-made ginger beer

Ingredients

• 450g sugar
• 4.5 litres of water
• 1 lemon
• 40g fresh ginger
• 2 tsp powdered ginger
• ½ cup fresh mint

Instructions

1. Bruise the ginger (wrap in a clean cloth and hit with a rolling pin) to release flavour then slice thinly.
2. Finely peel the lemon, removing only the outer layer. Squeeze the juice.
3. Place the ginger, lemon rind, powdered ginger and mint into a bucket or large bowl.
4. Pour over the boiling water, add the lemon juice and stir well.
5. Allow to cool and place into jugs with loads of ice and extra ginger to garnish.

Chocolate ‘dino’ eggs

Ingredients

• 8 eggs, washed
• 200g milk chocolate
• 50g roasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 50g Jelly Tots

Instructions

1. Slice the tops off the eggs, remove the raw egg and wash the egg cases thoroughly making sure you don’t crack the egg case. Leave to dry in the egg carton.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth and glossy.
3. Add the nuts and Jellytots.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cleaned and dried egg cases, keeping them upright.
5. Place in the freezer until they harden.
6. To serve, peel away a bit of the egg shell to show the chocolate and dust with icing sugar.

Chocolate and marshmallow volcanoes

Ingredients

• 90g butter at room temperature
• 100g dark chocolate, melted
• 3 tbsp cocoa, sifted
• 1 cup self raising flour
• ½ cup castor sugar
• ¼ cup marshmallows, cut into small pieces
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Wash and dry tin cans, ensuring they are well sterilised.
3. Place the butter, flour, castor sugar and milk in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add the chocolate and cocoa and stir well.
5. Fold in the marshmallows and chocolate chips.
6. Spoon the mixture into the wellgreased tins until three quarters full.
7. Place tins on a baking tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a cool heat-proof surface.
9. Place a few chocolate chips on the top of the volcano for extra chocolate “lava”.

Cupcakes “nest” cake

Ingredients

• 90g butter at room temperature
• 1 cup self raising flour
• ½ cup castor sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and cream until light and fluffy.
3. Spoon into paper muffin cups (in muffin tray) until half full.
4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.
5. Cool on a wire rack before icing.

Icing

• 50g butter
• 45ml cream
• 225g icing sugar
• 50g Milky Bar chocolate with Rice Krispies

Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and melt on medium heat until the ingredients caramelise and turn golden brown.
2. Allow to cool and thicken.
3. Ice the cupcakes generously and allow to set.
4. Mould white bone shapes from fondant icing (store bought) and place on top of cupcakes.
5. Stack the cupcakes on a grass mat and decorate with fresh reeds and leaves.

Soup with bone biscuits

Ingredients

• 500g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 500g butternut, peeled and cubed
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and cubed
• 2 litres vegetable stock

Instructions

1. Boil all the ingredients until the vegetables are tender.
2. Allow to cool slightly and then purée with a hand blender or liquidiser.
3. Reheat before serving.

Bone biscuits

Ingredients

• 250g self raising flour
• 60g butter, chilled
• ½ cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Mix all the ingredients together. If the mixture is a bit dry add a little milk to bring it together.
3. Knead on a floured surface until properly combined.
4. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.
5. Roll out onto a floured surface until the pastry is about 50mm thick.
6. Cut out bone shapes and place onto a greased baking tray.
7. Bake in the oven for seven minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Chicken and chip parcels

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• Breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 potatoes, washed
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Parboil the potatoes (whole with skins) making sure the potatoes are not completely cooked through.
2. Cut them into wedges and deep fry in oil until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips. Dip them into the beaten egg, then breadcrumbs and place them directly into the preheated oil.
4. Fry until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place a square of wax paper onto a square of brown paper. Put a few strips of chicken and a few potatoes wedges onto the paper and fold into individual parcels.
6. Secure with raffia, ribbon or string.

Do you have any other cool ideas for a prehistoric party theme? Tell us by emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we may publish your comments.

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