How do iIcreate a Dinosaur party?

[Blu]

Please? For DS's 6th birthday. He has told all his friends he is having a dinosaur party. So far i have thought of
Dinosaur cake (but not sure of the detail, i.e how to make it)
A sort of Musical Excavation - get one of those excavation kits - a model dinosaur in plaster, and they have to pass the chisel around and chip like mad when the music stops.
Treasure hunt - using bones or fake bones(?)

Any ideas at all for food, games, activities, party bags, all gratefully received.

I have been browsing in the MN Village Green Cupcake Marquee - any experts from the competition like to advise me?

thank you!

given their age, you could probably get away with just adding a dinosaur spin to traditional party games:sleeping dinosaurs, instead of lions; dinosaur statues, where they have to walk around like dinosaurs until the music stops; pass the dinosaur (pass a toy dinosaur, when the music stops, the person holding it is out; last person wins the dinosaur?); pin the tail on the dinosaur .
You can probably find some colouring-in dinosaurs off the internet, to give them some quiet time or to add to party bags? Long time since I had children young enough but you used to be able to buy packs of dinosaurs quite cheaply and bargain book shops usually have dinosaur books.

Aha, Lilolill, you mean a version of the pirate / peter pan / spooky castle parties I have done for the last few years? .

yes - those ideas are great - thank you!
Pin the tooth on T Rex etc.

you can get dinosaur cookie cutters off ebay. just search for cookie cutters in the baking listings.

oooh, yes, that's a good idea.
And I have located a triceratops pinata by googling, too.
And MN members profile of a dino cake on googloe, too! (but it's a bit cartoon-like in style for a budding paleantologist )

Has anyone done a stegosaurus, Spinosaurus or T rex cake? One that looks reptilian and fierce rather than barney-esque?

I think it's all about colour. Bright green is cartoonish. Murky green looks much more reptilian. You can buy ready to roll icing in hundreds of shades from specialist sugarcraft suppliers.

you can get biscuit cutters the shape of dinasaurs - you could cut the sandwiches out with these (I recently used pirate ship cutters at a pirate party - big hit!)

icing biscuits (dinasaur shaped naturally!) was a good gathering activity at our ds's 4th

why not hunt for wee dinasaurs?

partypieces.co.uk have a jurassic range of stuff...great site though check ebay for cheaper prices! they also ahve a pin the horn on the triceratops game (we got pin the eye patch on the pirate from same site)

it'll be great!

Did this for DS1's 5th birthday:
Food - dino shaped sandwiches, monster munch
dino biscuits (Greens do a kit with cutter) and jaffa cakes (which i said was dino pooh LOL), swamp jelly (layers of red and green).
Cake was a volcano surrounded by plastic dinos.

I made 'fossils' from dough + coffee grounds and baked them. Hid them in sandpit to be excavated.

The best thing was the exploding volcano. instructions here. Do it outside though. It made a great finale.

Party bags had dino sweets and magnifying glasses.

Another popular game was - i hid small dinos (tube of them in tesco for 99p) in an egg shaped ball of dough dyed blue/green and let them dry for a few days. After an egg hunt an adult smashed the eggs open to reveal the dino.

gosh Chippy - that sounds wonderful!
you are ever so clever

I am alpha mum when it comes to parties, the rest of the time i'm a beta!!

i like it!

Blu..Tescos do a fab TRex cake which ds is dying for!

Would you like some dino cutters? I bought a pack for my boys and then my Mum bought me another pack and I couldnt bring myself to tell her!! They are brand new and still in the box.

Also, Sains do a bag of mini dinos that would be good for party bags.

CAT me for the cutters Blu!!

ooh, thank you all so much, this is exciting now!

yes, Collision, I would love the cutters, and will CAT you! Thank You! Dino sandwiches and biscuits sound great.

We went to a dinosaur party recently - the cake was an erupting volcano with dinosaurs on, dino sandwiches and biscuits and sweets, there was a dinosaur egg hunt, - they'd made dino eggs by covering balloons with papier mache and painting them, they had to find them and bring them back to a nest in the middle of the garden. Not sure of the exact rules, think there were teams or something. There were party bags with a couple of dinosaur sweets, a plastic dinosaur and a picture to colour in.

how about this?

Blu, after reading this thread earlier I went out to local cheap shop to buy some reward treats for DS1 now potty training (then he did a poo innapaaaaants at tea time...)
Anyway they had little tubs of dinosaurs - 12 different dinos, each a different colour and type, from about 1.5 inches long or high, to some about 3 in x 2 in measuring from nose to tail or highest scale on back! Brown, yellow, orange, green blue ones.
Also a very flimsy plastic mountain/volcano about 4inches diameter. Would all look ok on a cake done with green/brown ready to roll icing?
Anyway the little tub was 99p and I can post to you if you want, think it would be £1.50 p&p at the most. The kids could take the dinos home after?
You might think this is a really crap idea but then you might be quite keen, and if so please cat me with your address and I'll post tomorrow if you are in a hurry.

Musical dino footprints, when the music stops you have to stand on a footprint, cut out from big sheets of paper (musical chairs).

Loads and loads of ideas here

I can send you a dinosaur tablecloth foc if you want to CAT me with your address

Oh, wow everyone - i will be CAT-ing like mad!
thank you so much!

I am definitiely interested in the inflatable dinosuars on that website- i can just see them peeking out from behind our un-pruned bushes!

Flib - yes, those dinosaurs sound great and v good value - it would be briliant if you could post me some and i'll CAT you and send ££ immediately! Also, HMC, the tablecloth! oooh, how exciting!

I feel a bit spoilt - you're all doing my hard work for me...would anyone like to come and make the sandwiches? I'll mix you a v fine mojito!

Where do you live, we could all get tipsy at the party then hide under your stairs and you could tell the children that its the dinosaur cave and they are all hungry so better behave!!

Why oh why oh why do I have to wait till 18th December for DS1's birthday now!!!

If someone cats me will I get the message straight away, someone else said they've cat me this evening but I haven't got it and I'm wondering if I've put an incorrect email addy on my mumsnet details.

LOL - I would love a load of tipsy MN-ers dressed as dinosaurs to come lurching out from under my stairs.

S London...oh, go one, Flibbertyjibbet, and then i;ll do it at yours!

Haven't CAT'd yet - will do in a mo!

I haven't a cat yet, as my email is RL name can you drop one to dps address its legoates (at) aol (dot) com
Let me have your address and how quick you need item, just remembered post office are threatening industrial action...
I think mine is a bit far to travel, we are up north! Long way to go to hide under someone's stairs

Instead of the dino excavation kits, you could fill a tub with sand, bury little plastic dinosaurs in it and then dampen it. Cheaper than the kits, and you could make it as big as you want.

Sounds a brilliant party