tips for kids dinosaur parties at home
Your home is the perfect backdrop for a dinosaur party that your kids are sure to love. Not only are you in control of the time frame and activities, but it’s also the most cost effective party location.
Check out these tips for hosting a kids dinosaur party at home.
-Consider nap times and meal times of little ones.
-If you can have groceries and essentials delivered, do that.
-Decorate the day before, if possible, and stock up your restrooms with essentials (handsoap, toilet paper, etc).
-Designate a close friend or spouse to take photos and videos. If you are running the agenda, welcoming guests and leading activities it can be hard to snap photos, too. I’ve seen too many at-home events end with the host saying “I didn’t even take any pictures.”
-Have an age-appropriate themed playlist ready to go so that you can hit “play” once and not think about it again.
-Try to make introductions amongst the parents. It can be awkward for an acquaintance to be in your home, unoccupied and not really know anyone.
-Skip the gift bags and opt for a make and take project instead. Dinosaur themed craft projects or Adopt-a-Dino activities are perfect for this! I’ve even seen some tips on IG that include visiting a local thrift store for children’s dinosaur books and passing those out as favors.
-If you are not planning to have any food and it’s near a mealtime, let people know that ahead of time. Also, if you are giving kids juice boxes be sure to have a Sharpie nearby to write names on them if they will be moving around the event.
-PRO TIP: The days of a polite RSVP with a confirmation or decline of your party invitation are slipping away. More and more people are last minute to respond or sometimes even show up without a heads up. To avoid this, do not include the party address on the invite. Include a note that says “Please RSVP for the address”. That way the no-response parents will HAVE TO let you know that they are coming if they want the location.
-Consider automatically avoiding any major allergy foods (nuts, etc.)
-Consider singing Happy Birthday and eating cake/food half way through the party and not making grouchy toddlers wait until the very end. After waiting hours for cake, my own child has even wandered over to the cake a swatched the icing with his little finger when no one was watching. {embarassing}
-Open gifts AFTER the party. This avoids toddlers wanting to play with all the gifts and it’s kind of awkward for everyone watching your child open gift after gift (I mean, how many times can you say… “Wow! A such and such toy? That’s so cool! Thank you!”). Don’t forget to write down who gave you what for the thank-yous afterwards.
-Hire entertainment and use the time that the kids are distracted to put out food, get the cake set and ready or even tidy up a bit. This is where Dinosaur Squad comes in. Hire our 6 foot tall Velociraptor, Raven, to steal the show. Kids will be focused on the dinosaur, dancing, taking photos and asking questions to our dinosaur trainer, so you can do a couple of things to keep the party moving forward.
What are your go-to tips for parties at home?