J's Dinosaur Birthday Extravaganza

This weekend was J’s 4th birthday Dinosaur Dig. My sister, my mother (“Grandma”) and I spent weeks planning this party. It had to be dinosaur theme, the kid is obsessed! We decided that we needed some space, so my parents’ backyard was our location of choice. We ordered the invites from www.minted.com, with a gift certificate from my June Citrus Lane box!  Grandma found an adorable ‘Roar party kit’ at www.merimeri.com. The colors were just what I had envisioned! We ordered some cake plates, napkins, and a cupcake kit. This kit included cupcake papers and dinosaur cupcake toppers which were toothpicks with dinosaur pictures on them. J loved these. He helped us decorate his cupcakes. The highlight of this order for me was the centerpiece. It roars!  I found some bright green plates for lunch, and blue and green Solo cups for beverages.  While the boys were napping one afternoon I made a birthday banner and goodie bags, which was very out of character for me. I’m NOT crafty! I had ordered the goodie bag fillers from Amazon.com- dinosaur bath squirters, stickers, and pencils. The morning of the party, we grabbed some balloons and ‘paleontologist hats’ at the party store. Grandma also grabbed moustaches- which were a huge hit!

Grandma brilliantly suggested that we order tables/chairs from a party rental company, who also brought tablecloths (light blue). They brought a kiddie table, which was too cute. It was a mini version of a banquet table, complete with kiddie chairs! I decorated the adult tables with the help of the birthday boy, we spread brown sugar in the center for ‘sand’ and placed a few dinosaurs on each table. The kids table had dinosaur masks on the back of each chair, and their paleontologist costume at each seat. The ladies spent the day before the party cleaning, decorating the house, and baking.










My husband contributed by hiding ‘dinosaur eggs’  outside for the Junior Paleontologists to find, stuffing and hanging the piñata, and carving a watermelon to look like a T-Rex! At Target, I found a Triceratops piñata.

[caption id="attachment_752" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Mayhem didn't quite understand the pinata...[/caption]

Happy Birthday, little man. I hope you know how much we all love you!!