Best Dinosaur Kids Birthday Party Ideas on a Budget

Your little one is dinosaur-obsessed and you want to plan the ultimate dinosaur birthday party for your little boy! The good news is, planning a dinosaur-themed birthday party is not complicated at all. Additionally, it is something that can absolutely be done on a budget! Sharing dinosaur birthday party ideas to help inspire you in planning your very own dinosaur-themed party.

Over the past weekend, we celebrated my son’s third birthday. He loves all things dinosaurs, and we fully embraced the dinosaur theme to celebrate his birthday as a 3 year old. I am so excited to share with you ALL the details, in hopes of making it even easier for you to plan your own dinosaur birthday party. 

Before we dive on into all the dinosaur birthday party ideas, throughout this blog post, there are affiliate links, to which I do receive a tiny commission for when making a purchase from that link. The support for this site and Graceful & Free means so much to me, I do greatly appreciate it. 

How to Plan the Ultimate Dinosaur Birthday Party for Your Three-Year Old

This is the third kid’s birthday party that I have planned. For our son’s first birthday we celebrated with a What a ‘Onederful World party, which was simply the sweetest. Last year for his second birthday, our construction loving boy had a construction-themed birthday party. This year, we knew that the party had to be dinosaur themed for our dinosaur loving boy.  As always, the first step I suggest taking when planning a kid’s birthday party, after deciding on a theme, is to look for an invitation that you love. 

Choosing an invitation creates an entire vision and mood for the rest of the party. Through your favorite themed-related invitation, you can determine what colors to use for decor and supplies. It is such an easy starting place. Especially when planning and hosting birthday parties can be overwhelming. 

For our dinosaur party, I found a beautiful invitation off of Etsy. I ordered the digital version of the invitation, which I was able to quickly and easily edit on my phone and text to our guest list. Mostly close friends and family. The whole process was incredibly easy as I purchased, downloaded, edited and then texted the invites out while sitting on the beach, two weekends before the party. (There is nothing quite like waiting until the last minute to do things). Which also goes to say, that not only can you use this post as a helpful guide to find dinosaur birthday party ideas for a 3 year old, but also a dinosaur party that can be thrown together in less than two weeks! 

Choosing Your Dinosaur Birthday Party Theme

In order to really find your dinosaur birthday party inspiration, start off by choosing your invitation. A simple Etsy search alone for “dinosaur birthday party” will come up with hundreds of different ideas to choose from. Some dinosaur party themes are tied to a specific, such as 3-Rex. Or you can simply select a non-age specific theme. For our dinosaur-themed party, I went with the “Stomp, Chomp, Rawr, let’s party like a dinosaur” theme. I loved the aesthetic of the invitation, and used our invitation to build out the rest of the dinosaur party decorations. 

Additionally, there are SO many other absolutely adorable dinosaur invitations out there. Choose whichever one you feel inspires you the most and closely matches the personality of your little boy. Then from there, build out the rest of the party. Quick note, your dinosaur-themed party DOES NOT have to be identically consistent throughout. It is MORE THAN OKAY to go off your color pattern and shift to different dinosaur styles. Do what feels right based on what you like! Trust me, you are going to host a memorable party for your little one either way! 

Dinosaur Birthday Party Decorations

I am going to be honest here, I stepped up the decorations quite a bit from the previous two years of toddler birthday parties. For some reason, the dinosaur theme really hit home with me, and I had a little too much fun planning everything, looking at different options, and putting all of this together! Which reminds me, it can be so easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed when planning a party for your toddler. The most important thing you can do is to try to remove the stress, find the joy, and embrace the beauty and the gift that celebrating another year of life is! 

Balloon Garland 

Essential to our toddler birthday parties is a balloon garland. Specifically a ten-foot plus garland that mounts on the stone archway in the center of our downstairs, open concept living space. For the previous two years, I have paid a few hundred bucks to have a local installer complete the balloon installation. However, this year I decided to cut the cost a little, go more budget-friendly, and decided to set-up the balloon garland myself (without professional help) 

My goodness let me tell you the adventure this was. When all things were said and down, I had ordered FIVE separate balloon garlands for our dinosaur party. The first balloon garland i ordered well in advance from a well-known party company on Etsy. I loved that I was able to completely customize the balloon garland, choosing the length, the exact colors of the balloons etc. However, after the purchase was reported shipped, I did not receive updated tracking information from USPS until FIVE days after the shipment had been dropped off at the carrier. 

I was getting really nervous that the balloon garland wouldn’t arrive on time. Therefore, with about four days until party time, I ordered a back-up balloon garland. I went without another highly rated party company. Selected another customized balloon garland, paid for rush shipping, and anxiously awaited the arrival. Now two days to go, I was getting really nervous. Neither packages were reporting that they would arrive on time. So, I went to Amazon. 

Amazon Balloon Garland 

Truthfully, I was nervous ordering a balloon garland from Amazon. Reading the reviews can give you so many mixed reviews and opinions. I was nervous about the color and if the balloon colors would match the pictures, and if the balloons would stay full of air. However, this was the back-up to the back-up option, so it really didn’t matter. I just needed something JUST IN CASE. 

I ordered a balloon garland that most closely matched our birthday party colors. Something else that I did, which I am so glad I trusted my gut here, was ordered back up balloon garlands of solid colors. These balloon garlands were pretty inexpensive, but provided us with extra balloons to use if necessary when setting up the arch. 

And sure enough, when it came time to set up for the party, balloon garland one and two still had not yet arrived. (They finally showed up the day after the party, of course!) My sister slept over the night before the party, and after my son went to bed that Saturday night, we were able to assemble the Amazon balloon garland pretty easily. I am so happy that I ordered the extra balloon garlands for back-up balloons as we were able to blow up about 20 additional balloons from each pack to give the balloon garland more volume. Special shout-out to my sister on this as she and her OCD personality committed and it looked perfect! 

Helpful Tips for a Successful Balloon Garland Installation

If you also find yourself attempting to install a balloon garland yourself here are a few tips. Number one, order an electric balloon pump. Number two, order a small hand-held pump to use for the 5 in. balloons. The next tip is to have back up balloons ready. And finally, tip number four, order extra balloon tape and glue! This should ensure that you have all that you need for a successful install. 

Dinosaur Garland 

Another great and simple way to decorate for your dinosaur-themed birthday party is to use garland. I loved this beautiful dinosaur garland by Merrilulu. I secured it across the fireplace mantle, which is in the living room, right above where we put the presents. It was a sweet, yet simple touch that extended the party decor into another room of our home. 

Dinosaur Party Backdrop 

To decorate our main party area, I ordered faux Monstera leaf garland, as well as a RAWR balloon. I hung the four pieces of Monstera leaf garland vertically down the two windows. Hanging in front of the Monstera leaf garlands, was the RAWR balloon. This RAWR balloon is a steal. Less than $6 from Amazon. So easy to inflate and install.

Definitely a must-have for your budget-friendly dinosaur-themed party. Additionally, draped alongside the bay windows in our kitchen was this sage, green, ivory, and gold pendant banner. I loved the simplicity of this banner, as well as the fact that the colors matched the overall theme of the party. It was really easy to hang, secured with tape, along the windows and door. 

Dinosaur Footprints

Another really creative way to elevate your dinosaur birthday party theme is to include dino footprints. I ordered vinyl adhesive dinosaur footprints that I placed in a pathway from our front door to the kitchen. My son LOVED following them throughout the house and pretending to be a dinosaur. Additionally, I took some chalk and drew dinosaur footprints outside on the sidewalk leading into the party. This is another super simple and budget friendly idea to welcome the party guests into your dinosaur theme. 

Dinosaur-Themed Birthday Party Signs

In order to make additional party signs, I uploaded our dinosaur invitation to Canva and resized it to the different sizes I needed. I was able to cut different elements from the invitation to repurpose to create our Welcome Sign, as well as the other signs for the party. This is another simple, budget friendly birthday party hack.

Order prints of signs that feature the theme of the party and place them in frames throughout the party area. I always order our prints from Walgreens. You can usually find a 50% off coupon for photos. Just do a little google search prior to placing your order.

Dinosaur Figurines 

In addition to the signs placed throughout the party, I also ordered a large dinosaur balloon from Etsy that my son named Finn. This was super easy to assemble, took less than 3 minutes and was a hit with the little ones. I ordered it off Etsy and it was a beautiful dinosaur if I do say so myself. Additionally, I had ordered mini dinosaur figures from Amazon for decoration as well. The mini dinosaur figures were randomly set-up throughout the party space. I had some along the dessert table, stationed near the food, in the different center pieces on the tables where guests ate. 

Plus, after the party, the mini dinosaur figures can be great to use for imaginary play. I had planned on placing miniature party hats on the mini dinosaur figurines, however, the mini party hats that I ordered were a little too complicated to put together, so I decided to let that go. Regardless, the addition of the mini dinosaurs was a great way to add more decor and fun on a budget. 

Dinosaur Birthday Party Supplies

Additionally, dinosaur-themed party supplies including dinosaur paper plates, dinosaur napkins, and dinosaur dessert paper plates all can help transform your party space even more. There are so many options of different styled dinosaur party supplies, so take your pick based on your overall aesthetic and vision.

Another fun addition to your decor are using dinosaur cupcake toppers. If you are having mini cakes or cupcakes to serve guests as part of the dessert, dinosaur cupcake toppers are a fun way to elevate the dessert table. Additionally, we placed a number three wooden cake topper, as well as a small dinosaur figurine on our small cake for our son. Finally, I had ordered a sweet package of dinosaur cake toppers that I placed in the flower arrangements, and the flower pots right before walking into our home. These dinosaur birthday party supplies are essential for creating the ultimate dinosaur-themed celebration for your little one’s birthday party.

Dinosaur Birthday Party Activities for Little Ones 

A fun way to keep little guests entertained at your dinosaur theme birthday party is to have different dinosaur related activities. With our guest list of close friends and families, the guest list included kids of all ages. Specifically, the age of the kids at the party ranged from 2 to 10. When planning the party, I wanted to have a variety of different activities to engage the younger ones. And I most definitely, wanted the activities to be on point with the dinosaur theme. 

Dinosaur Coloring Sheets 

Another toddler birthday party hack is to have coloring sheets and coloring supplies nearby at the party. Having a place to color gives families and young kids an area they can hang out in to independently play, or work something by themselves (or with others if they prefer). I ordered the sweetest dinosaur-themed coloring sheets from Etsy. The bundle came with 4 designs, all that were easy to download, edit, and print. Such a cute way to encourage more play at a young toddler’s dinosaur birthday party. 

Dinosaur Dig, Dino Eggs, & Dinosaur Sensory Play

Another great dinosaur birthday party idea is to include sensory play. I love sensory bins and sensory play. There are endless ideas on ways to encourage your young toddler to play that stimulates the senses and encourages imagination. Sensory play does exactly that. To stay connected to our dinosaur theme, I created two different dinosaur sensory bins. The first sensory bin was a dinosaur dig site. I used a storage box and filled it with Kinetic Sand.

Next, I took dinosaur skeleton figurines and placed them on top of the kinetic sand. Then, I added more kinetic sand on top, pressing firmly on the layer of kinetic sand to hide the dinosaur skeletons as much as possible. For decoration, I placed palm tree figurines in the sand as well. I had dinosaur excavation tools sitting next to the sensory bin, which were easily accessible, and commonly used to play at the party. 

For the second dinosaur excavation site, I used a second storage bin and filled it up with two small bags of natural sand. Then, I placed dino eggs on top of the sand. These dinosaur eggs were another great Amazon find. Additionally, they were very hard to dig through to get to the “dinosaur bones” inside. The ten year old, 7 year old, and three year olds were all equally entertained and occupied by these dino eggs throughout a large duration of the party. 

Dinosaur Bubble Blower 

Another fun idea for your dinosaur-themed party is to have bubbles! I found the cutest dinosaur bubble blower off of Amazon. It came with batteries already installed. I loved the color of the bubble blower and how easy it was to operate. It comes with a small bottle of bubble solution. Therefore, if you anticipate leaving the bubbles on throughout most of the party, definitely be prepared with extra bottles of bubble solution. 

Dinosaur Birthday Party Menu Ideas for a Toddler’s Birthday Party 

Finally, a birthday party is not complete without having food. Our party was at 1:00pm in the afternoon, therefore our menu definitely served more of a lunch. We had a lot of finger-style foods that were easy to eat, as well as a menu that was definitely both adult and kid friendly.

Dinosaur Birthday Party Ideas – The Food

For our food we focused on mostly finger foods. We ordered two chicken finger buckets from Guthrie’s. I also served pigs in a blanket. I put together fruit kabobs featuring strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, watermelon and grapes! As well as cheese slices & pepperoni, a yummy pasta salad, and a delicious bean salsa served with Tostitos scoops!  

Dinosaur Birthday Party Ideas – The Desserts

For our desserts, I went a little overboard. My go-to for a kid’s birthday party is matching decorated sugar cookings and a bundtlet and bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes. For the decorated sugar cookies, I went with my usual cookie decorate, Sugar Bakings. She made adorable dinosaur-themed decorated sugar cookies. I love that I can send her a picture of my invitation and that she will use that as a source of inspiration and vision for the cookies.

Additionally, I found this adorable dinosaur treat wall, so we also had mini strawberry sprinkled doughnuts from Krispy Kreme (my son’s absolute favorite sweet tooth obsession). And of course, to top things off, I had a mason jar of sour gummy worms. Honestly, I wanted to have a dinosaur-decked out dessert table and it was the best!

Dinosaur Birthday Party Favors 

Another great dinosaur birthday party idea is to have dinosaur-themed party favors for the party guests. For party favors, guests could take home a dinosaur-themed decorated sugar cookie. And for the little ones I had dinosaur stickers, dinosaur temporary tattoos, and adopt a dinosaur, little dinosaurs figurines. I really wanted to have cheap options of things for guests to take with them as a little party favor. And the little kids loved them. Plus, the dinosaur stickers and temporary tattoos were adorable.

Enjoy the Ultimate Dinosaur-Themed Birthday Party on a Budget 

Well there you have it. Inspiration and ideas for planning the dinosaur birthday party of your dreams. And all at a very affordable and budget-friendly way. All the details of our dinosaur-themed birthday party for our 3-year old. I truly hope that these dinosaur birthday party ideas can serve as inspiration for you as you plan your own dinosaur-themed party. Wishing you and your family all the joy and love!