How do I plan a dinosaur party with a dig activity?
Quick answer: Choose a dig you can manage indoors, such as a shallow tray of shredded paper with large dinosaur pictures or suitable toy finds hidden inside. Children take turns uncovering one item and placing it on a discovery table, and you reset the tray after each turn. While children wait, they draw and decorate paper dinosaur expedition cards, which they take home. For food, serve familiar dishes with dinosaur labels, such as nuggets under a Carnivore sign, fruit under a Herbivore sign and cookie dirt cups for dessert. Keep the food on a separate table away from the dig.
Plan the party around the dig
A dinosaur dig works best when you plan it as one part of the party, along with an activity for children who are waiting, something to take home and the food. If you decide on all of these together, they can share supplies and you won't need a separate craft, favor and decoration for each one.
Work out who is coming before you plan anything else. Count every child who will dig, including the birthday child and any siblings who will join in. Then count separately the adults who are staying and will eat. Count each person only once. That gives you the number of dig turns, expedition cards and dirt cups to prepare.
Then decide which adult will run each part. Someone needs to run the dig turns, and a different adult should stay with the children who are waiting. If food needs to be cooked during the party, decide who will use the oven and who will stay with the guests while that happens.
Write down who stays with each group at each point, including while another adult is at the oven, so no group is left without someone. Tell the children where each adult will be and who to ask for help. Our guide on how adults can share supervision at a children's party includes a checklist for before guests arrive.
- Dig: a shallow tray of shredded paper, finds hidden inside and a discovery table
- Waiting activity: paper dinosaur shapes for expedition cards
- Take-home item: the finished expedition card
- Food: familiar dishes with Herbivore and Carnivore signs, dirt cups, water and red juice
Set up an indoor dinosaur dig
For an indoor dig, use a shallow tray of shredded paper instead of loose sand. Hide large dinosaur pictures or toy finds suited to the children's ages in the paper. Put a table next to it as the discovery table where children place what they uncover.
Give each child a clear turn. The child uncovers one item and puts it on the discovery table. Then hide a find again before the next child's turn. Before the party, check that every toy find is suitable for the ages of the children coming. If you aren't sure about a toy, use large paper dinosaur pictures instead.
Set up the dig away from the food table. The Dinosaur Dig Party guide covers both a sand tray and a paper dig if you have the space for sand.
How can I run a dinosaur dig without loose sand indoors?
Quick answer: Use a shallow tray of shredded paper with large dinosaur pictures or suitable toy finds tucked inside, and give each child a defined turn.
Each child uncovers one item and puts it on the discovery table, and then you reset the tray. Check that the objects are suitable for the ages of the children coming, and keep the dig materials away from the food table.
Give waiting children something to do
Only one child digs at a time, so the others need something to do. Put paper dinosaur shapes on a nearby table. Children name and decorate them as expedition cards and draw the dinosaur they hope to find. After their turn, they can compare the drawing with what they uncovered.
The expedition cards keep waiting children busy and also become the take-home item. You only need one set of supplies for both: paper dinosaur shapes and drawing materials.
What can children do while waiting for their turn at the dig?
Quick answer: Have them decorate paper dinosaur expedition cards and draw the dinosaur they hope to find.
Children can compare their drawing with their discovery after their turn. The finished card goes home with them, so you don't need to buy a separate favor.
Can dinosaur cards be used for a classroom party exchange?
Quick answer: Yes, if the teacher approves the exchange and the materials.
Use a simple dinosaur drawing and a friendly message, and make one card for each classmate taking part. Follow the class instructions about names and handing out the cards. Don't attach sweets or small extras unless the school has agreed to them. Each school and teacher has their own rules, so ask first.
Choose dinosaur food the children will eat
Start with food your child already likes, then add dinosaur names and signs. Put a Herbivore sign beside the fruit and vegetables and a Carnivore sign beside the chicken nuggets. Add a label to each dish that names the food, such as 'Dino eggs, watermelon', so parents know what is in it. Put paper dinosaurs beside the dishes instead of placing toys on the food.
You can mix and match these six ideas. You don't need to serve all of them.
Dino nuggets: Cook store-bought dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets following the package directions. Plan the cooking time backward from when you want to eat, using the cooking time on the package. Put sauces in separate labeled dishes.
Dino egg melon cups: Serve watermelon labeled 'Dino eggs'. You can use melon balls or pieces cut to suit the children, so you don't need a melon baller.
Prehistoric forest fruit cups: Green grapes inspired this idea, but you can use another fruit the children eat. Prepare the fruit to suit the children coming. Don't assume whole grapes, skewers or one particular cut will suit every child. You can also combine this with the melon in one cup.
Fossil crisps: Serve tortilla or potato chips in a bowl or cups with a label such as 'Fossil crisps, potato chips'. If chips don't suit the group, use another familiar savory snack.
Excavation dirt cups and lava punch: These are described below.
What do you serve at a dinosaur party?
Quick answer: You could serve dinosaur nuggets, fruit cups, cookie dirt cups, fossil crisps and red juice.
For a smaller menu, serve nuggets, one fruit and dirt cups, with water and juice. The Herbivore and Carnivore signs carry the dinosaur theme, so you don't have to shape every food like a dinosaur.
What dinosaur food should I serve to toddlers?
Quick answer: Ask parents which foods and ways of preparing them work for their children, and choose the menu from their answers.
A child's age alone doesn't tell you what they can eat, and a dinosaur shape doesn't make a food suitable. You can keep the dinosaur signs and change the food. For example, use melon pieces as Dino eggs, leave out gummy decorations and serve plain cookie cups.
Make dirt cups and lava punch
For dirt cups, you need chocolate sandwich cookies, clear cups and spoons. There's no baking. Crush the cookies, leaving some bigger pieces if you like. Spoon the crumbs into the cups and leave room at the top. If it suits the guests, add a gummy dinosaur partly buried in the crumbs. If not, stick a paper dinosaur on the outside of the cup. Put the cups on a tray with the spoons, and add a label naming the ingredients. You can crush the cookies and make the labels the day before. If you add pudding or another filling, follow the storage instructions for those ingredients.
Keep the dessert away from the dig materials, and give children clean spoons for eating, not the ones used at the dig.
Set the dirt cups on their own food table, away from the dig, with clean spoons beside them and the other food arranged in the order children will take it. Our Food Table Setup guide helps you plan that layout and work out how much food you need for the children and adults eating.
How do you make dinosaur dirt cups?
Quick answer: Crush chocolate sandwich cookies, spoon the crumbs into clear cups and serve each cup with a spoon.
A gummy dinosaur is optional. Add one only if it suits the guests, or use a paper dinosaur on the outside of the cup instead. Label the ingredients, and keep the dessert away from any play sand.
What drinks fit a dinosaur theme?
Quick answer: Serve red juice labeled 'Lava punch', with water next to it.
Sherbet is optional, and you don't need layers or a special mix. Write the juice name and any extra ingredients on the label. If you're also cooking nuggets, it's simpler to leave out the sherbet.
Example: a two-hour dinosaur dig party
This example is for illustration only. Change it to fit your guests and your home. It has 10 children, including the birthday child, and 2 staying adults who will also eat: Adult A and Adult B. That makes 12 people eating. The party runs from 2:00 to 4:00.
Menu: nuggets, watermelon Dino eggs, fossil crisps, dirt cups, lava punch and water.
Planning quantities: These are starting points, not fixed portions. Check them against package sizes, appetites and whether you're serving a full meal or snacks. Tell families which one to expect. One starting point is 6 to 8 nuggets per child, which is 60 to 80 nuggets for 10 children, plus extra for the 2 adults if they will eat them. For melon, one starting point is 4 to 5 melon balls per child, which is 40 to 50. One bag of chips is a starting point for 8 children, so 10 children need 2 bags. Bag sizes vary, so check yours. You'll need 12 dirt cups and 12 spoons, because all 12 people may want dessert. That counts containers. It doesn't predict how much each person will eat. Set out 12 drink cups, and keep juice and water nearby for refills.
- Before the party, check the package cooking time, the preheating time and how many batches your oven needs. If they won't all fit between 2:50 and 3:15, don't have Adult B start earlier, because Adult B needs to stay at the card table while Adult A runs the dig. Instead, skip cooking during the party and serve the food that doesn't need the oven: melon, chips, dirt cups, lava punch and water.
- If only one adult will be there, consider serving food that doesn't need cooking during the party.
| Time (illustrative) | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00–2:15 | Children arrive and start their expedition cards | Adult A greets families; Adult B stays at the card table |
| 2:15–2:50 | Dig turns, one child at a time; reset the tray after each turn | Adult A runs the dig; Adult B stays with the children at the card table |
| 2:50–3:15 | Children finish their cards and compare them with their finds; Adult B turns on the oven and cooks the nuggets, only if preheating and every batch fit in this time according to the package directions and how many fit in your oven at once | Adult A stays with the children; Adult B cooks |
| 3:15–3:40 | Serve nuggets, melon, chips, lava punch and water | Both adults |
| 3:40–3:55 | Serve dirt cups with clean spoons | Adult B serves; Adult A starts clearing the dig area |
| 3:55–4:00 | Hand out cards as children are picked up | Adult A |
Your dinosaur dig party checklist
- Count the children, including the birthday child and any siblings, and count staying adults who will eat separately.
- Ask families about food needs and choose the menu.
- Prepare the shredded-paper tray, check the finds are suitable for the children's ages and set up the discovery table.
- Cut out paper dinosaur shapes and set out drawing materials for the expedition cards.
- Decide which adult runs the dig, who stays with waiting children and who cooks.
- Write Herbivore and Carnivore signs, plus labels naming each food and its ingredients.
- The day before, crush the cookies and count cups and spoons.
- Check the nugget cooking time and how much fits in your oven at once.
- Set water next to the lava punch.
- Keep the food table away from the dig materials.