My oldest child turned five this weekend. So naturally we celebrated by gathering together one hundred of our closest friends and throwing a wild and crazy party.
Kidding. Sort of.
It was only fifty people and the wild and crazy of it only included a few water guns, breaking apart ice blocks with hammers, and two dozen kids running around the yard.
Every year, this is the party where we go big. Not so much with the perfect decorations and elaborate activities, but we open the party up to a lot of our friends and family in hopes of filling our yard with the people we love and celebrating our boy whose first days of life were so uncertain.
It just so happens that his birthday falls in the season where we can be a little crazy with our invites, planning a party that is solely held out of doors in our shaded backyard.
The food was set up in the carport on tables borrowed from church. Alongside the long food table were two more tables for seated eating. A few fans blowing towards the table helped to curb some of the ninety-degree heat.
Later this week, I will share more about feeding such a large crowd without breaking the bank (too much) while keeping things (somewhat) healthy and (mostly) no fuss. The food was delicious and more than enough. Praise God for leftovers after such a busy few days!
For now, party details and plenty of pictures.
Outdoor Dinosaur Birthday Party for a Five-Year-Old
There were three main activities related to the party theme: ice excavation, T-rex bean bag toss, and digging for fossils in the sandbox.
I had face painting materials on hand, but the weather was too hot and another activity just wasn’t necessary. In addition to the activities, the kids also just enjoyed the simple fun of backyard toys and our new mud kitchen.
I will also note that even though the party was for my five-year-old, there were kids from 9 months to 12 years at the party. Between the activities and free play in the yard, everyone stayed busy!
Dinosaur Ice Excavation
A few days before the party, I froze little dinosaur skulls
The kids used small kid hammers, metal spoons, and salt shakers to chip away the ice and free the skulls. Once freed, the dinosaur skulls were theirs to keep.
(Original idea and more on how to make the eggs can be found on Frugal Fun for Boys)
T-Rex Bean Bag Toss {Feed The T-Rex!}
We cut out a square from a scrap piece of plywood and painted on the t-rex face. The bean bags were simple to make with scrap fabric and dollar-store black beans.
Bonus, the wood can be repainted as often as I want for different parties and games and the beanbags were purposefully made in a versatile fabric.
(Original idea from Not Your Normal Steam)
Digging for Fossils in the Sandbox
Making the fossils out of salt dough was almost as last minute as possible, but after neglecting to make them the year before and hearing about it whenever birthdays were mentioned, I didn’t want to leave them out of this year’s party.
The process of making the bones is really simple. Make a batch of salt dough. Form it into “dinosaur bones” and bake in a warm oven (about 250°) for a few hours until hardened.
The morning of the party I delegated the task of burying them to my father-in-law and middle son. Easy. During the party, I just reminded kids that the option of digging for bones in the sandbox was available if they were interested.
(Salt dough fossil inspiration from Kitchen Floor Crafts)
(Salt Dough Recipe: 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 1/2 cup cold water)
More Dino Party Fun
see more of the dino party menu here
my new favorite way to decorate a cake
playing in our new mud kitchen
Who knows what kind of party next year will bring, but I hope that regardless of whatever my boys are interested in, we will still be surrounded by so many friends and family!
What kind of parties are your kids’ favorites? Do you choose a theme or stick to simple birthday fun?
Check out these other birthday party ideas:
My sister is currently looking for an equipment rental service because her son Leo would like to have a Dinosaur theme birthday party in the park. Well, thank you for suggesting here that face painting materials must be prepared as well. It’s also a good thing that you shared here advantage of freezing dinosaurs’ skulls in balloons.
Your feed the T-Rex party game is so cute! I mentioned it on my blog here: http://www.hunnyimhomediy.com/party-planning/dinosaur-party-inspiration/