Our dinosaur-obsessed little boy turned three back in June and I can hardly believe how fast 3 years has flown by. Weren't we just bringing him home from the NICU and only sleeping for an hour or so at a time? It certainly feels that way. At some point after his Wild Things 2nd Birthday party I made a proclamation that I was going low-key next year. I was going to rent a room at one of those bounce places, get a cake, and call it a day. But a year later he was still intimidated by those big bounce places and I just couldn't imagine spending his birthday doing something he didn't love. So we started brainstorming what he DOES love. He loves dinosaurs. He loved hunting for eggs at Easter. He loves running around and playing with his friends. It seemed a no-brainer that we were going to be planning a dinosaur party. Thankfully our sweet friends let us throw the party in their home since our townhouse is much too small for all his little friends, and I was nervous about going the park pavilion route again since June weather is notoriously rainy. (Jacob was born on a rainy Tuesday and it's rained every June 10th since) While I wouldn't call the party low-key it was significantly scaled back from last year, which is really saying something since my party planning personality is decidedly "go big or go home." We didn't build any pineapple trees, so I'll call it a step in the right direction. Having the party at a private residence meant I was able to decorate the night before, and for the first time ever, we were actually ready when the party started. I had started my party planning with a few key details - a color scheme of navy, aqua, and coral; a dinosaur theme, two fun activities, and a simple menu. The table was the focal point of the party. I covered it in wrapping paper that I stamped using dinosaur foot prints in the party colors. I then lined the middle with dinosaurs wearing party hats and mini dinosaur eggs. At each place setting was a paper plate (with a dinosaur bite taken out of it), napkin, fork, dinosaur party hat, and a plastic mason jar with each kids name and a dinosaur on it. On the wall behind the table was a large banner I had made. I purchased a T-Rex watercolor painting off Etsy and then had it blown up to 4ft x 6ft on Vista Print. (search for coupon codes, I found one for 50% off!!) We draped a balloon swag across the top and side to tie in the party colors. These are a brand new product from Twigs and Twirls and it was so easy to put together! It comes with big and small balloons as well as balloon tape. You just blow up the balloons and then pop the bottom through a hold in the tape, alternating colors and sizes until you like how it looks. Then you can use the tape to hang it too! In the corner on a small table I set up two of Jacob's stuffed dinosaurs, in party hats of course, as well as a book (Tyrannosaurus Drip) for his guests to sign. This is a tradition I started back at his first birthday party and I plan to do it every year! It's so fun for us to look back and remember who was there and read the sweet messages they wrote. I decorated the table with two confetti balloons and his big "3" balloon. On the opposite wall we set up the buffet with Jacob's cake and some cookie favors. The table also held some big dinosaur eggs, paper mache dinosaurs, confetti balloons, a three-rex banner, and our letter board. The large eggs on the buffet started out as paper mache eggs that I grabbed around Easter time. The small ones on the table were wooden eggs. I spray painted all of them white and then used a tooth brush to splatter on paint in our color scheme to make them look dinosaur-ish. The cake was a simple white cake with fresh strawberry filling from Publix. I added three aqua candles to the middle, then made a ring of small dinosaurs around the outside. We also had cupcakes on hand for the kids, each with a plastic dinosaur on top. The cookies were made for us by a local baker and I was so impressed with how well they matched our custom invitation from Spruce and Willow. We planned a super simple menu: plus provided stromboli, pasta salad, fruit salad, and mixed salad for the adults. Along with some pre-historic punch. (We used this recipe HERE) The first activity we planned was a dinosaur egg hunt. My mom made these amazing backpacks (from the pattern HERE) and each kid got one. The backpacks doubled as a favor (along with their personalized cups and the cookies) and also as a bag for collecting their dinosaur eggs. I used dinosaur eggs from Oriental Trading as well as regular easter eggs filled with candy spread out all over the yard. There were over 200 eggs for the 7 kids, so everyone got a good bag full. I also spread out dinosaur figurines for them to find, and each kid got to take home a couple. The second activity was a piñata I had made and stuffed with all kinds of goodies from Oriental Trading: mini puzzles, bath squirts, sunglasses, bubbles, tattoos, candy, finger puppets, etc. all dinosaur themed. I made the piñata using the cardboard method (see tutorial HERE) and used painters tape to secure it, since I didn't want it to be TOO sturdy. I then covered it in tissue paper fringe attached with a glue stick. The kids gave it their best go, but it ended up taking several adults to break it open! For the rest of the party, the kids did what they like to do best - play and eat cake! This was the first year that Jacob really "got it" that this party was for him. He loved when everyone sang to him, and blew out the candles as best he could. (he needed a little bit of help!) It was such a fun party and because we were able to do so much the night before i was able to relax and enjoy it, isn't that always the goal? Little buddy had so much fun playing and celebrating with his friends, and as predicted, cried when it was all over and time to go home for a nap. I couldn't have asked for a better party or better friends to celebrate with us! Thank you to all our friends and family for loving on our little boy and helping him celebrate THREE. Momma is all partied out and not thinking about his next party for at least 10 more months! Supplies Invitation // c/o Willow & Spruce Kraft Wrapping Paper, Wooden Eggs, Paper Mache Dinos & Dino Foam Stamps // Target Navy Paper Plates, Coral Napkins, Aqua Silverware // Target Plastic Mason Jars // Target Patterned straws, Balloons, & Confetti // c/o Twigs & Twirls Dinosaur Party Hats // Corrinerelly (Etsy) Dinosaur Painting // Custom Prints Your Way (Etsy) Cake Candles // Cranky Cakes Shop (Etsy) Mini Dinosaur Figurines // Amazon Tyrannosaurus Drip Book // Amazon Pinata Filler & Egg Hunt Eggs // c/o Oriental Trading Backpack Pattern // Lark Crafts Pinata Tutorial // The Sweetest Occasion Cake & Cupcakes // Publix Custom Cookies // Sweetly Done by Candi Plastic Dinosaurs & Paper Mache Eggs // Michaels Here's an image to pin!