Hand-Painted Dinosaur Cookies | The Ginger Bites & Flat-Lay Styling | Theresa Elizabeth Photography
Stomp, Chomp, Growl, and Roar!!! Let’s party like a dinosaur! Our little “three-rex” is on the loose! Yep, that is right.. our little boy, Avery, turned three this past Summer. Where has the time gone? While speaking about time, I feel like this year has already flown by so quickly! Before I know it, Avery will be four. So, I figured I better get a move on sharing this “three”-historic celebration with you all. If you ask me, it was absolutely DINO-mite! So, stomp on through.
First, let’s talk about invitations!
As always, I wanted the invitations to set the tone for the party. I truly feel like the presentation of party invitations are the most important! I do not know about you all?! But, I absolutely love receiving party invitations in the mail. However, I think I like designing party invitations even more! I decided to do a little DIY for this event.
First, I ordered some small Kraft boxes from Amazon, printed the fragile stickers that I found from another Momma’ blogger, and stuffed each Kraft box with moss. I was easily able to find a large box of moss on Amazon as well. For the eggs, I ended up searching online and finding bulk sizes of paper mâché eggs. I then spray painted each one with a stone textured spray paint. I am pretty certain you can easily find this spray paint at any craft store or on Amazon, but I found it at the local Michaels craft store. I thought the textured spray paint was a quick way of achieving the most authentic look of a real dinosaur egg. I really loved the way they turned out!
Next, I wanted the actual message of the invitation to look aged. So, I teamed up with my go to invitation gal, Debrina, with Cloud 9 Factory on Etsy. I simply sent her the text of the invitation and asked that she burn the edges as a finishing touch. I also had her design some really cute dinosaur stickers that I adhered to the top of each box, which read “You’re Invited!” Along with the invitation, I placed a different dinosaur in each egg. I then stamped the inside of the top of each box with the message – “Open Me!” Lastly, I tied each little box of pre-historic cuteness with some cooking twine that I had leftover from our past Thanksgiving dinner. I think they turned out pretty “RAWR”some! What do you think?!
I really tried going all out for the entrance of this party!
Upon entering our home, all of our guests were greeted with a ballon arch by Bayou Balloons that was surrounded with a variety of tropical plants. I wanted the guests to feel as if they were stomping right on into the jungle. You cannot tell in the photo, but I also had a fog machine located behind the plants. I must admit, I was pretty impressed myself! Haha. Once stepping foot inside, guests heard the many sounds of a prehistoric land. I found a really neat video on YouTube that captured all of the sounds one would envision hearing if they were to travel back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. The soundtrack made me feel as if I had been transported back in time to a place where dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Listen for yourself!
Youtube Link | The Land of Dinosaurs Sounds
So, lets talk about the most important portion of the party – food! If you happened to show up to the celebration with the appetite of a dinosaur, there was surely no shortage and plenty of mouth watering options to lock your jaws onto!
Dinosaur Grazing Station | 12 Seasons Catering
Brontosaurus Burgers | T-Rex Skewers | Pterodactyl Wings
Triceratops Toast | Stegosaurus Scales
Spinosaurus Sandwiches | Pre-Historic Shooters | Dino Spikes
Dino Deviled Eggs | Dinosaur Nuggets
As usual, a party is not a party in New Orleans without a specialty beverage for adults ONLY!!! But, I will get to that in just a bit. I wanted the kids to have an exciting specialty beverage as well. So, I had some green lemonade made, called it Prehistoric Punch, and tossed in some food grade dry ice to create the smoking effect. The kids, along with the adults, absolutely loved it! Needless to say, it was a big hit. What do you think? Was it smoking or what?!
Now, for the adults.. I offered one of my absolute favorite cocktails and called it the Mass Extinction Mojito. The drink was garnished with lime, mint, and blueberries. It was absolutely delicious!!!
Let’s all “roar for decor”! Well, at least that what I love to do! Haha. I wanted the decor to be edgy, yet elegant all at the same time. For the living room’s fireplace mantle, I decided to fill various vases with water and tossed some greenery into them. You will also notice wax dripped wine bottles with candles that I made prior to the party. I really liked the look and thought it added a bit of an old, rustic esthetic touch to the decor.
For the outdoor guest seating, I am just going to let the photos do all of the talking.
My little boy absolutely loves dinosaurs!!! Obviously, it would be impossible to have real life dinosaurs. I mean, even it were.. it would NOT be safe! So, I had to think of the next best thing. Why not have the Reptile Krewe pass by for some scaly, spiny fun?! After all, it is the closest thing to a dinosaur – right?!
If the reptile show wasn’t enough fun, the kids could head on over to the paleontologist dig site. At this activity station, the kids could either choose to color their favorite dinosaur or excavate some dinosaur bones.
But, the fun wasn’t over just yet! After munching on some dino bites and excavating for dinosaur bones, I had the birthday boy and his party guests head outside for a dinosaur egg hunt. The kids collected the eggs so quick that it was nearly impossible to snap enough photos of this activity!
After the egg hunt, it was finally time for cake!!! Last, but certainly not least.. let’s talk about the cake and dessert table. Shall we?! I would be lying if I did not admit that this was my favorite area of the party! My Mom and I had so MUCH fun collecting all of the greenery for the cake table’s back drop the evening before. We had even more fun strategically placing each greenery piece on the pallet wall. I love, love, love the way it turned out. Thoughts???
Cake & Coordinating Desserts | Chasing Wang
Cake & Dessert Table Styling and Decor | Styled and Decorated by Yours Truly! 😉
Dinosaur Dig Dirt Cake | Yours Truly! 😉
The dirt cake was super easy! You just make your favorite version of dirt cake and lay it into any container of your choice. I simply lined a wooden box with wax paper. As for the dinosaur, I found this dinosaur mold on Amazon. I melted some white chocolate, filled the mold with the melted white chocolate, and let it harden. After the white chocolate hardened, I popped it out and hand painted it with brown food coloring to give the mold a more aged, fossil-like appearance. Above you will notice the dinosaur egg macarons on cake pop sticks. Again, super easy!!! I found a container that I liked and grew pet grass out of it. Now, this did take some time. But, this grass was so easy to grow and did not require much attention. I love, love the way it looked on the cake and dessert table!
The last little detail of the party that I want to share with you all is the party favors. I found these super cute Dinosaur Excavation Party Favors by Aitch and Co. on Etsy. I had my invitation lady design the coordinating sticker and favor tag to place on top. Lastly, I pulled it all together by decorating each take home dig kit with some shreds of net and greenery. Again, super easy and it turned out super cute!!!
I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work with some of the most AMAZING vendors throughout the city of NOLA!!! Seriously, like every single one is beyond talented. Besides, they all just get me and my expectations for every one of my events. If you have any questions or love what you have seen, be sure to comment below. I love hearing your thoughts!!!
Happy 3rd Birthday my little “THREE”rex! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the caring, smart little boy you are becoming. Never be afraid to let the world hear you RAWR!
XOXO, Britt
V E N D O R S
Acrylic Floral Stands | Vallari Decor on Etsy
Avery’s Dinosaur Jon Jon | Zuli Kids on Etsy
Balloons | Bayou Balloons
Cake & Coordinating Desserts | Chasing Wang
Cake Floral Styling | Styled by Yours Truly! 😉
Cake & Dessert Table Styling and Decor | Styled and Decorated by Yours Truly! 😉
Caterer | 12 Seasons Catering
Dark Grey Gauze Napkins | Linen Lark on Etsy
DINO-mite Party Sign | Reyna Blank on Etsy
Dinosaur Drink Stirrers | DIY by Yours Truly! 😉
Dinosaur Excavation Party Favors | Aitch and Co. on Etsy
Dinosaur Excavation Party Favors Styling | Styled by Yours Truly! 😉
Dinosaur Napkins | Sparkle and Sparrow on Etsy
Florals |Christina Williams McGrath at Plantation Decor Inc.
Hand-Painted Dinosaur Cookies | The Ginger Bites on Instagram
Happy Birthday & Avery Dinosaur Banner | My Friend – Melinda Phillips
Invitation Styling & Decor | Styled and Decorated by Yours Truly! 😉
Invitation Inserts, Favor Tags, Favor Stickers, Napkin Tags, and Food Cards | Cloud 9 Factory on Etsy
Overall Party Styling & Decor | Styled and Decorated by Yours Truly! 😉
Palm Leaf Napkins | The Parties that Pop on Etsy
Photographer | Theresa Elizabeth Photography
Happily Ever Breaux 