Saturday, August 12, 2017

Jurassic World Party Part One


The party was a while ago now and hopefully this means I won’t ramble too much.  On the other hand, I might have forgotten some of the important things I wanted to tell you. Sorry about that, only, it takes a lot to write a party planning post and I just didn’t have it in me.  I will be posting in two parts, because it’s just way too long for one week!  Here goes.

Theme


My nephew has loved Dinosaurs for more than 5 years.  It was a no brainer that his 10th birthday would have a dino-theme.  He was very specific that he wanted his party to be a “Jurassic World Party” NOT, Jurassic Park… that is so last decade!  So, unlike my Frozen Party, I had to do a lot of research (watching the movie and using the website was so helpful) before I could start committing to ideas and finally creating all the wonderful stuff that made the day. 




Decorations


I downloaded a printable party pack (that was FREE) from SKGaleana.com including invitations.  I didn’t use all of the pieces in the pack but what I did use worked brilliantly.  We used a lot of paper for this party too.  I think we may have killed a couple of trees to pull this one off.  :/  It was simple to print, cut out and laminate all the name tags, security badges, thank you notes, logos and posters, it just took a long time.  I also copied an image of the Jurassic World sign so that we could make some awesome signs/ posters of our own.  



The other awesome printable was a template for our pterodactyls.  Click here to check it out.

I also downloaded the Jurassic Park font (click here to get it) which we used for the signs at each activity and party zone. 

Let’s give you the tour:


Entry: the gate! We used cable ties to attach large pieces of cardboard to our wrought iron gate.  Grey plastic tablecloths made the side pillars (I love my staple gun!).  We made 6 torches from brown paper bags and yellow/orange/red cellophane.  The BFF used the A1 printer at her work to print some supersized logo signs for us.  One was cut in half and stuck on the gate so when it was closed it was whole.  It looked great.  The other sign was stuck on the wall of the house, so kids could get a photo there if they liked.  I was so proud of the gate! 


Discovery District: Tubs of sand for kids to dig in, under our clothesline.  We hung various leaf shapes on the line and had some hanging vines (crepe paper and craft paper) draped around so it felt like a bit of a jungle.  


Innovation Centre: A high camping shelter with folding tables and chairs laid out underneath.  There were three activities set up under the shelter.  Each space was signposted.  


Main Street:  Green Leaves were cut out from a few different templates (found on my Pinterest board), we used a few different shades of green paper and card.  Pterodactyls were cut from brown and black cardboard using a template we found online (link above).  We printed it and photocopied in three different sizes so they looked like some were higher in the sky when hung up.  We rearranged my Mum’s pot plants to line the sides of an alley on our verandah and made a few cardboard palm trees to bulk it up a bit.  Dinosaur figurines hid among the trees too!


Fact Wall: I made some small posters with random dinosaur facts and we stuck these along the wall for the guests to read while they were eating.  I used this as a sort of game when we were running out of things to do.  I asked questions and the kids had to run to the wall to find the answer.  Most of the facts came from the Did You Know? slides on the Jurassic World Website.  

Bathroom Entryway: As most of the activity was outside, we didn’t go overboard decorating inside the house.  However, we combined a few ideas from Pinterest to make a Dinosaur Mouth over the archway that leads to our bathroom.  When guests came inside to use the bathroom they were greeted with this scary sight and then had to walk into the monster’s mouth to use the facilities! The BFF added her expertise to make it look just right!  Thanks Bestie! 


That's it for now! Next week I will tell you about the food and the activities that kept the kids busy!