Dinosaurs never go out of fashion with children. Every year, a new crop of four-, five-, and six-year-olds becomes obsessed with T. rex, triceratops, and long-necked giants, and their birthday parties follow. This place card is ready for a prehistoric party. A friendly long-necked dinosaur strolls across rolling green hills along the bottom of the card; a big orange ROAR! announces the theme, and each guest’s name is set in a chunky, playful typeface. On the back, giant three-toed footprints march across a jungle-green background.
Hills, a Dinosaur and a Big Roar
The card is 3.5 x 4 inches flat and folds to 3.5 x 2 inches. The front is a pale leafy green. Two layers of rounded hills, mid-green behind and dark green in front, run along the bottom edge. On the right, a long-necked dinosaur in olive and yellow tones walks over the hills, its tail stretched behind it. On the left, ROAR! is written in bright orange Rowdies, a bold display font, with the name Leo Garcia underneath in dark green Rowdies and dino table in brown below that. The back is grass green with rows of dark green three-toed footprints walking across it, each made of a round pad and three toes.
Dino Table Names Children Love
Instead of numbers, name the tables after dinosaurs. Children enjoy finding their dinosaur, and it doubles as a fun fact moment.
- T. rex table: for the loudest friends
- Triceratops table: three horns, three best buddies
- Stegosaurus table: spiky plates, spiky cake
- Brachiosaurus table: for the tallest kids or the grown-ups
- Velociraptor table: for the fastest eaters
- Pterodactyl table: it can fly (technically a pterosaur, not a dinosaur, which older dinosaur fans love to point out)
Changing Names and Tables
Click the name and type the child’s name. Rowdies is chunky and wide, so short names look best; for longer names, reduce the size. Replace dino table with a table name from the list above, or delete it. Download the card and repeat for each guest. Keep a sheet of names by table to make setting out the cards quick on party day.
The Dinosaur and Hills
The dinosaur is a full-colour editable vector illustration. You can resize it, flip its position to the left, or change its colours from the swatches to make it green, blue, or purple. The hills are a single group: recolour them to sandy brown for a desert dig theme, or to grey and orange for a volcano theme. If you prefer a T. rex, delete the dinosaur and add another from the editor’s library.
Dinosaur Party Theme Variations
| Theme | Colour change | Headline |
|---|---|---|
| Jungle dinos (as designed) | Greens and orange | ROAR! |
| Volcano | Grey hills, red-orange accents | Eruption! |
| Fossil dig | Sand and brown | Dig In! |
| Pastel dinos | Mint, peach and lilac | Dino-mite! |
| Jurassic adventure | Deep green and yellow | Welcome to the Park |
Footprints on the Back
When the card stands, the footprints face the opposite side of the table, so it looks like a dinosaur walked right across the card. The footprints are a group; change their colour to brown for a muddy look or to black for a bolder one. You can also delete the group and use a plain green background.
Printing Greens Brightly
Greens can look dull if your yellow or cyan cartridge is low. Check ink levels before printing a batch. Bright white matte cardstock gives the freshest green. Print a test card, then the full set. Allow the cards to dry before handing them to children, since fingers find wet ink immediately.
Fold and Place
Trim to 3.5 x 4 inches, score along the middle where the pale front meets the darker back, and fold with the dinosaur facing out. Stand each card on a plate or in front of a party favour.
Dino Party Table Ideas
Green tablecloths, plastic dinosaurs marching down the table, a volcano cake with sparklers, and dinosaur eggs (chocolate eggs in a nest of shredded paper) make an exciting table. Give each child a small dinosaur toy beside their card; they will play with it while they wait for food. Paper palm leaves on the walls make the room feel like a prehistoric jungle.
Party Activity: Fossil Hunt
Hide small plastic dinosaurs or fossil cookies in a sandpit or a tray of rice, and give each child a brush. Their place card can double as a fossil-hunter badge: punch a hole and thread a string through it to wear around the neck during the dig.
Dinosaur Cards Beyond Birthday Parties
The card works for a museum trip lunch, a science-themed class party, a family reunion kids’ table, or a Jurassic movie night. Change ROAR! to the event name.
Quick Dinosaur Facts for the Table
Dinosaur-mad children love facts, and adding one fact to each card gives them something to share. Replace the table line with a short fact such as T. rex had teeth as long as bananas, Stegosaurus had a brain the size of a lime, Triceratops had three horns and a big neck frill, or Brachiosaurus was as tall as a four-storey building. Keep facts short, simple and true; budding palaeontologists will check. Parents often find these cards still on the fridge weeks later.
Planning a Dinosaur Party Timeline
A two-hour party for young children works well with a simple rhythm: twenty minutes of free play as guests arrive, a fossil hunt or dino egg hunt, food at the table where the place cards wait, cake and singing, and a final game before pick-up. Place cards make the food part smooth, because every child knows where to go as soon as you call them to the table.
Dinosaur Card Questions
Is the dinosaur scientifically accurate?
It is a friendly cartoon sauropod, the long-necked group that includes Brachiosaurus, not a scientific drawing.
Can I add the birthday child’s age?
Yes. Replace dino table with Leo turns 5!
What size is the folded card?
3.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall.
Can the footprints be bigger?
Ungroup them and resize a few, or delete half and enlarge the rest for fewer, bolder tracks.
