Jump Into the Jurassic Era with these Party Food Ideas
If you want to party like it’s 200 million years ago, we’ve got you covered! Creating a jumping Jurassic-style shindig complete with delicious dinosaur-themed party food is as easy as excavating a few basic ingredients and supplies. Check out our guide to the perfect prehistoric party complete with dinosaur-themed food ideas.
Pterodactyl Wings
Buffalo wings have nothing on these prehistoric babies. Season chicken or turkey wings with salt and pepper, brush with your favorite barbecue or teriyaki sauce (or any marinade you like), and grill or bake until cooked through. Arrange on a large platter over a bed of curly parsley with bowls of your favorite dressing or dip on the side. To create a jungle landscape, consider arranging thick stalks of bright steamed broccoli among the wings, standing them upright like trees. (If they won’t stay vertical on their own, a few toothpicks stuck into the stems in the form of a tripod can act as a buttress.) Label the platter “Pterodactyl Wings” and nobody will be the wiser. Note: These boneless honey garlic wings can spice up your platter!
T-Rex Fruit Plate (Including a Watermelon Dinosaur!)
Carving a watermelon into a big ol’ dinosaur head is—pardon the pun—a no-brainer. A quick online search for “watermelon dinosaur” results in myriad images that offer an easy approach: Take a big angled slice out of the lower half of the melon and you’ve got yourself a gaping maw. Cut honeydew, cantaloupe, or pineapple into small triangles and affix them to the dinosaur’s upper and lower jaws with toothpicks. Voilá, you’ve got teeth! As you would with a jack-o’-lantern, carve out nostrils and maybe some eyes, then grab those toothpicks again and affix grape or blueberry eyeballs. Fill the dinosaur’s mouth with fruits such as berries, grapes, and cherries, or scatter them on a platter with your T-Rex masterpiece in the middle.
Brontosaurus and Giganotosaurus Burger Bar
Any junior paleontologists worth their fossils know that the Brontosaurus was an herbivore and the Giganotosaurus was a carnivore. That translates to two separate trays: one piled with your favorite veggie burgers; the other loaded up with beef patties. Label accordingly (i.e., Brontosaurus Veggie Burgers & Giganotosaurus Beef Burgers), and arrange lettuce, tomato, and other fixings on a third platter so guests can fully customize their eating experience.
Dinosaur Eggs
This dino-party essential can be approached in any number of ways, depending on your level of ambition. If deviled eggs are your specialty, by all means go this route. (Turn them into dinosaur eyes with slices of strategically placed pitted olives.) For less work, provide art supplies, from stickers to nontoxic markers to egg dye and stencils, with which to decorate hard-boiled eggs. Create a raffia nest within a large shallow bowl for the eggs—or hide them and have your little explorers go on an archeological expedition. Learn how to make the perfect hard-boiled egg here.
Dino Dip
Bring on the guacamole! Not only is this naturally green goop the ultimate crowd-pleaser, but it’s the perfect consistency for creating a convincing dinosaur design. Use triangular tortilla chips (and your imagination) for spikes and teeth and olives or cherry tomatoes for eyes. Surround the dip with baby carrots and other crunchy crudité, along with additional chips, and you’ve whipped up the king of jungle snack food.
Fossil Cookies
Did you know that dinosaur fossils have been discovered on all seven continents? So it stands to reason that your guests will find them at your party. Simply bake up some sugar cookies, whether slice-and-bake or from scratch, then grab a plastic dinosaur and use its feet as little stamps. Push lightly into the cookies before baking, and you’ve got fossils by the dozen. Lay them on a bed of “dirt”— i.e., shaved chocolate, chocolate chips, or crumbled chocolate cookies—and you’ve made an excavation site.
Jurassic Sundaes
Many dinosaurs were cold-blooded creatures, so frosty ice-cream sundaes will feel right at home on your table. Go the DIY route and give each child two cups—one filled with ice cream (a green flavor, such as mint chip, would be an excellent choice) and the other with edible decorations. Think dinosaur gummy candy, jelly beans, and little candy eggs.
Sip-A-Saurus
No one wants a parched paleontologist! Hydrate your guests with pitchers filled with a fun juice. For kids, this could mean lemonade spiked with dashes of green food coloring—with or without a splash of lemon-lime soda. To give grown-ups a roaring good time, nothing beats a margarita made with lots of fresh lime juice.
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