’Hold On To Your Butts’
Jurassic Park is a timeless story-turned-movie that everyone can agree was sensational at the time of its release, and it still holds to that caliber today. With the more recent development of the Jurassic World series, enthusiasm for the franchise has only increased in the past decade. But even without its recent revival in popularity, it’s always been a celebrated action-adventure thriller that stands alone as epic. So whether you love all of the films of the Jurassic Park franchise or only one/some, it’s easy (and a ton of fun) to throw a Jurassic Park party! We’ll dig into plenty of ideas here.
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Welcome to Jurassic Park! How to Throw a Jurassic Park Party
1. Turn Your Home Into Isla Nublar with Jurassic Park Party Decorations
Welcome your friends to Jurassic Park by transforming your home into an exotic island paradise/delightfully kitschy dinosaur theme park that’s equal parts gorgeous, exciting, and full of potential danger! Deck out your space in as much tropical greenery as you realistically can – palms, dracaena, pothos vines, and monstera, to name a few common houseplants. If you don’t have/can’t get real plants, use artificial greenery to create a similar look (see some options in the list below).
Find some dinosaur figurines – the bigger, the better! – to pose strategically around your space. Potential dinosaur positions include: brachiosaurus grazing grass on the coffee table, raptors clawing their way out of the oven, dilophosaurus lurking on the counter, velociraptors hanging from the ceiling, or T-rex hovering over the toilet.
There are many awesome Jurassic Park posters and wall art you can display featuring different scenes from the films, artistic renditions that capture iconic moments, and promotional posters. Check out several options in this list along with other fun Jurassic Park-themed décor:
- Jurassic Park movie posters
- Jurassic Park poster with brachiosaurus and other options
- Jurassic Park artistic T-rex and Jeep silhouette poster
- Jurassic Park artistic park gates and Jeep poster
- Jurassic Park artistic T-rex and Dr. Alan Grant with flare movie line poster
- Isla Nublar poster
- ‘Life Finds a Way’ poster with mosquito
- Jurassic World wooden wall sign
- Indominus Rex 3D-printed accent lamp
- Jurassic Park toy Jeep
- Jurassic Park coaster set
- Jurassic World plastic cups with paper straws
- Tropical palm leaf garland or this palm leaf banner
- Fresh fan palm leaves or artificial tropical leaves
2. Prepare Jurassic Park-Inspired Food and Beverages
Get crafty with your Jurassic menu! Whether you provide all refreshments or whether you request that guests bring a dino-style dish or drink to share, food is a really fun way to engage your guests in this theme. Provide any of your standard/go-to party dishes that people enjoy but definitely include at least some fun Jurassic Park-themed recipes such as these:
- Jurassic Park menu including five creative film-inspired recipes
- Cheesy raptor claws Jurassic World appetizer
- Jurassic World indominus rex cocktail
- Jurassic Park dinosaur cookies
- Green Jell-O shots (might take the edge off when raptors invade the kitchen)
3. Set a Jurassic Park Ambience with Music and Scents
Playing the Jurassic Park soundtrack will offer your guests an exciting cinematic experience that transports them straight to Isla Nublar, where the nostalgic theme music and musical score evoke a wild and suspenseful adventure. You have plenty of films from which to choose – including The Lost World soundtrack, Jurassic World soundtrack, and more. You could also create the same vibe without committing to an entire soundtrack by playing a Jurassic Park music and ambiance. Alternatively, you could play fun Jurassic Park-themed music compilations such as this Jurassic Park theme song acapella chorus with singers dressed as characters.
Of course, you could simply play any of the films in the background for both thematic background music and visual entertainment. Depending on the layout of your space and what type of event you’re going for, you could opt to make your Jurassic Park party a movie night. This is different from a normal party because watching the movie is the main focus, while parties entail socializing. Movie nights are a lot of fun and make for a great small gathering, but you’ll want to differentiate this from a party. When people attend a party, they won’t expect to sit down and watch a movie. That being said, playing a movie in the background at a party – especially when that movie is what the theme’s all about – is entirely fitting, and you’ll find that some people enjoy watching at least part of it during the party.
Now, take the atmosphere a step further and top off your Jurassic Park ambiance with a thematic scented candle to touch on all the senses:
- ‘Life Finds a Way’ candle (tropical rainstorms, ‘more teeth’, ‘clever girls’)
- A Walk in Jurassic Park candle (white pine Wilderness and redwood embers)
4. Plan Jurassic Park Party Games
I have to give credit for this theme to my sister, who hosted a Jurassic Park party ten years ago. She lives in a different state so I didn’t make it, but I loved the idea and the photos so much that I later voluntold a good friend of mine to have one too, which was also a lot of fun.
At my sister’s party, not only did everyone dress up as the movie characters (another idea I stole for my friends’ party), but they took turns imitating Samuel L. Jackson’s classic line ‘hold on to your butts’ with cigarette dangling out of mouth for full effect and got stills of the scene to boot. There are so many other quirky lines from the film that make it incredibly imitable, so you have plenty of fodder for impersonation contests. Have each guest take turns doing their best take on a classic line and vote on the most authentic (or hilarious). Don’t forget to get photo/video evidence, too!
If you like drinking games, check out this Jurassic Park drinking game or its digital version to keep your friends on (or off!) their toes. Games aren’t necessarily required to make a great party, but they’re great for shaking things up. They also help engage introverted guests who benefit from more structured ways to socialize, especially with others they don’t know.
Another fun way to engage people but with less structure is storytelling. Have everyone share when they first watched Jurassic Park or any of the subsequent films, which is their favourite, and why. You can think of any prompt you want, but fans who attend your party because they love Jurassic Park will relish this exchange.
5. Establish Guest Participation
Guest participation involves how you’d like your guests to participate or contribute to your party. Both mine and my sister’s Jurassic Park parties involved dressing up as one of the characters. This is a lot of fun, especially when seeing which characters people choose to dress as. Dr. Ian Malcolm is a popular option (black leather jacket, sunglasses, untamed hair, chewing gum), with several others as well. You could also make it a Jurassic Park potluck and/or BYOB. Just make sure you clarify any/all participation requests when you initially invite people.
Of course, always choose your guests mindfully and with their interests in mind. Prioritize friends who love Jurassic Park. But don’t shy away from others who may not know much about it, or who maybe haven’t even seen it. You never know, you may turn them into an avid fan or budding paleontologist!
Checklist of Items You Need
Now that we’ve covered what you’ll need to do for your Jurassic Park party, here’s what you’ll need to get:
- Jurassic Park party decorations
- Jurassic Park-inspired food and beverages
- Jurassic Park soundtrack(s), theme music, and/or movie(s)
- Jurassic Park-inspired scented candles (optional)
- Jurassic Park party games (encouraged)
- Character costume ensemble (required if inviting others to dress up as well)
Preparation Checklist for Your Jurassic Park Party
Most of these steps for party preparation apply to any type of party you host. So while we covered dinosaur-specific details and ideas above, below are basic party planning guidelines to neatly order each step of the process (you can find more thorough details in the Best Party Practices posts):
1. First, confirm that people can come on any chosen date
- Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
- Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
- Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s). The only details you’ll need to share at this time include what type of party it will be (Jurassic Park-themed); any requested participation; party date and general time of day; and your address (or other location if elsewhere)
- This first step is just to get people to confirm that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they are able and willing to attend and will save the date to do so. If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure the calendar date for your awesome Jurassic Park party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning
Once you have your party date established, get out your calendar and schedule time for every step of preparation. If you don’t schedule time blocks early enough, you may find yourself overwhelmed and unprepared the day of the party. Don’t do that to yourself!
‘Oooh, ahhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming.’
Dr. Ian Malcolm, The Lost World
Check out the How to Be a Good Party Host post for more clarification on exactly what you can do to be confident, prepared, and ahead of the game. Party planning isn’t rocket science by any means, but it naturally requires some thought and effort. So here’s a general overview of what you can expect to do leading up to the party:
- First, sit down and schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep as listed below
- Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
- Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to set up)
- Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
- Acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
- Set up decorations
- Prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party
It’s always helpful to get as much party prep done far enough in advance to have time to yourself to relax come party day, especially if you’ve been busy. So be sure to plan your day-of-party preparations early enough in the day that you still have some time and space to yourself as well. Within those time slots, expect to do these preparations during the day of your party:
- Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that are too fresh to do any earlier
- Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations (if not up already)
- Prepare ambience (music/video, candles)
- Get dressed in your favourite Jurassic Park character’s outfit
- Once everything’s ready, take the time to do any preferred self-care activities that get you in a good headspace if you aren’t already so that you can be a centered and happy host!
Ready to Host a Terrific Jurassic Park Party
Now that you know what you need to do to host a Jurassic Park party, have fun with it (it is a party, after all)! Every part of the planning process should be enjoyable – from crafting a dino-centric menu to decorating. Ultimately, the goal is simply for you and your guests to have an awesome time. As long as you put thought and care into party preparation and don’t worry too much about details that don’t pan out the way you envisioned, your party will be a memorable event that everyone enjoys. Channel Dr. Malcolm and remember that *party* life finds a way’!