This post is sponsored by and created in partnership with the TV show, Gigantosaurus.
Although I was compensated to create this party, all of my opinions and thoughts are 100% my own. For more information, see my disclosures, here.
Hi Friends! Get ready for some dino-mite fun! I am so excited to share a new project that I’ve been working on! I recently partnered with Gigantosaurus, a new and absolutely adorable TV show that will be premiering on Disney Channel this coming Friday, January 18th, at 9:00 am! And what better way to celebrate this new show than with a Gigantosaurus Premiere Party—complete with lounging in our Cretaceous viewing nook and watching the show, eating giganto-themed pancakes, dino-riffic crafts, and lots of Jurassic fun! In preparation for the party, we were able to view the show ahead of time—and let me tell you—if you have a dinosaur-loving preschooler set your DVR right now. Really, like…right.now. This show is so fun! My kids are absolutely crazy about it. They truly loved it! And so did I! I instantly fell in love with the vibrant energy, music, color and animation.
About the Show…
Gigantosaurus, based on Jonny Duddle’s bestselling book of the same name, is a dinosaur adventure series that stars four fiercely-fun dino friends who will “take preschoolers on exciting, comedy-filled adventures as they dare to be themselves and explore the world beyond their nests. Every imagination-inspiring episode follows the group on a quest, as they face their individual fears and work together to solve a problem. As the inquisitive Mazu, playful Tiny, timid Bill, and courageous Rocky aim to learn more about Gigantosaurus, they discover they each have something to learn from him, too!”
About our Gigantosaurus Premiere Party…
What better way to celebrate the show’s beginning, than with a Gigantosaurus Premiere Party of Jurassic proportions! We all know that the typical premiere party involves getting dressed up and maybe even walking a red carpet. Well, this premiere party is a bit different—a dino-mite premiere party—complete with show watching, pancakes, crafts, and lots of fun! For our premiere party, my two wild ones lounged in their Cretaceous viewing nook dressed as dinosaurs and walked a green, leafy carpet blanket. haha!
As I mentioned in the very beginning of this post, Gigantosaurus has a wonderful energy. The animation and colors are so vibrant and whimsical. Also the music is so captivating and fun…and very catchy! I found myself humming the theme song so many times over the past few weeks. (Consider yourself warned…wink!) I was so inspired by the show’s visuals and colors that I really wanted to try to bring these elements to life in my viewing nook and premiere party set-up. I started with the main structure of the viewing nook, a fabric teepee. I layered paper and fabric leaves and vines all over the teepee to try to achieve a similar look to that of the foliage on the show. I knew I also wanted to portray Gigantosaurus soaring high up in the clouds to really give the sense of his huge size. So next I created a bright blue sky and cloud backdrop and added Giganto’s massive head peeking out from behind leaves and grasses. Next, I added brown paper to the bottom of my backdrop to give the illusion of soil and the ground as well as more vines and leaves. Lastly, I added pillows, stuffed logs and stones, and a large blanket to make the viewing nook very comfy and inviting. I also created stand-up cutouts of each of the 4 dino characters, Mazu, Tiny, Bill, and Rocky. My boys really liked talking to and interacting with these 4 sweet dinos.
The Food
Since the show airs at 9:00 am we started our celebrations by enjoying themed Gigantosaurus feet pancakes and orange cantaloupe spikes (just like those on Gigantosaurus’ back and tail).
Rating
- Pancake Mix
- Green Food Coloring
- Hershey's Kisses "toenails", cut in half (optional)
- "Volcanic Lava" Maple Syrup (optional)
- Green sugar for light sprinkling (optional)
- First, make pancake batter according to the instructions on the box. Then, add green food coloring to pancake batter.
- Next, pour ⅓ of the batter into a squeeze bottle
- On a preheated griddle, use the squeeze bottle to draw the outline of the dinosaur foot
- Then, using a spoon, fill the foot outline with pancake mix
- Flip and cook pancakes until golden brown
- Get creative and decorate your Giganto Pancakes any way you would like!
It’s showtime!
Then after our breakfast, it was time to get comfy in our dino-mite viewing nook and enjoy the show! So much fun!
Stomp this way, it’s craft time!
After the show was over, it was time to make some crafts. When I do crafts with my kids I always try to make them simple, age-appropriate, and easily modified. My little dinos are 3- and 6-years-old and these 2 crafts worked really well! First, we created Giganto Scale Necklaces just like Mazu wears at the end of Mazu Takes a Chance. My guys thought these were so fun. As soon as they finished their necklaces, they threw them on and ran around roaring like dinos, flexing their muscles and showing their strength, bravery and courage! haha! It was so sweet!
To make these necklaces, first you will need foam, twine or ribbon, scissors, and green glitter adhesive paper. I really liked using the adhesive paper so we didn’t have to worry about glue.
Step 1: Start by drawing the scale shape on the back of the green glitter paper. Then cut it out and flip it over to use as a stencil to create the second scale. Make sure you flip it over to create the mirror image of the scale shape. Then, cut out the second scale shape.
Step 2: Then, peel off the adhesive backing (it is basically like a giant sticker).
Step 3: Stick scale directly onto foam.
Step 4: Carefully, cut through the foam to trim out the scale. (The foam was a little tough to cut for my boys with their safety scissors, so I did this step with my sharper scissors.)
Step 5: Then, line up and peel the backing off of the adhesive paper for the back of the scale.
Step 6: Stick the second scale onto the foam, creating a sandwich.
Step 7: Then, punch a hole through the entire scale or carefully poke a hole using the end of the scissors (parents, only!) and thread the twine or ribbon through.
Step 8: Done! Your Giganto Scale Necklace is ready to wear! Wear it and always be reminded of your strength, bravery and courage!
Next, we made Giganto Dino Feet, perfect for stomping our way to the premiere!
To make these Giganto Feet, you will need green foam, assorted decorative papers, tape, glue and scissors.
Step 1: Start by cutting the shape of the dinosaur foot out of the foam. I also found that it was much easier to have an assortment of scales, toenails, stripes, etc. pre-cut out of the decorative papers and ready for the kids to attach to the feet.
Step 2: Have your child stand on the foam dinosaur foot. Trace their heel and mark the width of their foot with a pencil. Using your marks as a guide, cut out a half circle shape big enough for your child to slide their foot into. Be sure to not make the hole too large or it could be hard for your child to walk in the dino feet without them falling off.
Step 3: It’s decoration time! First, add toenails to your dino feet.
Step 4: Next, add scales and/or stripes and have your child decorate their Giganto Feet any way they would like.
Step 5: Done! Slide on those Giganto Feet and get stompin’! Adventures await!
Be sure to check out Gigantosaurus on Disney Channel this Friday, January 18th, at 9:00 am. Also, stay up to date with all the latest happenings of the show on their social media channels— Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you so much for stomping and roaring through our Gigantosaurus Premiere Party! I hope these ideas served as some inspiration for you to celebrate the start of this dino-mite new show. I would absolutely love to see how you are enjoying Gigantosaurus with your little ones. Please follow Just Add Confetti on Instagram, tag me and use the #Gigantosaurus hashtag! I’d love to connect with you!
PIN FOR LATER:
My 4 year old is already obsessed with this show, thankfully he had a half day of pre-K on Friday he came out and said gigantosarus so home we went to watch it. This idea is adorable where did you get the cut outs of the characters he wants me to make anything to do with this show your themed food ideas are great but I also want to include pictures or cut outs anything he begs for the iPad for him and his two year old brother to watch the show we have seen it numerous times since Friday and we are off from school tomorrow so I wanted to make it fun the crafts you did look easy enough for both my kids so super excited for that
Hi Christina,
Thank you so much for your kind words! You are so sweet! I’m so happy you enjoyed the premiere party! I also have two little boys and they absolutely loved the show too! I printed the cutouts of the dinosaurs from approved graphics that were sent to me by Gigantosaurus TV. I’ll email them to you too!
Thanks again!
Alison
Hi Alison – I am using these ideas for inspiration for my son’s upcoming 4th birthday – I especially love your tent! What fabric did you use to attach the paper leaves to? I’m also interested in printing the character cut-outs – how do you go about requesting the approved graphics and could you share them with me as well? Thank you so much for these great ideas!! He is going to flip out 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for your message and kind words! I used my kids play teepee to attach all of the paper leaves and vines. I taped most of them with heavy duty packing tape and I pinned a few with safety pins. I believe the fabric of the teepee is thick canvas. Also, I just emailed you a link to the printable graphics.
I hope you have a wonderful celebration! Thanks again!
Alison