Dinosaurs Aren’t Just for Boys: The Story Behind Our Girly Dinosaur Birthday Kit

There are certain things we seem to categorise without even thinking about them.

Princesses? Girls.

Dinosaurs? Boys.

Except children don't always get the memo.

My four-year-old niece, who lives in Brazil, is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs.

Not mildly interested. Not “dinosaurs are quite nice.”

Obsessed.

Then, completely separately, I was talking to a girl I work with whose seven-year-old niece lives here in the UK.

Guess what she loves?

Dinosaurs.

Two little girls. Different ages. Living in different countries.

Both completely fascinated by creatures that disappeared about 66 million years before either of them arrived.

And it got me thinking.

Why do dinosaur parties still feel so boyish?

Search for children's dinosaur birthday decorations and you'll find plenty of green, brown, black, volcanoes, jungle leaves and roaring T-Rexes.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with any of that.

But what about the little girl who loves dinosaurs and loves pink?

Or flowers?

Or pretty colours?

Why should she have to choose?

A girl who loves dinosaurs doesn't suddenly need everything around her to become traditionally “boyish”.

And equally, a dinosaur doesn't become any less of a dinosaur because you put it next to a flower.

That was the thought behind one of our favourite MacLou themes: Girly Dinosaur.

A dinosaur birthday, just a little differently

We wanted to create something for the child who would happily tell you the difference between a Triceratops and a T-Rex, but whose birthday doesn't necessarily suit the traditional dinosaur-party aesthetic.

So we took the fun of a dinosaur theme and gave it a softer MacLou feel.

Pretty colours. Playful dinosaurs. A coordinated backdrop. And, of course, the birthday child's name.

Still dinosaurs.

Just dinosaurs allowed to be pretty.

Because really, why not?

Let children love what they love

One of the lovely things about young children is that their interests haven't always been neatly organised into the categories adults create.

They just like things.

Dinosaurs.

Unicorns.

Rockets.

Mermaids.

Tractors.

Fairies.

Sharks.

Whatever happens to capture their imagination this week — or, in the case of a proper dinosaur obsession, possibly for the next three years.

And there's something rather wonderful about that.

A birthday theme doesn't need to tell a child what they're supposed to like.

It can simply celebrate what they already do.

Make the birthday feel like their birthday

That's also why personalisation matters so much to us at MacLou.

When you're planning a child's birthday, you're not really decorating for a four-year-old or a seven-year-old.

You're decorating for your four-year-old.

The one who has a favourite dinosaur.

The one who corrects your pronunciation of Parasaurolophus.

The one who has somehow managed to fill your house with tiny plastic prehistoric creatures.

Those little obsessions are part of who they are right now.

And birthdays give us a lovely excuse to celebrate them.

Adding their name to the setup is a small detail, but suddenly it doesn't look like generic birthday décor anymore.

It looks like it belongs to them.

You don't need to turn your house into Jurassic Park

There is, however, one thing we don't believe.

Loving dinosaurs does not mean your living room needs to undergo a complete prehistoric transformation overnight.

No life-sized T-Rex required.

No homemade volcano.

And definitely no requirement to spend Friday night constructing an enormous balloon arch while questioning every decision that brought you to this moment.

A cake table can be enough.

Our MacLou birthday kits are designed around one simple idea: rather than decorating absolutely everything, create one beautiful focal point for the celebration.

The Girly Dinosaur set includes a coordinated arch backdrop, round display panel, two display stands and a personalised cake topper.

Set it up.

Add the cake.

Maybe add a few balloons or cupcakes if you fancy it.

Then celebrate.

Everything but the cake.

There isn't one way to be a dinosaur girl

And perhaps that's the bit I like most about this collection.

It's not really about making dinosaurs “for girls”.

Girls already like dinosaurs.

My niece certainly didn't need anybody's permission.

Neither did a seven-year-old girl here in the UK.

The collection simply gives parents another way to celebrate that interest — particularly when their child happens to love dinosaurs and the softer, prettier aesthetic we've created.

Because children shouldn't have to choose between the things they love simply because adults decided they belong in different boxes.

Pink and prehistoric?

We think they work rather well together.

Let kids love what they love. We'll make the birthday pretty.