This is a party you have to bring your A game to planning. I threw my dragon party lonnnnnnnnnnng before the How To Train Your Dragon movies came out. Plain 'ol dragons and Puff the Magic Dragon don't cut it anymore. Kids know all about Gronckle, Toothless, and Light Fury from the HTTYD movies and franchise so you wat to at least incorporate them into your dragon party somewhere if your theme isn't going to be straight HTTYD themed.
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List of How to Train Your Dragon movies, in order:
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How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
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How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
There were also 4 short films and a TV series based on the movies. But don't get twisted … if you're planning a HTTYD party, your kids are probably thinking of the three main films of the movie franchise.
The HTTYD movies weren't out when I did my dragon party so I'm going to show you my version and it's up to you to modify it to include they HTTYD dragons.
Invitations
Having kid tested this one, I'd go with a kind of unique invitation for a party of a smaller group. This is more expensive and one you'd have to deliver by hand but the kids loved it. Laser Holographic 3D Printed Dragon
It can double as a party favor as well which helps justify the cost.
I made the invitation card in my Paint program in under 10 minutes, using photos from the Net and a background remover program, then printed it out on my printer. I attached the invitation card to the underside of the dragon's mouth with a glue dot. This makes it easy for kids to remove the invitation card in order to play with the dragon.
But if you have a large number of party guests or you're on a limited budget, you could just make up and print out a card like the one above as your invitation. I did try a version of the invitation foregoing the 3D dragon for one on the card that was covered in sequins...but hands down the kids liked the 3D dragon the best. If you need a dragon stencil, here's one for under $2.
Staging & Props
I began my outdoor staging with a big ticket item I'd gotten for Halloween a few years earlier, from Home Depot. (I just checked and they're nor currently available. But I'd check back around Halloween!) I got mine for around $300. I actually got 2 because the following year they came out with a green dragon.
Photo credit: Home Depot
They're inflatable but SO realistic looking - LED light red glowing eyes, movable mouth, they roar...
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The kids thought they were the coolest thing EVER! LOL
To jazz up my interior entry, I built a gate out of corrugated cardboard strips hot glued together. I spray painted mine silver but you can use tin foil or shiny silver duct tape t cover your cardboard strips as well. I hung the gate using an expandable tension rod at the end of the hallway leading to the living room.
I found this fluorescent black light dragon backdrop at Temu for under $12. Kids love anything glow-in-the-dark so I dimmed the lights and replaced the lights around the backdrop with black lights. (Once all the guests had arrived I turned the regular lights back on so we could see what we were doing.)
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I also hung some dragon balloons from the ceiling.
If you threw a medieval party, you can use your decorations from that, like the cardboard castle and knight I had from my medieval parties. They go perfectly with a dragon theme.
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I'd normally buy one big party item per year, I hadn't bought any for a couple years so splurged on this dragon coffee table for $300. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. I used it as a snack table.
You can make a DIY fire breathing dragon (below) that you can also use as a Halloween decoration. Get the tutorial from Julie Measures here.
(Love the added touch of the skull coming out of the knight's helmet at the dragon's feet to give the appearance of the dragon having slayed the knight!)
On either side of the wall backdrop I hung a wall mount dragon that breathed fog.
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Right now they're on sale for $43 and come in 4 different colors. Get them here.
Be sure to check out Oriental Trading Co. as they have a slew of dragon decor and accessories. See the video below.
Although this table came from a Viking party, I like the dragon at the head of the table - minus the ship sail.
The centerpiece below was so simple to make...chalice, glass cake safe lid turned upside down, add stones, dried moss and toy dragons.
Tutorial for the dragon below at Julie Measures
Food/Menu
DRAGON VEGGIE TRAY The body is Raamen noodles, white and green
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TREAT FILLED DRAGON EGGS
Can also be used as an activity! Instructions here
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RICE KRISPIE TREAT DRAGONS Instructions here
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DRAGON FIRE BALLS - Mini Babybel Cheese in red wrappers
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DRAGON FRUIT SALAD Instructions here
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DRAGON POOP Mini-marshmallows, green chocolate and green sugar sprinkles.
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DRAGON MEAT PIE Instructions here
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DRAGON TAIL SANDWICHES Instructions here
Activities
DRAGON KEEPER
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One child is a dragon keeper. He sits on the floor in the middle of the room with the dragon at his feet. His objective is to prevent the dragon from being taken.
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The rest of the players are trying to steal the dragon. Their start point is at the end of the room. The game goes much better in our house when only one person at a time tries to steal the dragon when the keeper is a child. However, when an adult is the keeper, it’s actually more fun when all the kids try to retrieve the dragon at
the same time. They can start by discussing their strategy and combining their efforts.
The attacker(s) needs to tiptoe or crawl over to the dragon keeper, and as quietly as possible steal the dragon.
The blindfolded keeper has to use his ears to the maximum to detect any action coming his way.
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He can stop an attacker by saying her name “Mary!” or “Stop!” or by pointing at her. At this point, Mary must return to the starting point, and it’s another player’s turn.
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The player who steals the dragon becomes the next dragon keeper.
DRAGON EGG TREASURE HUNT
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Fill colorful plastic eggs with candies and small prizes - or buy larger prizes and assign them a number and write the numbers to the prizes on the plastic eggs before hiding them. Hide the dragon eggs before guests arrive. Tell party guests that there has been a dragon laying dragon eggs around the party area and then ask them to find them all. Give each guest a paper bag to hold their eggs.
CROSS THE MOAT
Make 5 big shapes from poster board ( about 14“ x 14“). Divide the guests into teams. They have only the 5 stepping stones to get across the moat. Players take the pieces and have to move their whole team by team members standing on one piece of paper ... then they take the very back piece. and hand it down the line to the first person. If someone steps in the moat then the whole team goes back to start and begin again.
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DRAGON PINATA
All kids love pinatas and the treats they hold!
Consider filling it with these glow-in-the-dark
dragons - available here.
HUNTING DRAGONS
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You want to do this as an outdoor activity. Print out 10 pictures of dragons and hide them around your yard. (I attached mine to wood paint stirring sticks from the hardware store and stuck them in the ground.)
Give each child a can of Silly String and 5 minutes to find and spray as many of the 10 dragons as they can.
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LET SLEEPING DRAGONS LIE
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Full bellies make dragons sleepy. It is bad luck (and bad manners) to wake dragons during their naps.
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Pick an adult to be the sleeping dragon. He/she will lay at one end of the room. The trainers will line up along the other. While the sleeping dragon snores loudly, the trainers will attempt to sneak across the room and past the sleeping dragon. Sadly dragons are restless sleepers and can wake up at any moment.
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Trainers must freeze when the dragon starts to wake. If the dragon sees anyone moving he will snarl and send the offending trainer back to start. After a minute the dragon will fall back asleep and the trainers may start moving again. The first trainer to make it past the dragon wins!
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FLYING PRACTICE​​
For this game players practice flying by throwing Toothless gliders through a ring of fire. The gliders are sold on Amazon under $10, and the ring can be made using a hula hoop and orange and red party streamers. Just hang it from the ceiling or a tree and let players try and get their gliders through it standing at different distances - plus they get to take home their glider!!