Let’s talk about DINOSAURS! It’s been nearly a year since the beloved but extinct relation of birds was mentioned on Families, so it’s probably time. If your house is anything like mine and there’s a toddler or preschooler running around, the odds are likely fairly high that you’re already spending your fair share of time mulling over these creatures with your kids ANYWAY. Here are a few awesome dino-themed products I found that will interest the young and not-as-young alike:
Wearable Dinos
The I Dig It Necklace is super perfect for any person you know who a) likes dinos and b) likes necklaces! The tiny golden Tyrranosaurus may be a little misleading (surely they weren’t so cute in real life?!), but you and yours will probably get lots of “oohs” and “aahs” when people see it.
OK SO, dinosaur costumes are billed as pajamas and/or cosplay wear, to which I say: can’t they be both?! You’ll need to know your size in centimeters to order, but I’m sure Google can help with that.
Y’all didn’t think I’d leave the babies out, did you? This pink onesie ALSO features a T-rex, and has the added bonus of being sickeningly adorable.
I'm not over the cement trend, and I'm certainly not over the toys-as-decor trend. So, I put them together in a functional DIY. I made... Read more
You know those “I’m 3 months old!” onesies you see babies wearing for monthly photos? You can make yours dino-themed with these stickers — easy on, easy off!
Books and Games
The Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs is a 3-D book that talks about everything from boneheads to duckbills, long-necks to frill-heads.
The National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs is marketed to 4-8 year olds, but I’m sure a curious younger kiddo could also get in on the dino fun!
The Wild Cards Dinosaurs Card Game & Book is part book, part game — it comes with three dino-themed versions of Old Maid, Go Fish, and Memory. Each card includes the Latin name of the dinosaur featured!
We’re big fans of the entire “How Do Dinosaurs…” series, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? is particularly well-loved.
Toys
These inflatable dinosaurs are pretty huge — the Triceratops featured above is 43 inches long! You can also snag a T-rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, or Velociraptor. And look: Ariel’s friend Brett looooves his:
Puzzles are always good fun, and this one is very infant-and-toddler-friendly.
Dino bath toys! I kind of want these for myself.
The Smithsonian Diggin’ Up Dinosaurs T-Rex would be awesome for the budding paleontologist in the house! The set contains tiny pieces, and is best suited for ages 8-15.
Drop the egg in water, and 12-24 hours a dinosaur will HATCH. After it hatches, put the baby dino in another bowl of water and it’ll grow to be an adult. Rinse and repeat FOREVER.
Bonus random dinosaur product!
Because seriously? It’s a gigantic T-rex head you can hang on your wall.
YES. This is great timing. My son just turned two this week, and literally ALL HE WANTED was “dinoSAURS!” We got him these from Animal Planet. There’s also a great series of books for little kids who are into dinos – especially kids who enjoy “roaring” like one – called “Dinosaur Vs….” (They have Dinosaur vs. the Library, Dinosaur vs. the Potty, and Dinosaur vs. Bedtime.)
I almost made this exact same post… My son will be turning 2 next week and was given The Land Before Time movie as a birthday gift. He loves his dino jammes and stuffed Dinosaur (Carl) too. Everything is RAAAR!
OMG THE LAND BEFORE TIME. We tried watching that last year with our son, and it was so emotionally devastating for me that we had to turn it off. THAT MOVIE IS RAW.
Every time I hear that Diana Ross song I get all choked up! Noooo, Little Foot’s mom, noooooo!
That was SUCH a huge movie with me when I was a kid. As a teen I babysat some kids who wanted to watch it, and I started getting teary-eyed when Little Foot’s mom gave him the tree star. I’m so pathetic.
For Christmas, my husband bought me The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs …which cracks me up. Can you really have a “field guide” for extinct animals?
I recently knitted matching father/son dinosaur hats for my nephew’s birthday….pretty sure I’m going to have to knit matching mother/daughter dinosaur hats for my niece’s birthday coming up….
Wow. That dinosaur head may be the pièce de résistance for my four-year-old’s upcoming birthday and (hopefully) move into his big kid room!!
Oh man, I was just telling my husband today that I think my next tattoo will be a dinosaur. When we have kids they’re going to have so much dino stuff! I happen to own an inflatable stegosaurus related to the inflatable triceratops pictured above, as well as some bitchin dinosaur socks my wonderful husband got for my birthday. Yay dinosaurs!
I have referred to our baby as “Littlefoot” throughout my pregnancy, resulting in quite a few dinosaur themed gifts! I can’t wait to do some science with this kid when (s)he gets here and can own the nickname!
I’m 27 and all I want is dinosaurs
Ha, I know. My husband still loves all things dinosaurs, although it helps that even as a kid he was very scientific about it. I actually got him the pop-up dinosaur book listed here for his birthday a couple years ago, and it really is incredibly awesome.