Dinosaur Christmas Decorations: Ornaments, Stockings and Wrap

Dinosaur Christmas decorations come in four main groups: tree ornaments, stockings, wrapping paper and holiday wear such as dinosaur Christmas sweaters. Kids’ home stores sell personalized dinosaur stockings, and marketplaces carry glass, felt and wooden dinosaur ornaments. In a home with toddlers, choose shatterproof ornaments and hang anything breakable high.

Dinosaur Christmas ornaments by material

Dinosaur Christmas ornaments are made in glass, resin, felt, wood and plastic, and the material decides where they belong on the tree. A glass T. rex suits a collector or an adult fan. A felt Stegosaurus can hang where a 2-year-old can reach it.

For a fan who collects film merchandise, check the box for the licensing mark before buying a character ornament.

How to keep dinosaur ornaments toddler-safe

Toddler-safe dinosaur ornaments are soft or shatterproof, hang from a ribbon rather than a metal hook, and have no small pieces that come off. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises avoiding sharp or breakable decorations in homes with small children. Its holiday safety tips also say to keep trimmings with small removable parts out of children’s reach, and to avoid trimmings that look like candy or food, since they may tempt a young child to eat them.

The CPSC bans small parts in toys and other children’s products intended for children under 3. Most ornaments are sold as decorations, not as children’s products, so that rule does not cover them: treat a small ornament like any other choking hazard near a toddler.

Dinosaur Christmas stockings and personalized names

A dinosaur Christmas stocking is one of the easiest ways to bring the theme into a family’s holiday, since each child gets their own. Pottery Barn Kids, for example, has sold a Dinosaur Quilted Christmas Stocking with a cotton outer, polyester lining and a gingham-trimmed cuff. The store offers personalization on the cuff for an extra fee, and lists the stocking as spot clean only.

Marketplace sellers make embroidered, knit and felt dinosaur stockings, many with a name added. Before ordering a personalized stocking, check:

• the spelling preview, since a custom item is hard to return;
• the order cutoff for delivery before Christmas;
• the hanging loop, which needs to hold the weight of a full stocking.

Dinosaur wrapping paper and recycling

Dinosaur Christmas wrapping paper ranges from plain matte paper with T. rex prints to foil and glitter rolls. The finish matters after the gifts are opened. The City of Boise, for example, accepts wrapping paper, tissue and craft paper without a shiny or glitter coating in the recycling cart, and lists foil and glitter-coated wrapping paper as trash.

Rules differ from city to city, so check your local sorting guide before you buy a roll for a big family. A plain paper print, kraft paper with dinosaur stamps, or a fabric gift bag that can be reused each year keeps the theme without the foil.

Dinosaur Christmas sweaters for the family

Dinosaur Christmas sweaters are a small add-on to the decorations: a T. rex in a Santa hat, a “Tree Rex” pun or a knit Stegosaurus with lights on its back plates. They sell in kids’, adult and matching family sizes. Order everyone’s size from the maker’s chart in one go, so the family set matches.

For bedding and lamps in the same theme, see the dinosaur room decor guide, and the dinosaur costumes guide has dress-up suits that work for holiday photos.

Christmas tree safety with dinosaur decorations

Christmas tree safety starts with placement and water, whatever ornaments go on it. The Illinois State Fire Marshal advises keeping a tree at least 3 feet from any heat source, such as fireplaces, radiators, candles, heat vents or lights, and watering a real tree daily so it does not dry out. The same page says to use lights tested by a recognized testing laboratory and to turn the tree lights off before going to bed or leaving the house.

Dinosaur advent calendars and countdowns

A dinosaur advent calendar turns December into a daily surprise, with a small figure or toy behind each door. Check the age label, since many hold mini figures that are small parts for children under 3.

For the main presents under the tree, see dinosaur gifts for kids, gifts for toddlers and dinosaur gifts for adults, or start at dinosaur gifts by age and interest.