Dinosaur Blankets: Throw, Hooded or Woven, Which Size, and When to Order for Christmas

A dinosaur blanket gets used harder than almost anything else in the house. It gets dragged to the sofa, wrapped round a shivering kid after bath time, left on the floor and sat on by the dog. So the print is what makes you want it, but the fabric, the size and how it washes decide whether it's still on the sofa next winter.

We make 10 dinosaur blankets in three styles: printed throws, hooded blankets you wear, and one woven throw. Here's what separates them, which size fits who, and when to order if it's going under the tree. Every measurement, price and lead time below comes from the live product listings.

The short version

All 10 are in our dinosaur blankets collection.

The printed throw: the everyday dinosaur blanket

This is most of the range: seven designs on the same blanket. It's 100% polyester with a soft, silk-touch finish, printed on one side with a plain white reverse. It's machine-washable and hypoallergenic, which matters for a blanket that lives on a kid's bed.

Be clear about what it is: a smooth, light throw, not a thick fleece. It's the blanket you pull over your legs watching a film, not the one you'd take camping in November. If warmth is the point, skip down to the hooded blankets.

Which size

The throw comes in two sizes, and the right one depends on who's under it.

• 50″ × 60″ ($44.99): the classic throw size. It covers one adult from shoulders to knees on the sofa, or a child pretty much head to toe. It folds over the arm of a couch without taking over the room.
• 60″ × 80″ ($59.99): big enough for an adult to stretch out under, for two people to share, or to lay across the top of a twin bed as a cover. If you're buying for a tall adult, or you want it on a bed rather than a sofa, get this one.

The designs

The seven prints split into two kinds, and it's the first choice worth making.

One big scene across the whole blanket. These hang well over the back of a sofa, where the picture shows:

• Serene Stegosaurus: a stegosaurus under tall palms in soft pastel greens and pinks, pterosaurs overhead. The gentlest of the range.
• Forest Guaibasaurus: a small dinosaur in deep green ferns and jungle light.
• Mossy Avaceratops: a horned dinosaur in a mossy forest with sunbeams coming through.
• SynthRex: a neon T. rex on a glowing grid in front of a striped sunset. Hot pink, purple and teal. Not subtle, and not trying to be.

An all-over pattern. These look right however the blanket is folded, which makes them the better pick for a bed or a blanket that gets bundled up:

• Crazy 90's: black dinosaur silhouettes filled with bright 90s confetti shapes, on white.
• Dinosaur Array: vintage-style illustrated dinosaurs, palms and fossils on white. The most "natural history museum" of the set.
• Dino Jungle: dinosaur skulls and skeletons hidden in teal and tan leaves on black. Dark enough to forgive a spill.

If you're matching a room, the throws pair with our dinosaur pillows and cushions guide; a throw and a cushion in the same mood make a reading corner without much effort.

Hooded dinosaur blankets: the warm ones

A hooded blanket is a blanket with a hood sewn into one long edge. You put the hood up, wrap the rest round you like a cape, and keep your hands free for a book, a controller or a mug. Kids treat them as part blanket, part costume. Adults wear them at a cold desk and won't admit it.

We have two, and they're built differently.

Dino Friends: choose your lining

The Dino Friends hooded dinosaur blanket is covered in smiling pastel cartoon dinosaurs, a few in sunglasses. It has a silky micro-mink polyester outer, and you choose the inside:

• Premium sherpa: the plush, sheepskin-style lining. The warmest option we sell.
• Micro fleece: thinner and lighter, better if the person runs hot or you want it for spring too.

Both sizes are $59.99:

Hover Board: suede print, wool-like lining

The Hover Board hooded blanket is a T. rex in a red jacket and high-tops riding a pink hoverboard, on black. It's printed on a suede-feel polyester, with an ultra-soft wool-like polyester lining and hand-stitched edges. It's a little bigger than Dino Friends:

Youth or adult? Measure the person you're buying for against the height. The blanket wraps from the hood down, so the height figure is roughly how far it reaches down their back. An adult size on a small child drags along the floor, which some children consider a feature.

The woven throw

Jurassic Painting is the odd one out: a woven throw in a blend of cotton and polyester yarns, with a fringed trim, at $75. The picture is an old-fashioned painting of a T. rex facing down a stegosaurus. A woven blanket has texture and weight that a printed one doesn't, and it looks like a piece of furniture rather than a kid's blanket. It's the one to drape over the back of a reading chair.

The listing doesn't give dimensions, so if size matters for where it's going, check before you order.

Dinosaur blankets for adults vs kids

Only one blanket in the range is drawn for small children; the rest work as well on an adult's sofa as in a kid's room. A few pointers:

• For a young child: the Youth Dino Friends hooded blanket. The cartoon dinosaurs are drawn for them, and they can wear it. For a bed, a 50″ × 60″ throw in Crazy 90's or SynthRex.
• For an adult who loves dinosaurs but has a grown-up living room: Serene Stegosaurus, Mossy Avaceratops or Dinosaur Array in 60″ × 80″, or the woven throw.
• For an adult who wants to be warm: the adult Dino Friends with the sherpa lining.
• For two people on one sofa: the 60″ × 80″ throw. The 50″ × 60″ isn't a sharing blanket.

Care

The printed throws are machine-washable. As a general rule, printed polyester keeps its color longest washed cool and dried on low, and high heat is what flattens a sherpa lining. The throws are printed on one side only, so the white reverse will show any stains first. Keep it face-up on a sofa that sees snacks.

When to order a dinosaur blanket for Christmas

Every blanket is made to order, so build in the make time as well as the shipping. The throw and Dino Friends listings say shipping is US only. These dates aim for delivery by around December 21, with Thanksgiving counted as a non-working day.

• Printed throws: 3–4 business days to make, 4–8 to ship. Order by December 4.
• Dino Friends hooded blanket: 2–7 business days to make, about 4 to ship. Order by December 7.
• Hover Board hooded blanket: the listing gives 3–7 days to a tracking number, then 7–10 days in transit. That's the longest of the range. Order by November 24.
• Woven throw: the listing doesn't give a lead time. If it's a gift, order it in November rather than gamble on December.

If you're buying several things at once, order by the earliest date in your basket. For the rest of the Christmas range, from ornaments to stockings, see our dinosaur Christmas guide.

Dinosaur blanket FAQ

Are the throw blankets warm? They're light. The silk-touch polyester is soft and drapes well, but it isn't fleece. For real warmth, choose a hooded blanket with the sherpa lining.

What size is a dinosaur throw blanket? Ours come in 50″ × 60″ (a standard throw) and 60″ × 80″ (big enough for an adult to stretch out under, or to share).

Is the print on both sides? No. The throws are printed on one side with a white reverse.

Can I put it in the washing machine? The printed throws are machine-washable. Washing cool and drying low keeps the colors bright.

What's the difference between youth and adult hooded blankets? Size. Dino Friends is 60″ × 41″ (youth) or 80″ × 55″ (adult), both $59.99. Hover Board is 60″ × 45″ ($59.99) or 80″ × 60″ ($79.99).

Do you ship outside the US? The throw and Dino Friends listings say US only.

Pick one

If you're not sure, get the 50″ × 60″ printed throw in the design you like most. It's the least expensive, it suits a child or an adult, and it's the one most likely to end up on the sofa every night. All the designs are in our dinosaur blankets collection.