Dinosaur Mugs: Which Size to Pick, Which Designs Come in 20 oz, and When to Order

Most people shopping for a dinosaur mug already know who it's for. There's the coworker with a T. rex on their desk, the dad who calls himself Dadasaurus without irony, and the kid who's decided they drink hot chocolate now. The design is the easy part. The size is harder, and so is working out whether it will turn up in time.

We print 84 dinosaur mug designs. This page covers the three sizes and what each one holds, which designs come in the big 20 oz, the color-changing mugs, the Christmas mugs, and how long shipping takes.

What every mug has in common

These details come from the listings and are the same across the range:

• White ceramic with a C-shaped handle
• Holds hot and cold drinks
• Printed when you order, which is why it takes a few days to ship (more on that below)

Prices go by size, not design: $19.99 for 11 oz, $21.99 for 15 oz, $23.99 for 20 oz on nearly every design. The color-changing mugs are the exception, and they're covered further down.

11, 15 or 20 oz: picking a dinosaur mug size

The number on the listing is how much the mug holds filled to the brim. In practice you fill a mug an inch or so short of that, so it's worth knowing what each one really takes.

The volumes are our rough guide; the prices are from the listings.

If you're buying a gift and don't know their habits, 15 oz is the safe middle. It's big enough that no one feels short-changed without being unwieldy. The 11 oz is lighter and easier for a child to hold. The 20 oz is a statement, and the people who want one are very sure they want one.

Which designs come in 20 oz

Not all of them. The 20 oz size is offered on 26 designs, mostly the ones added in 2024. The older designs top out at 15 oz, and a handful come in 11 oz only. Each listing's size selector shows what that design offers, so check it before you settle on a design.

The 20 oz designs include all nine Christmas mugs and most of the patterned all-over prints, plus:

• Dinosaurs Never Had Coffee: a T. rex skull between two steaming cups, and the line "Dinosaurs never had coffee, and we know how that turned out." It's for the person who shouldn't be spoken to before their first cup.
• Watercolor Coffee Raptor: a single soft watercolor raptor in grey-blue and sand on white. It's the quietest mug in the range and the easiest one to take to the office.
• Cool Dadasaurus Rex and the Dinosaur Mom and Simple Brontosaurus Mamasaurus mugs, for parents (see below).

A T rex mug, a raptor, or something else

"T rex mug" gets searched on its own, so here's the short version: the range leans heavily toward T. rexes: 26 designs have a rex in the name. A few that go in different directions:

• T-Rex Skeleton: a museum-style fossil skeleton on a black background. It suits the adult who still goes straight to the fossil hall.
• Tea-Rex Time: a cartoon rex in a green sweater holding a teacup, with "Tea Rex Time" in orange letters. For tea drinkers, and one of the more kid-friendly designs.
• Raptors: Raptor Skeleton, Real Raptor, Raptor Art and Raptor Breaking Through, for people who think the T. rex gets too much credit.
• Long-necks and the rest: Galactic Brachiosaurus, Serene Stegosaurus, Mossy Avaceratops and Brontosaurus Friends.

All 84 are in the dinosaur mugs collection, and that's the quickest way to browse them side by side.

Dinosaur mugs for Mom and Dad

Parent mugs are the steadiest gift in the range: they work for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas, and they need no explanation.

• Cool Dadasaurus Rex: a teal T. rex in a backwards cap, sunglasses and a leather vest, arms crossed, in front of a retro striped sunset. "Dadasaurus Rex" is printed underneath.
• Mamasaurus Rex, Dinosaur Mom and Simple Brontosaurus Mamasaurus for the other side of the family. The last two come in 20 oz.

Color-changing dinosaur mugs

Three designs are "disappearing" mugs: Retro Rex, Possessed Rex and Raptor Watching. In the photos the mug is black when it's empty, and the design shows once a hot drink goes in. The listing's own description is "changing color right before your eyes." They're a good pick for a kid who's getting their first mug of hot chocolate, because something happens when you pour.

Two things to know. They come in fewer sizes (11 oz, with 15 oz on two of the three), and the price varies: Retro Rex is $24.99 for 11 oz, while Possessed Rex is listed at the standard $19.99. Two of the three are grouped in the disappearing dinosaur mug collection.

Dinosaur Christmas mugs

Nine mugs carry the Christmas prints, and all nine come in 11, 15 and 20 oz:

• Festive Dino Wonderland: red, green and blue dinosaurs in Santa hats pulling sleighs, with candy canes and wrapped presents, on cream. It's the busiest and most traditional of the nine.
• Gingerbread Dinosaurs: iced gingerbread stegosauruses, T. rexes and long-necks in little sweaters, with cookie trees, stockings and stars on deep navy.
• Tree Rex: a T. rex wrapped in lights and garland, with "Tree Rex" in green block letters over red plaid.
• Gingerbread Skeleton, Dino Holiday Cheer, Snow Globe Dinosaur, Jolly Dinosaurs, Pink Christmas and T-Rex Winter Forest.

Two older designs, Christmas Arms Rex and Rex's First Snowman, are also festive but come in the smaller sizes only.

The Gingerbread Dinosaurs mug uses the same navy cookie print as our dinosaur wrapping paper, and five more Christmas mugs share their names with papers in that range. A mug wrapped in its own print is a cheap way to make a $20 present look like a lot of thought went into it.

How long a dinosaur mug takes to arrive

Every mug is printed to order. The listings give these estimates for standard US shipping:

That makes mugs one of the fastest things we sell. For Christmas, working back seven business days from a Wednesday, December 23 delivery gives an order-by date of Monday, December 14. Carriers slow down in the last two weeks before Christmas, so treat that as the last safe day, not the target. If you're also ordering a dinosaur stocking, order the stocking first, because it has a much longer lead time than the mug.

Dinosaur mug FAQ

Are the mugs dishwasher and microwave safe?

The listings don't say, so we won't promise either here. Hand-washing is the safe choice for any printed mug if you want the design to stay bright. This matters most for the color-changing mugs, which rely on a heat-sensitive coating.

Is the print on both sides?

It depends on the design. Patterned prints like the Christmas mugs cover the mug, while single-image designs like Dadasaurus Rex put one piece of artwork on the front. The product photos show which kind each one is.

Do you ship dinosaur mugs outside the US?

The shipping estimates on the mug listings are for standard US shipping. If you're ordering from elsewhere, check the options at checkout before you order.

Which dinosaur mug is best for a kid?

Go for the 11 oz: it's lighter and easier to hold. Tea-Rex Time is the most cartoonish design, and a color-changing mug adds a bit of magic to the first hot chocolate. Ceramic is still ceramic, though, so it's a mug for the table, not the car.

Find your dinosaur mug

Pick the size first, then the design. If you're stuck between two, the 15 oz of either one is rarely the wrong answer. The full range, all 84 designs, is in the dinosaur mugs collection.