Dinosaur Christmas Sensory Bin That Kids Will Love

Sensory play is so important and my boys love it! It encourages imagination as well as exploring different senses. I decided to create a fun sensory bin that was inspired by one of their favorite holiday books, Dinosaur vs Santa. It includes candy canes, toys, dyed rice, dinosaurs and wooden alphabet tiles. Your kids will love this dinosaur Christmas sensory bin as much as my kids!

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Supplies

IKEA FLISAT Children’s Table or plastic bin
Plastic candy canes
Dyed rice (green)
Santa toy
Mini Santa hats
Jingle bells
Mini Christmas bows
Plastic dinosaurs
Magnetic wands
Children’s kitchen utensils
Red spray paint
Glue gun with glue sticks
Mini Christmas ornaments
Wooden alphabet tiles
Mini gift boxes
Train set

Setting Up Your Dinosaur Christmas Sensory Bin

First, you will need to dye at least four cups of rice green. I used the same rice from a previous sensory activity. It was stored in a resealable gallon bag and placed in my pantry. Visit my blog post for directions to dye your rice for this sensory bin. Once the rice is dry, dump it into your plastic bin.

You can leave your dinosaur as is but I decided to spray paint it red to match the character in the book. Then I used my glue gun to attach the mini Santa hat on the dinosaur’s head. Add the dinosaurs and other items off the supply list to the plastic bin. Make sure to supervise small children because some items are choking hazards.

Dinosaur vs Santa by Bob Shea is an adorable book about a dinosaur who tackles challenges like holiday decorating and making good choices before Christmas. Kids will be able to spell words found in the book using the wooden alphabet tiles. They can also practice counting all the jingle bells and mini ornaments.

Children can play while listening to the story. My kindergartner was able to recognize items from his dinosaur Christmas sensory bin that was also in the book. You can also encourage your kids to separate items by color or size. My toddler enjoyed using the magnetic wand to pick up the jingle bells. His brother created a game using the jingle bells and mini ornaments.