Something a Little Different - Dinovember

Today I'm stepping out of my usual (food related) subject matter zone and am trying something a little different! You may have seen 'Dinovember' mentioned around the internet in the last week or so, and if so I apologise in advance if you know all about it already.  If so, do stick around anyway, and check out what our dinosaurs have been up to further down the page!

In summary, it all started when some parents decided that it would be fun to convince their children that toy dinosaurs came alive at night.  The children woke up the next morning to find that their toy dinosaurs had got into a box of cereal and made a mess of their kitchen.  Every morning after that, the dinosaurs were found to be getting up to various antics, often making a big mess in the process, and 'Dinovember' was born.  You can read more about it, and see the original Dinovember pictures here.

The parents came up with this idea as a way to fire up their children's imagination, and to try to reintroduce a sense of wonder and mystery into their world.  The idea has caught the imagination of the general public, and as this month has gone on, toy dinosaurs all over the world have been waking up and joining in the fun! You can follow this year's Dinovember antics on the official Dinovember Facebook Page.

As soon as I heard about it, I couldn't wait to join in.  I tested the waters by telling Small Child that I'd heard rumours that toy dinosaurs have been waking up in the night recently, and he was extremely excited by the idea.  He got out his toy dinosaurs (who have been sadly neglected of late) and played with them non-stop for two hours, speculating all the while about what they would get up to if they were alive. We discussed the fact that our dinosaurs hadn't yet been out to play (that we knew of), and came to the conclusion that they hadn't been able to get out of their box.  Small Child resolved to leave the box open for them that evening, and so Dinovember arrived at our house at last!

The first morning that we came down after that conversation, Small Child was delighted to find that our dinosaurs had been having fun with his violin in the night.  Three of them appeared to be using their best teamwork skills to deliver a concert to the rest of the dinosaurs, who had gathered round to listen!

We celebrated Small Baby's Christening that day, and on the way home Small Child whispered to me that he was worried about the Dinosaurs playing with his violin again - he only started learning it this term and he was feeling a bit protective of his precious instrument! I promised him that if he put it away properly and zipped up the case then they wouldn't touch it - the dinosaurs were only able to play with it because he'd left it out the night before.  He was satisfied with that, and went to bed happy.  The next morning those dinosaurs had been up to mischief! They were trying to open Small Baby's Christening presents! Naughty dinosaurs!

This morning, they were found to be playing with Small Child's train set and cars - which prompted another big dinosaur related play session from Small Child when he got home from school.  The living room was re-named dinosaur city, and lots of fun was had.  Small Child put the dinosaurs back in their box before he went to bed - I wonder if they will get up to any mischief tonight?!

If you're looking for a bit of edible dinosaur inspiration, click on the links below to see some of my favourite dinosaur lunches from my archives:

Dinosaur Dippy Lunch
Laptop Lunches Dinosaur Lunch
Dinosaur Muffin Tin Meal

I hope you've enjoyed my first non-food post! If our dinosaurs get up to any more antics, I'll be sure to post an update.  If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, look out for my Dinovember photo updates, or search for posts tagged with #dinovember.  In the meantime keep your eyes peeled for some more dinosaur themed lunches coming up on the Eats Amazing Blog - Small Child has renewed his dinosaur love and wants dinosaur lunches galore!

Grace