What age group is this costume for?
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School

Estimated time required to make this costume:
A few hours over a couple of days

Difficulty level:
Quick and easy - no sewing required

Items you will need: (Hit your return key to start a new line)
Rectangular cardboard box
X-acto knife
Masking tape
Green spray paint
White, black, yellow paint
Green sweats
Green tights
Styrofoam ball (2-3" diameter)
Polyfill
Green felt (optional)
Velcro points (optional)
Red felt (optional)

Instructions:
The cardboard box will fit over your child's head and shoulders to form a dino head/snout. We did this 2 years in 2 different ways -- one year we just cut out "shoulder rests" for the box to fit on my son's shoulders. The next year the box was longer and too wide, so we just cut arm holes in the box. It takes some measuring and adjusting -- putting the box on your child (my kid LOVED this part). So many ways to do it ... basically figure out how to turn a rectangular box into a dino head by cutting away pieces, folding, and taping. Leave a "window" for your child to see out of between the top of the elongated "snout" art of the head and the top of the head (gives the head a 2-level look and avoids the problem of lining up eyes with eye holes).

Spray paint "head" green. Cut styrofoam ball in half and paint yellow; paint a black pupil in the center of each, and glue on the sides of the head for eyes. Have your child paint red spots on the head.

Cut one leg off the green tights and stuff with poly-fill to form the tail. Close with rubber band and pin to elastic on back of child's sweatpants. If desired, cut paired triangles of felt and glue together, attaching to tail and back of child with velcro. If desired, cut circles from red felt for spots and attach to child with velcro.

Other information to consider:
Can also be used as an crocodile with a few modifications. My son was a crocodile one year and a dinosaur the next. For a crocodile, put the eyes sticking up from the top of the head instead of on the sides.

It's a great costume -- the only real drawback is that they have no peripheral vision when wearing the head, so be careful!