Dino birthdays

Dinosaur Cake Toppers

A dinosaur topper has one job before any other: a four year old has to see it and know it is a dinosaur. That is why the design here is one big stegosaurus with its back plates up — a shape children recognise from across the room — rather than a scene of six species that turns into green noise once it is cut down to cupcake size.

Personalise this template How the maker works

Age and name in the centreOne big dinosaur, not a busy sceneMatching cupcake sheet

Dinosaur Cake Topper sizes

If the cake is also carrying toy dinosaurs, size the printed topper down rather than up. At about two thirds of the cake width it leaves a ring of icing for the figures, and a crowded cake top hides both.

Recommended topper sizes for dinosaur cakes
What it is for	Finished size	Why
Topper for a 6" cake	3.5–4 inches	Leaves a ring of icing for toy dinosaurs to stand on.
Topper for an 8" cake	5–5.5 inches	The usual party cake size.
Edible image covering a 6" cake	5 inches	Half an inch of border all round — the whole top becomes the scene.
Cupcake discs	2 inches	15 on an A4 sheet, 12 on US Letter.
Mini cupcakes and party bags	1.25 inches	The stegosaurus still reads; the footprints become dots.

Covering the whole top with an edible image instead? The edible image size chart has exact print sizes for 6, 8 and 10 inch cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.

Dinosaur parties are also where the puns live. “Three-rex”, “Roar, I’m 4” and “Dino-mite” are what people actually put on these cakes, and all of them fit the centre of the design with the name on a second line. Plenty of dinosaur cakes carry toy figures or a volcano as well, so the printed topper usually goes flat on the top or on the cupcakes while the figures set the scene.

Dinosaur colours that print well

Sage and fern greens with one warm accent — orange, terracotta or mustard — read as dinosaur without the neon lime of party-shop tableware, and they print far more predictably.
Greens print darker on edible sheets than they look on screen. If you are choosing between two greens, take the lighter one.
For a younger child, brighter colours work: a green dinosaur on a pale yellow or sky-blue cake. Keep the cake pale so the dinosaur has an edge.
Browns and greys look sophisticated on screen and muddy on cake. Save them for an older child who wants a fossil-dig theme.

Set the lettering in the darkest green, not in the orange of the back plates. Orange lettering loses its contrast on a cream disc once printed; dark green does not.

What to write on a dinosaur topper

Roar, I’m 4!Three-rexDino-miteRoarsomeHave a roarsome birthdayTheo-saurusDino-mite DylanRoar-some at 5

“Three-rex” only works for a third birthday, which is exactly why people love it. For any other age, “Roar, I’m [age]” is the most flexible line — short enough for a 2 inch cupcake, with the full name on the cake itself.

What to print it on

Edible icing sheets for the cupcakes. At a children’s party the toppers get eaten, and a card disc on a cupcake handed to a four year old gets chewed anyway.
Cardstock at 250–300gsm on a food-safe stick for the main cake, so it stands up above any toy figures.
Toy dinosaurs are not food-safe on their own. Wash them and stand them on a thin disc of fondant or a cake card rather than pushing them straight into the buttercream.

Start from a template

The “Roarsome” starter is a friendly stegosaurus with ferns, speckled eggs and a trail of footprints along the bottom — which also tells you which way up it goes.

See the roarsome design

More party themes

Each one has its own original design, with sizes, colours and wording for that theme.

Unicorn Football Space Jungle & safari Under the sea

Frequently Asked Questions

What size should a dinosaur cake topper be?

About two thirds of the cake width for a flat disc: 3.5–4 inches on a 6 inch cake and 5–5.5 inches on an 8 inch. To cover the whole top of a 6 inch cake with an edible image instead, print at 5 inches so a small border of icing still shows.

What size are dinosaur cupcake toppers?

Two inches for a standard cupcake case, which leaves a ring of buttercream showing. 15 fit on one A4 sheet and 12 on US Letter. Mini cupcakes take 1.25 inch discs, 35 to a sheet.

What do you write on a dinosaur birthday cake?

“Roar, I’m 4!” is the most flexible line, and “Three-rex” is the favourite for a third birthday. Put the age big and the name on a second, smaller line underneath — at cupcake size, drop the name and keep the roar.

Can I use a dinosaur from a film or TV show?

Not on a cake you sell. Dinosaurs from films and TV series are copyrighted characters, and printing them on paid-for bakes needs a licence from whoever owns them. The stegosaurus in this design is original CakeyTops artwork, not any character.

What resolution should a printed cake topper be?

Export at 300 DPI. Below about 200 DPI the edges of text and artwork go soft once printed at topper size, and it is very obvious on a 3 inch disc held a foot from someone’s face. The editor exports at 300 DPI by default, so the main thing to watch is the resolution of whatever image you started from.