A LARGS mother and son are having a rip-roaring time dressing up as dinosaurs and singing ‘dino-grams’ for friends across the town.

Alexis and James O’Brien started off by signing happy birthday to a friend, but the quirky idea has snowballed from there and they have now done more than ten visits to lift spirits.

Alexis says what began as a gift to cheer up her son has developed into a way of making the local community smile.

She said: “James had a bad week and was missing his friends so I ended up ordering an inflatable dinosaur outfit to cheer him up.

“We ended up dressing up and going to singing happy birthday to a friend in costume, then we did it again for another friend's daughter's birthday a few weeks ago and it went from there.

“It’s just to bring a bit of happiness to people. If we do a visit we ask people to make a donation to the foodbank.”

The pair have been in demand as their actions gained traction on social media and Alexis says it has been a benefit for the whole family.

She said: “Obviously it’s socially distanced but it’s nice to see people smiling and the wee man enjoys it.

“I’m quite liking the T-Rex because I’m hidden inside! The whole thing has helped me perk up and it keeps us busy.

“We’re just trying to bring some sunshine to people right now."

The pair have named themselves the ‘Stay Safeosaurs’ and Alexis says her daughter Erin is keen to join in, not as a dinosaur but as a unicorn.

She said: “I think it is just for while were in lockdown, it’s getting interaction for the wee man as well and my daughter if she joins us.

“Obviously we can’t go too often because the kids have schoolwork and things, but it's a nice distraction. It's nice to see some of the kids we visit excited about seeing them.

“We feel like we’re giving something back to the community, it’s by no means anything big but it’s just putting a smile on people’s faces.”