We need your costume ideas for World Book Day

[CatherineMumsnet]

Yes, we need your hot tips for costumes for World Book Day. Have you put together an outfit for your child that went down a storm or do you struggle to find anything within your budget if you can't sew a stitch?

[ToiletRollCover]

Costumes for characters from books? I cobbled together a "Hungriest Caterpillar" costume together for DS1 by cutting and stitching an old green sleeping bag. Good job it was cold (was New Years Eve) as it was quite cosy!!!

[MaureenMLove]

I did Mary Poppins for DD when she was in Yr5 or 6. It was a costume that I'd worn to a fancy dress party and I just got a small white blouse and black skirt from a charity shop. The hat, apron and umbrella were already made and stashed somewhere, for just such an occassion.

[Fimbo]

Rainbow Fairies are easy - just dress your dd in her own clothes!

Reality is any fairy is good - wand, tiara and dressing up dress. My dd did this one year and went with her toothfairy book (an authentic tooth in a little pouch/purse on a string adds to the effect!)

If all else fails and you can't sew, get an outfit from Ebay (my old fallback!)

[TigerFeet]

Oh shit when's World Book Day?

DD's class have a Peter Pan theme and thankfully she got a Tinkerbell dress for Christmas so we're sorted - just need to know what day to send her to school in it!

[MaureenMLove]

It's usually about 4th March, but some schools save it for a Friday.

[TigerFeet]

I'm going to have to ask her teacher aren't I? And show myself up as one of those parents who throw letters away without digesting the contents

[choosyfloosy]

If ds has to do it this year (Reception), i'm sending him as Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave - surfboard, his swimming shorts, any old t-shirt, toy dog (as Breakspear) and i will make him an eye-shade from cardboard if I get round to it.

He went as Duck (as in Duck in a Truck) last year - this is quite good - any white clothes they have, the nearest thing they have to orange socks, plus make a cardboard duck beak.

The main things to have in the house for costumes is plenty of elastic, safety pins and a stapler!

[uptomyeyes]

Horrid Henry's Nits. Wear Horrid Henry type cloths, find a big old wig (or Halloween wig), find yourself an information leaflet about head lice, photocopy and zoom in on the anatomical drawings of adult lice. Cut out the pictures and attach to pipe cleaners wired in to the wig.

[LunarSea]

If they're young enough, then Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs is easy.

[bradsmissus]

In my DDs class, the year before last, about 90% of the boys wore football kits. The next year the letter said "please bring the book so we can see your character" - it backfired as they all brought in their football annuals and still wore their kits!!! This year the letter says no football kits please!!!!!

DS nursery are doing it and he wants to be Jack from Jack and the beanstalk, his name is Jack so he thinks he can just wear his own clothes!!! I don't think he's got the hang of the whole dressing up lark!!!

[Peachy]

ds1 hasdecided to o as Dracula with a pretty standard cobbled together vampire outfit

ds2 iswearing some nasty briht green trousers I bought fromEbay for a reason I will neer know (!), orange shirt, orange face paint and green curl;y wig as an Oompa Loompa

Ours is a week late though to allow for the Eisteddfodd celebrations

[choosyfloosy]

I'm outraged at the anti-football-kit measure. Asking to bring in the book is fair enough, but if they really enjoy reading their football annual (and who's to say that they don't) then that should deffo be spun as a good thing, and they should be asked to read something they enjoyed from it.

Isn't it supposed to be about reading, not about scouring the poor parents' brains for costumes?

[Hebble]

My DD is in reception and going as Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland - got princess dress and cut out lots of hearts to pin on and made a crown - she's done most of it herself

[bradsmissus]

I know choosy - alot of the Mum's are fed up about it. In general, the boys are not that interested in dressing up, they feel self conscious and embarassed. What annoyed them most is that alot of the girls went in a shop bought fairy/princess dress with reference to no fairy/princess book in particular and this was ok with the school.

I think WBD was invented by some group of evil education types to torture parents and their children!!!!

[bradsmissus]

Oh and also, they had a book shop open in the library for the whole week and guess what they were selling? Football annuals!!!!

Reading is reading!

[Stayingsunnygirl]

I once sent ds2 in shorts and a shirt, blue wellies and carrying all the Winnie-the-Pooh characters and a big blue umbrella.

The same year, my best friend put her ds in a 'Where's Wally' costume she made - which went down a storm. There were a lot of Harry Potters in the playground that day too. It is a nice easy one to do - school uniform and a cape, plus scar on forehead.

[Marne]

Dd'1 has to dress up on the 6th of March, she's in reception (our first time dressing up for book week), i havn't got a clue what to dress her in, i have a feeling she will ask to go as Biff or Kipper . Asda have Mr men and Little Miss costumes.

[schneebly]

I was thinking of sending my DS as Mr Bump (quite apt for him) - don't really rate the Mr Men books but thought the costume would be easy! Lots of bandages/plasters etc. Might draw the line at painting him blue though.

[schneebly]

I also thought about Prince Charming

[GrimmaTheNome]

Oh am I glad to see this thread. Last year I excelled myself with a Captain Hook outfit for my DD - I made a really good pirate hat and cutlass, and a jacket of mine was just right with some gold braid added as a frock coat, with an old white blouse belted underneath.

She was going to wear it again this year, until the notice came home saying they had to come as a 'goodie' . I can't think of anything suitable for a 10 year old girl that actually looks distinctively like a goodie in a book, which is also within my powers of creation [no, I can't make an Aslan costume]. The only 'dressing up' outfit that still fits her is a witch outfit.

[Hassled]

DS2 and DS3 are nearly always James Bond. It's dead easy if you have a jacket and they already have black trousers - I've made bow ties in the past but recently broke down and bought some.

[Sxx]

The cat in the hat is nice and easy! Black clothes, red and white stripey hat made from cardboard a tail made from an old pair of black tights, stuff one leg with anything you can find, socks, tissue paper, whatever, then tie the other leg around waist to hold tail in place. Use an eyeliner pencil to draw on a nose and whiskers. xx

[SniffyHock]

DS is mad on firefighters so is going in a Fireman's uniform. We have a few books on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction. School have been doing a push on non-fiction so it's quite nice to dress up as something from one of them (especially useful for boys).

[MrsWeasley]

Marne My DD went as Biff. Dead easy normal clothes then we made a big shiny magic key which she carried with her

[weaselboy]

Fantastic mr fox, rubber chicken, fun fur fox tabard( ebay) empty milk thing marked " cider"