........in buying a ready made outfit for the nursery nativity play???

[Chipstick]

My son is the donkey and they had a fab outfit in Asda for £5 - snapped it up and he has had it on all day.

Met a nursery mum today and told her - she looked at me in horror and said 'oh......you're not going to make an outfit then?!?'

Home made or ready made??

Was going to mention that one of our local charities (Naomi House Hospice) has someone who makes a batch of lovely simple shepherd/angel/Joseph costumes every year for sale in their shop in Winchester. Very reasonably priced and would fit 4-7s. I bought one when ds was Joseph in year R.

I think one's eager willingness to make costumes (indeed the amount of headspace you give nativity costumes) is inversely proportionate to how many children you have and how many nativities they have been in.

The first year DS was an angel in nursery I lovingly made a white cotton tunic and bought the least girly pair of white footless tights possible. I ordered from ebay a stupendous set of wings covered in real feathers (think Angel Gabriel in full pomp) and spent a lot of time wondering whether a pair of white plimsolls detracted from the method acting approach or whether it was more important to safeguard against veruccas.

Fast forward 5 years. I have had 2 children in a nativity play pretty much every year since then. I have had an alien, Joseph, a Rich Lady, a Native American, a Snowman, a Narrator, a Schoolgirl (my personal favourite) and a Bossy Fairy, as well as a prisoner and a Serjeant at Arms in year end plays. Plus countless assemblies. And mufti days. These days togging up for nativity plays consists of everyone emailing round parents in the class and working out who has what. so the costumes tend to be home made, but homemade several years ago and by someone else...

As an aside, I'm very proud to report that the Fancy Angel Wings have graced the nativity play every year since 2005. When the DC leave the school I think I'm going to make a formal bequest and hope to see a programme credit.

It looks like im going to have to make DS costume(or at least granny is) cos i dont think any shop will sell one.DS has got to dress as a jammy dodger !!!!!!!! and yes its for the xmas nativity at a faith school.[shocked]

I wouldn't criticise people who buy them, the economy needs some people to get out there and spend money!
But I make them because they are really easy to make and a good way to use up old curtains etc. We have a stack of old leftover bits of cloth which never seems to go down! And homemade costumes have a certain homespun charm.

I thought kids these days would laugh at the idea of homemade costumes.. Hmm, maybe it depends less on the ability of the costume maker and more on the age/cynicism of the kids...

Strong coffee

I love it!

How about brown leggings and tee shirt. Then cut 2 large circles out of cardboard box card. Use some string or cord to attach circles together at shoulder position ( so you have a kind of circular tabard.

Then be creative about putting a "jammy circle" on the front card circle. Obviously could be red paper or paint but how about trying to get a slightly fluffier red effect. Red flock paper?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Vivelle-flock-covered-paper-sheets-50-x-33cm-/280426060580?pt=UK_Crafts_Children_s_Crafts_EH&hash=item414ab21b24
or see if you can get a cheap red fleece item from a charity shop and cut a red circle from that!

I am complete sucker for making things for my DC to offset the guilt at all the occasions that I can't make because I do enjoy it, but I would have bought the donkey outfit from Asda, OP - and indeed if either DC had any of the roles which are now being stocked I would buy the costume and deal with the self imposed guilt later. Those costumes are way cheaper than making it yourself, even if you factor some re-use of materials - there will always be things you don't have, and the DC would probably prefer them.

Unfortunately DD insists on being a Bo-Peep style shepherdess rather than a standard issue shepherd (and her teacher is encouraging her individuality and allowing her to play the "my Mummy will make me one" card, instead of telling her to shut up and wear what she is told ), and DS is the pantomime dame (but school are largely dealing with that one, Thank God!) so I am currently stuck with making one frilly dress (frills - how much bloody fabric ?), one apron and a bonnet. If anyone has anywhere in their network someone with a 6-7yo sized Little Bo Peep costume, I have a number of previous costumes (including a rather nifty snowman, would suit YR-Y2) that I would happily trade

YABU - you have to make it. DS's Y1 class were all camels last year and had to make lovely face masks. 2 girls bought the camel costumes for sale in Sainsbury's. The rest of the class were very upset and in fact DS told the head that he didn't think it was very nice at the end of the performance, in front of all the parents. The whole point is the homemade nature of it. Sorry it is more work, but so much nicer!

I'd be inclined to go with the one you already bought especially if your little one has already seen it. I really wouldn't know how to begin making a donkey outfit but if you are leaning toward making one, I'd suggest doing some research before you take the other one back. Good Luck! I am sure your little one will be great either way

YANBU. I always felt guilty about ready made costumes but then met a mummy who was traumatised by having had to wear homemade ones. She had viewed always to buy for her children, as she had longed for them as a child So I feel vindicated

NowKnownAsMummy Sat 17-Nov-07 22:13:44
Don't think it matters. She just sounds like a cow!

I wonder if Asda have a costume for her?

Our school try to make things simple by just suggesting colours or say a dressing gown for a shepherd and tea towel etc. One year ds was a shepherd and I did just that. Dressing gown and tea towl. However, had to buy a new dressing gown to do this. A costume wolud have been cheaper!

Presumably it was MNHQ who resurrected this 4 year old thread? I think the OP is somewhat over worrying about a costume for 2007 now.

OTOH I am deadly serious about a nationwide costume swap. I will even do 2-for-1 - you can have both Captain Patch (from The Night Pirates) and a snowman in exchange for little Bo Peep. Deals could also be done for witches/wizards robes, but the DC are still quite fond of those...

Boo, I lost out on the perfect lion costume for ds. Now looking for some fleecy yellow/beige pyjamas...

The only time I thought about making one was when DD1 was a star, but then I saw star tabards in ASDA for £5 and rapidly abandoned all ideas of silver cardboard. This year DD2 is a shepherd and I went straight to eBay without passing go. DD1 is a narrator in hers and can just wear something Christmassy.

I can hand sew in a very basic way but would have no idea what shape to cut something out or where to start. I also have a sewing machine somewhere but don't know how to use it! I did Home Ec textiles for two years at school and spent half the time with a broken sewing machine waiting for the teacher to start it again. We weren't really taught how to use one properly or indeed anything much of use at all.

When I started primary school the school had their own costumes which were just reused every year. In fact there never seemed to be a problem with costumes for any play. I thought this was the norm until my own kids started nursery! I don't know who made the costumes for all the school plays but it wasn't my mum! The only time we provided something from home was when I was a ghost and we used an old sheet :)

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a local depository for used Nativity costumes that people could hire out and the money donated to charity? (after following strict rules about laundering them and when to return them) Just a thought. But my sympathies for Strong Coffee - a jammy dodger costume!?!

Bo peep

You could swap them on Freegle or Freecycle I think.

The teachers at dc's school were really sniffy about readymade costumes, told lots of Mums their efforts weren't good enough - I hated the bloody nativity and all the ridiculous costume dramas...made me dread Christmas every year.

ready made, i can't make costumes.

I haven't read all the replies, but the post about "Roman helmet" caught my eye. We did lots of things with paper mache when we were children. Measure around your child's head, then find a balloon and blow it up to that size plus about a half-inch for wiggle room. Beware balloons in packets of 20 or whatever, they're usually tiny. My toddler's head is 20" and he's only 22 months, so larger is better.

Anyway, then you cut up old newspapers in strips, and either make a pot of flour-water paste or have some PVA to hand. Dip the strips in the paste, and cover the balloon, the top half at least. Let it dry for 2 days or so, in the airing cupboard might speed it up. Then you burst the balloon, and trim the paper mache to the shape/size you need, paint with poster paints and add decorations. My brother was a space alien one year when he was about 11, and painted his green and added antennaes - very cool!

It's true that a lot of costumes are sewn, and not everyone is a good seamstress, but some costumes rely on parts that are more "arty" rather than "textile" if you know what I mean?

depends totally on what you want to do with your time/money and whether your skills are in sewing or in sourcing...
I always had home-made things as a child, made with a great deal of love and care I know, but sometimes felt like the poor relation in the face of the more cheaper, plastic-y, glittery things that classmates had
Am now a big one for doing the same as the majority when it comes to stuff for the kids.
Hence am surveying mums in DD1's nursery group on what kind of costume for the advent parade.

I am pretty good at making things and really enjoy doing it but I think a donkey costume would be a bit too hard so if I saw one for £5 I would buy it!

I always make & enjoy doing so, but as it has been my profession then its no big deal for me & I enjoy making something fun & getting DD involved - I've had snide remarks at times over the fact DDs costumes are too good ,

but I don't actually give a flying one & neither should you, if you prefer to BUY a costume, then do, your money, your choice - nobody elses business

DS1 was a donkey when he was in Reception. (Y4 now). I made the costume. It took bloody forever and it looked crap and he was embarrased wearing it. The other donkeys all looked great in their shop bought outfits. Nobody told me how clever I was to actually 'make' his outfit, so I learned my lesson about not trying to do it all and have just paid up in Tescos every Christmas ever since. Kids have been far happier in a costume that wasn't half falling off as the stitching was so bad either.