World Book Day is almost upon us once again and although the annual celebration of reading is a wonderful event, it can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure for parents on a budget as well as for time-strapped parents.
Most parents are already struggling to manage their time between work and family life, so few of us have the time to spend hours crafting a perfect home made costume - and nobody wants to spend a small fortune on a fancy dress costume that will only be worn once! So what's the solution?!
Here are some hacks to help you pull together a World Book Day costume that doesn't cost lots or take loads of time to produce!
*Work With What You've Already Got
Chances are you'll have some elements of dress-up costumes at home already so try to think about ways you can use these to theme a character to, rather than coming up with the character first and trying to make it work.
If you don't have fancy dress costumes at home, what do you have that might work instead? Does your child do Ballet? Then maybe they could go as Angelina Ballerina - just add some whiskers with eye pencil! Do they have pajamas and a dressing gown? Then they can be a character from The Polar Express!
*Raid The Halloween Supplies
If your child has ever dressed up for Halloween, then chances are you'll have some clothes or accessories from past Halloweens that you can repurpose as a World Book Day costume - if they've ever been a witch for Halloween, then they could use the costume again for Room On The Broom or Meg & Mog.If they've been a skeleton, then they could use that outfit again for a Funnybones costume. If you've ever done a Vampire costume, then the cape could be repurposed as a Harry Potter costume - just draw on some glasses and a scar using eyeliner!
*Make It All About The Accessories
Rather than spend a lot of money on an outfit which probably won't be worn again, you can theme a whole costume around an inexpensive prop instead.For example, you could create a great Violet Beauregarde from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory costume by using some purple face paint and a purple balloon as a chewing gum bubble. Or you could print out your own Golden Ticket and go as Charlie himself.
*Customise Old Clothes
If you don't have any old costumes that seem right, then don't worry - most of us have old t shirts or trousers that no longer fit, so instead of throwing those out - keep hold of them for future world book days!
An old white t shirt can be used in so many different ways - for example, take a black Sharpie to it and you can turn yourself into one of the 101 dalmations in an instant! Alternatively, you can tear it up a bit and cut the legs of the trousers to make your child into a character from Oliver Twist.
*Get Crafty!
Last but not least, why not think about getting your child involved in the World Book Day fun by having them craft an accessory for their costume.
You could use some cardboard and tin foil to create a sword or a hook, to turn your little one into a pirate from Peter Pan. Or how about creating some classic paperdolls as an accessory to tie in with the Julia Donaldson book of the same name? The costume itself may be simple every day clothes, but your little one will have loads of fun creating their own accessory to bring it to life.
Above all else, don't forget that World Book Day is supposed to be about cultivating a love of books and reading, and celebrating literature - not about the costumes! So try not to worry too much.
Why not come along to Books2Door instagram page at 3.30 pm on World Book Day (Thursday 3rd March) where they'll be celebrating the day, as well as their 18th birthday, with a fun and rather special Instagram Live!
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