World Book Day is as exciting for kids as it is daunting for the parents who help make them their costumes for the big day. An Opinium survey showed that 22% of UK parents feel the need to impress with the fancy dress on the day.
Parents also spend more, with the average being around £20, but some even spend upwards of £50 for the fancy dress day. If the day snuck up on you, there are some simple last-minute costumes you can source to make sure your little one can stun at school.
What do you already have?
Old Halloween costumes can be easily repurposed for the dress up day. Dress up like a witch last October? Now it’s a Meg costume from Meg and Mog. Have a Batman cape lying around? That’s now the cape for The Highway Rat.
If you’re still struggling, you can go even simpler. A blue shirt and trousers combined with bandages or toilet paper make a quick and easy Mr. Bump from the Mr. Men book series. A red-striped top and some old glasses can easily become the hard-to-find character from Where’s Wally. An old bedsheet over a white t-shirt can be made into a toga to form a little Roman from Horrible Histories.
Even an old cardboard box can go a long way. It can be the basis for a Thomas the Tank engine train car or if you add straps for the shoulders, you can cut it into anything you want. A golden ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the peach from James and the Giant Peach, or even just a book cover.
There are many book characters who also just wear pyjamas, such as Sophie from The BFG, Tom from Tom’s Midnight Garden and the grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood.
Where can you get one pre-made?
If you’re in a rush and don’t have time for arts and crafts, that’s more than fine. Supermarkets have a wide selection of costumes online and in-store. Many of them are also on sale from Halloween, so you may need to pick carefully to ensure they match a book.
Fancy dress shops will have a wider selection, but will most likely be more expensive, something to keep in mind when you’re shopping around.
When did World Book Day start?
First celebrated over 25 years ago in 1998, the day falls on the first Thursday in March. It’s been happily celebrated for years, but with the rise in social media comes the rise in expectations for parents to overperform for the big day and have an elaborate costume prepared for the big day.
Pushback has been more apparent in recent years, with one school banning the dress-up altogether. Langafel Primary School in Kent has now gone two years without fully participating in the event, telling parents that the costumes affected pupils’ concentration and attendance. Parents said the decision was “really disappointing,” and pupils “just want to have fun.”
Whatever happens with the event in the future, if your school is participating in the World Book Day costumes, you’ve hopefully gotten some inspiration for a last-minute costume to prepare.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/last-minute-world-book-day-31132081
