Hello!

My Daughter’s book week parade is coming up and I am totally disastrous at sewing and all things creative. I was after any easy ideas people may have to help us make a costume for her. She is 8 years old.


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  • If you want something really easy make a headband with the character. For example if it’s the Hungry Caterpillar make a headband and then find an image of the caterpillar and colour it in and attach to the headband.


  • Little Red Riding Hood is fairly easy to put together.


  • slinky malinky from Hairy McLairy books. Just all black leggings. Shirt. shoes and draw on whiskers and a cute nose.


  • To start with, find a book or books she enjoys and see if there’s any inspiration in them. A friend of mine sent her son as old McDonald. They were bottle feeding a lamb at the time so he took that along as well. A big hit with the kids


  • Cruella Seville from 101 Dalmatians is easy enough if you have a black & white coat or you can buy a cheap one from an op shop or online and just spray paint half her hair black and the other white!


  • My daughter went as Cinderella. An old, tattery looking dress. Scuffed shoes. An apron and a scarf round the head. Add a broom for that bit extra. My son went as Old McDonald and also a cricketer.


  • Yes charity shops are a great place to find book week costumes!


  • Thrift shops – cheap and cheerful shops often have cheap and good costumes – might be worth looking?


  • Your local charity shop is a great place to find book week costumes. Find your child’s favourite books and go through them together and find your favourite character and then go hunt through the charity shop. Often there are already costumes there. Have fun and good luck!


  • A plain sheet or towel could be draped and pinned in place as a superhero Cape, red riding hood Cape, a toga etc.
    Black shirt and pants with a painted pink nose and drawn on whiskers, with 2 ears (cardboard) stuck to a headband and she could be a black cat.
    She could be Hermione from Harry Potter with her normal clothes and a stick wand. Similarly, one of the quidditch players with a broom and a golfball with cardboard ‘wings’ stuck on.
    Blue/violet clothes she could be Violet from Charlie and chocolate factory.
    Got a pig stuffed toy? Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web.


  • forgot to add if you have no time to make something check out the dress ups in your local Kmart they have some affordable dress up that might suit i think the are priced 10 to 15 dollars. Although they also have others that might be a bit expensive.


  • you could try little red ridding hood. All she would need is a plain pretty dress and a red cape(that you could try to make.


  • Pirates are ways easy. You can go to a pharmacy and buy an eye patch, and make a sword out of cardboard and aluminium foil, plus a bandana


  • Where’s Wally is always easy.. blue pants and a red and white stripe top. My boys often found characters that didn’t really dress differently – Zac Powers etc. So just said they had special gadgets


  • A dress with a red cape, picnic basket, shoes & socks & pigtails = Little Red Riding Hood.


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