Easy Dressing Up Ideas For World Book Day

Don't panic.  It's World Book Day on 2nd March 2017 and the challenge is on to kit your child out as their favourite character from a book.

In case your imagination has run dry and you need inspiration, the following posts should give you plenty of budget-friendly ideas.

And don't worry, if you're a craft-duffer like I am, trust me you will be able to do one of these.

And if not, there's always Smiffys, or Amazon (bad mum alert!).

Keep reading for plenty of useful suggestions and the relevant links.

Worldbookday.com

2017 celebrates the 20th World Book Day, the aim of which is to encourage children in the UK and Ireland to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Schools are being sent packs of Book Tokens and age-ranged World Book Day Resource Packs (age-ranged into Nursery/Pre-School, Primary and Secondary) full of ideas and activities, display material and more information about how to get involved in World Book Day.

World Book Day has its own really useful website with plenty of dressing up ideas which you can find here.

This year if you donate £1 to dress up and you can help change lives at the same time by helping Book Aid International.

You'll find even more dressing up ideas on the Book Aid International website here.

Ieuan as Willy Wonka

30 last-minute World Book Day costume ideas that you can create at home without a needle and thread

Wales Online have put together some really useful ideas - and you could even re-use the costumes you doubtless had to cobble together for Roald Dahl Day last year.

World Book Day 2015: What To Wear - The Guardian

A useful collection of real life costumes featuring photos parents have sent in to the Guardian's photo gallery.

As you might expect, you'll find some useful ideas on Netmums and Mumsnet.

If you live in the North East, ChronicleLive has 41 Inspiring World Book Day Costumes From Families in Newcastle and the North East.

More ideas from The Daily Post in North Wales in its piece "When is World Book Day 2017. Some Ideas And Find Out What Is Expected To Be This Year's Best Seller"

Caitlin as Matilda

More ideas from the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo and ChronicleLive's "10 World Book Day Costume Ideas from Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys".

This list may also help "15 Best Children's Books Of All Time" from The Telegraph.

But are there any characters you shouldn't dress your child up as?  I recently heard the story of a woman who sent her son to school dressed as serial killer Dexter and then there was the mum whose son's favourite book was his Top Gear Annual - so she sent him in dressed as Jeremy Clarkson.

And on that bombshell......

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Why are we so afraid to let our kids experience boredom?

We're half way through the summer holidays and the guides to helping your kids deal with boredom are starting to appear.  Ah, boredom, the terrible malaise which strikes when the iPad charger is lost and there's nothing on TV (which seems to be the general state of affairs these days anyway).

Reading a book can take them to another world

Why are we so afraid to let our kids experience boredom?

For those of us who grew up in the 70's, boredom came with the territory. The summer school holidays seemed truly endless. I'm sure we all irritated our parents beyond measure with the constant, buzzing drone of "but what can we do now?".  The response I used to get was, generally, "go and read a book".

We were in Waterstones in Worcester the other day and it was a revelation for Caitlin who, already an excellent reader, is beginning to discover that reading a good book is far more enjoyable than playing with the acreage of over-priced plastic attached to the front of children's 'magazines' or the latest toy-du-jour which often barely survives the first 24 hours with my two's rigorous style of play.

I bet there are thousands of kids who could quote from all of the Harry Potter films but who have never picked up the actual books.  This may be because their parents do not read to them of course, and with today's hectic work schedules for many, the bedtime story is an unfortunate casualty.

When I studied English Literature at University of Wales Swansea in the 80's (yes, that long ago), I remember we were told that you had to read a book at least 4 times before you could really start to understand its themes, its political and social context, the breadth and depth of its imagery.  Novelists leave within their works a tantilising glimpse into the politics, history and psychology of the day.  

When we read a novel we create the characters and interpret the events that happen to them in a way that has meaning for us.  When we see the film, these decisions have largely been taken out of our hands.  We miss the chance to process what has happened in our own lives against the backdrop of the story.

A book can change us in the way that a film can't.

That's why initiatives like World Book Day are so important.  It is also why I hope that our bookshops survive.  I suspect that many will pick up the book to see what it's like but then purchase from Amazon to save a few pounds.  Sometimes though, the book you pick up is so compelling that you buy it there and then. It's an old fashioned sentiment possibly but much though I love my Kindle, there is nothing like a proper, crisp, hard-copy book.

It is also the reason why we lose our public libraries at our peril.  They are fantastic free resources for cash- and patience-strapped parents where kids can spend hours colouring, reading, enjoying reading schemes and craft activities and hanging out with their friends.

Our kids today lurch from one form of stimulation to another - I should probably call it iStimulation. And yes, with no small degree of irony can we say that some of them are turning positively android.

Of course, dealing with bored children is one of the key tests of our parenting abilities, but it is surely impossible to spend every waking moment with an activity schedule, a list of local attractions and a bottomless purse.

You cannot force fun.  You can create family togetherness.  You can forge stronger bonds through shared experience but each of us needs that time to discover who we are, no matter what our age.

Let's redefine boredom.  Let's call it "a chance to think unencumbered by unnecessary stimuli".  A chance, in fact, to have your own thoughts and time to learn how to marshal them.

And one of the best ways to learn about life within a secure and comforting space is within the pages of a book.

What better gift to give your kids?

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Frozen Wonderland - Caitlin's Poem For World Book Day 2015

Frozen trees scattered with frost.

Pretty snowflakes shimmer like the shining ice.

Wonderful snow sparkles like the dancing snowflakes.

The branches hang down loaded with the frosted ice.

On a white mountain full of snow,

live reindeer galloping around the trees.

Beyond the reindeer mountain lies an ice castle.

The snow queen lives in the ice castle.

There she lies in snow, ice and frost

This is a frozen wonderland.

My daughter, Caitlin (aged 7)

Caitlin Hobbis (age 7)

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