Four affordable Book Week costumes you can put together in 10 minutes

Book Week is here, and we know what your weekend was about to look like.

You were either going to spend it emptying every drawer and wardrobe in your house looking for something your children could wear to school, or you were planning a last-minute shopping trip to try and find an affordable version of whatever character your kids had decided on.

Alternatively, you were going to head to Spotlight in the morning for materials, and then spend the next two days sewing them up yourself with tailoring talent you never even knew you had. Or maybe you have a parent or aunt or cousin or friend who knows how to sew...

Let’s just stop right there, shall we?

There is no need to panic over Book Week. You already have everything you need right there in your home, and you can get it all ready for your children’s parade or dress up day with very little fuss – and some very delighted children.

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Mrs Learning Bee founder and former teacher Tamsin Milledge has all the ideas and inspiration you need. She and her fabulous young assistants showcased several simple costume ideas on Today, leaving you with plenty for you and your family to choose from.

“My top tip is to keep it simple,” Milledge said.

“Think about the fact they are going to be in it all day, so they need to be comfortable, they need to go to the toilet, they have their lunch, they’re going to be sitting on the floor. And kids don’t need hand-sewn costumes. Just remind yourself of that.”

1. Pick a colour

Milledge said by choosing “all white”, you have The White Witch from the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

“The other thing you can do with ‘all colours’ is become any animal. Wear all pink and you have Piggie from the book Elephant & Piggie or any other book featuring a pig character, perhaps Winnie the Pooh.”

2. Use your own clothes – with accessories

Parents can dress their children in any clothes they have at home, perhaps using colours characters wear in the book, or not.

“You can use accessories like the book,” Milledge said of the young model demonstrating a Tale of Peter Rabbit-inspired costume: “His carrot, his radish, and ears are Peter Rabbit!”

3. DIY hacks

Milledge created Angelina Ballerina and Princess Pearl costumes with some items lying around the house, like cardboard.

“[You can create] a speech bubble that can have a character catchphrase on it, [like] ‘Princess Pearl wants to be a doctor’,” she said.

Angelina Ballerina is from the Angelina Ballerina book series and Princess Pearl features in the book Zog and The Flying Doctors.

For Angelina Ballerina, parents can use little ears to create the costume, “or if you are feeling a bit adventurous, a little bit of face paint”, Milledge said.

Although, this could be a simple as using black eyeliner to draw on some whiskers and a nose.

“Google what you are going to do so you can re-create it,” Milledge suggested.

4. Borrow from family members

Keep costs down by borrowing items and clothes from family members.

This was the trick Milledge used to create a Madeline costume.

“She’s got on her older sister’s dress, a school uniform, and then we just accessorise,” she said, explaning the outfit.

Milledge also suggested costume swaps with other families.

“Everyone’s got Book Week costumes that they’ve used previously.”