Easy Last Minute Costume Ideas For World Book Day

If you have a child at school then ” World Book Day” is probably one of those events that you dread. And leave until the last minute.

Thinking of a character from a book who’s costume you can actually make, while ignoring all ridiculous suggestions from your child, isn’t my idea of fun.

In case you’ve forgotten about it, World Book Day is on Thursday 3rd March – this Thursday! Don’t worry though, here’s some characters with easy costumes you could pull together at the last minute. Or if you’re as rubbish at making costumes as I am, I’ve also listed a few places you can go hunting for a last minute option that won’t break the bank.

Costumes you can make

Funnybones – This one’s perfect if you have a skeleton costume hanging around from Halloween. If you have a hat even better.

Pirates Love Underpants – most boys have a pirate costume, stick a pair of pants over the top and you can be one of the underpant loving pirates! Without the pants they could be a pirate from Treasure Island or Peter Pan.

Sleeping Beauty / Cinderella / anything with a princess – any Disney princess costume will do as a character from a fairy tale so if you have a little girl you’re probably all set!

Matilda – This has got to be the easiest one. Blue dress, a pile of books to carry, done. (She didn’t actually have a red ribbon in the book so I think you can get away without one!)

Charlie Bucket – find some scruffy clothes, make a golden ticket and you’ve got Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Got to love Roald Dahl for easy characters to copy!

Room on the Broom – Use a witches hat and broom left over from Halloween, make a wand, put her in a red jumper and tie her hair in a plait with a bow at the end. Simple. You could also use the witch costume to be Meg (Meg & Mog) or one of Roald Dahl’s witches.

Angelina Ballerina – if you have a ballet costume already, just make a pair of mouse ears out of cardboard, stick to a headband with a pink bow and you have a beautiful Angelina.

COSTUMES YOU CAN BUY

If you’d rather be lazy and buy a costume (like me!) here’s the best ones we saw…

Alice in Wonderland, Tesco, £12.50

This is the one that Little H chose. Team with a pair of stripy tights to make it a little less Disney.

Dennis The Menace, Tesco, £12.50

Does a comic count as a book? Either way, this is a fun costume, especially if your child is a bit of a menace!

The BFG, Asda, £14

As a big Roald Dahl fan, I love this one. I reckon if you had a tall, skinny boy this would be brilliant!

The Hungry Caterpillar, £13, Asda

How cute is this caterpillar costume? This is the one that I wanted my daughter to have, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a girly dress so she wasn’t interested.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea, £14.99, H&M

This tiger onesie would be perfect for kids who don’t really like dressing up.

Harry Potter / Hermione Granger, £16, Argos

Technically this is the Harry Potter costume, but ditch the glasses and your girl can definitely use it to be Hermione as well.

Good luck and let us know what you chose to make/buy!