It is almost World Book Day and we are excitedly getting Ethan ready to dress up as one of his favourite characters, Max from the story Where the Wild Things Are. I am no seamstress and I like to keep things simple, so this is a costume that anyone can make! It's quite similar to the method I used last year for his Peter Rabbit costume, but I've been a bit more ambitious this year (wait until you see the tail!)
What you'll need:
Some other fun costume ideas for World Book Day that we have done are a Peter Rabbit costume, a Mermaid, Mog from Meg and Mog or The Highway Rat!
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What you'll need:
- grey or white hoodie
- felt
- double sided tape
- pipe cleaners
- wool
- pet brush
- hair straightener
- key chain /clip
- cardboard box
- gold paint
- wooden spoon
- glue
- polystyrene ball
- black paint
- paint brushes
- foam sheets
- grey or white trousers (with belt loop to attach tail)
There are a few things that I think are quite important when making a costume for wearing only one day to school for occasions such as World Book Day. The first is that I like to get Ethan involved in the making, there are parts of this that I made myself, but for the most part Ethan really did help make it all. Secondly, I want him to be comfortable, I think that fancy dress can be really over the top for older kids and adults, but young kids can be so fussy about what they wear, so I like to put Ethan in something that is comfy and that he can manage to take on and off himself. And finally I don't like to spend a fortune making it, especially as it's unlikely that he'll be wearing it again. So, just like last year I have used a simple hoodie as the basis of the costume, and stuck things to it that can be removed. This does mean that some bits might fall off throughout the day, so if you would prefer to sew them on to be more secure than please do, but I'm happy as long as I get my photos and everyone sees him in his costume when he arrives at school.
To start with I used a grey hoodie (you could choose white, but again I'm going for something that will be worn again, and I don't really dress my kids in much white as it doesn't stay that way for long!) And we cut out ears, buttons and claws from white felt which we then stuck onto the hoodie using double sided tape.
I also added whiskers made from pipe cleaners, which we have stuck on using double sided tape (though I am thinking that these are not terrible secure and may need another solution to fix them on).
Making Max's tail was definitely the most challenging part of the costume, but I found this incredible method that does not require any sewing to make a wolf tail on I Save A to Z. I won't give away her entire method as you can go over there and see it all in detail (there's even a video) but basically all you need is wool, a pet brush and hair straighteners to make this fantastic tail. This is the part that I made completely on my own, and it was a bit time consuming, but I do think that it really makes the costume!
For his crown I cut out a simple crown shape from a cardboard box, which Ethan then painted with gold paint. Once that was dry we used the fluff from wooly tail that I removed from the pet brush and saved to make the fur around the bottom of the crown. Ethan put glue all along the base of the crown and stuck on as much fur as he could make stick!
Finally to make Ethan's sceptre I used a wooden spoon, not the most obvious choice but I've been using them for a lot of crafts lately because they are just so strong, I know that even if nothing else comes home, Ethan will be carrying a wooden spoon at the end of the day! Ethan painted the spoon black, then painted a polystyrene ball with gold paint. Once the paint was dry we glued the polystyrene ball to the wooden spoon. Then once that was dry I cut some foam sheets into long strips and stuck them on using double sided tape to complete the top of the sceptre. (I think that this could have worked quite well with black pipe cleaners as well, but I'll be honest, we had run out!)
Ethan absolutely loves his Max costume and is so excited to wear it into preschool for World Book Day on Thursday. I can't wait to see what all of the other kids are wearing to get inspiration for next year!
Some other fun costume ideas for World Book Day that we have done are a Peter Rabbit costume, a Mermaid, Mog from Meg and Mog or The Highway Rat!
For more fun, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!
Follow Play & Learn Everyday's board Play & Learn Everyday - Crafts and Activities from the Blog on Pinterest.
