Let your toddler use his imagination with some fun costumes!
Dress up is a fun and educational activity for toddlers. Young children learn from using their imagination and imitating what they see. Dress up gives a child a chance to express what they are learning and how they feel about the world around them as they grow. Costumes do not have to be elaborate for young children. All you need is a box, trunk or drawer in which you can collect a number of items- and let the child's imagination do the work.
Here are some ideas about what you can add to your child's costume collection.
THE BUTCHER, THE BAKER, THE CANDLESTICK MAKER:
Let your child dress up and act like the people in your neighborhood. Raid your attic, a thrift shop and discount stores to put together some different types of costumes, such as:
Police officer: Blue shirt and pants, fake badge, cap.
Fire Fighter: Raincoat, fire fighter hat, rubber boots or galoshes.
Chef/Baker: A white chef's hat and apron, with toy cooking utensils.
Store Worker: Old smocks and name tags
Construction Worker: Tool belt with toy tools, hard hat.
Cowboy/Cowgirl: Plaid shirt, boots, cowboy hat, sheriff badge.
Business Man/Woman: Slacks or skirt, jacket, tie, scarf, glasses frames (with lenses removed), briefcase, hat.
Rich man/woman: Fancy jacket or dress, costume jewelry, furs, fake money.
Famous Singer: Flashy clothes, sunglasses, feather boa, microphone (a toy one is ideal, but you can also cut the cord off of a non-working microphone).
LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS:
Dressing up like animals can be as much fun for some kids as dressing up like people. Animal costumes don't have to be elaborate. Try putting together some of these:
Dog/Cat: Sweat suit, socks on hands and feet for paws, tuck a sock into their pants so that it hangs out for a tail. For ears, get an old ski cap; stitch on the side for dog ears, or attach felt triangles to the top for a cat.
Lion: Yellow pajamas or sweat suit, fur hat or collar for a mane, and old pair of work or tan garden gloves for paws.
Tiger: Orange sweat suit or pajamas with black stripes painted on with fabric paint, old work gloves for paws.
Bears/Mice: Sweat suit with a ski cap that has round circles sewn on top.
Elephant: Grey sweat suit or pajamas, a grey sock or stocking with an elastic band attached for the trunk, and glue 2 paper plates to a hard headband for ears (just bend the edges before gluing; if you like, color them pink inside first).
THE EXOTIC AND THE FANTASTIC
Many children love tales of fantasy, and they will enjoy dressing up like these unusual characters.
Princess: Big poofy pink party dresses with lots of scarves, and a crown.
Prince: Silk pajamas with a scarf sash and a crown.
Queen/King: Velvet cape or cloak with a crown
Dragon: A green sweat suit or pajamas with felt triangles cut out and glued down the back, green garden gloves for claws, a green baseball cap with eyes painted on top and white felt triangles glued along the front of the rim for teeth.
Fairy: Oversized tie-dye t-shirt and tights, a green leafy wreath for a crown, wings from an old butterfly costume.
Knight: A silver blouse with grey tights or pants, an old sports helmet (such as a football helmet, batters helmet or catcher's mask) painted silver, an old pot cover for a shield.
Pirate: Eye patch, black hat (and if you can paint a skull and crossbones on it, all the better), black pants shredded at the legs, a white blouse and a scarf sash.
Remember, it doesn't have to fit well to be fun. Ensure the child can move well in it, fix any loose buttons or pieces, and alter it by cutting or stitching garments so they are not a tripping hazard.
