Easy World Book Day Costume Ideas

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The first Thursday in March is World Book Day, where children are encouraged to enjoy books and get involved in shared reading activities. But it also involves – which for some families is the most important element – a fancy-dress costume.  

According to a survey by Kiddi Caru, conducted with over 750 participants, 74% of parents are looking forward to World Book Day, despite the fact that one in four (28%) parents admit to feeling the pressure when it comes to their child’s costume, and that nearly 60% of them don’t even enjoy making the book-themed outfits. 

So, to make the process a little bit easier, here are some easy World Book Day costume ideas that you can make, or create with a mixture of both making and buying. Why not even get your kids involved too, with some simple arts and crafts. 

The wizard world of Harry Potter

The Harry Potter book series is especially popular amongst children, thanks to a whole franchise of studio tours and films. The results of the same survey proved that Harry Potter is thought to be the most popular costume of choice for World Book Day this year, and it’s clear to see why, as it’s a fairly easy style to pull off – requiring as little, or as much, effort as you like. 

The base is simple; a school-like uniform consisting of grey trousers or skirt, with a white shirt and V-neck jumper. For some more embellishments, you can add a felt trim to the jumper and a matching stripey tie, coordinating to the colours of the Hogwarts house your child wishes to belong to. There are lots of printable house badges available online too, that you can then safety pin to the jumper too. Drape some fabric around their shoulder or a shop-bought cape, and Expelliarmus – the costume is done!

If your child wants to be the main character, add some lensless round glasses, which can be bought easily online or made from some black card, and finally, draw on the lightning bolt-shaped scar with some makeup. No need for these extra accessories if they want to be Ron Weasley or Hermione Granger, or just switch up to some funkier glasses and some unusual earrings if they want to be Luna Lovegood. 

Roald Dahl characters 

The classic books of the legendary author play host to a whole range of characters you and your child can choose from. With most protagonists being ‘normal’ children, it’s an easy way for your little one to wear their own clothes, with some simple additional accessories.  

Willy Wonka – this eccentricate chocolate factory owner is simply made complete with a top hat, bow tie and walking stick. You can buy these accessories if you like, but they can also be easily made with some coloured card, tissue paper, and a handy printable online template. 

Matilda or George from George’s Marvellous Medicine – these costumes are for the child that says that they don’t really want to dress up, but secretly, deep down, they do. For Matilda, all you need is a dress, preferably blue, a red hair ribbon and a pile of books to hand – all of which can already be found at home. A George costume also just requires ordinary, pre-owned clothes, but is simply paired with a saucepan, or a medicine-style bottle, and a big wooden spoon. So simple, yet so effective. 

Take inspiration from Julia Donaldson Books 

For pre-school aged children, characters from a Julia Donaldson book seem like an obvious choice, and in fact 17% of parents from the survey believed that the Gruffalo would be the most popular costume for World Book Day. 

And if you’re thinking along the same lines, a Gruffalo costume is easy to make – all you need is some brown clothing and a monster mask. The latter can be achieved with a simple Gruffalo mask template that you can print onto card or stick onto cardboard. And, why not get your child to help colour it in? Or if you want to go all out with a crafty project, you could even make a papier mâché mask creation! The possibilities are endless, so just get creative! 

Reuse and Revamp 

If arts and crafts aren’t really your thing, then you may be one of the parents that opts to buy a costume. According to Kiddi Caru’s survey, 57% of parents spend up to £30 on a costume. So, with some cost involved in celebrating the day, it’s a good idea to reuse fancy-dress outfits you already have in storage. 

If you have old Halloween outfits to hand, a witch’s costume could be used for Room on the Broom, The Worst Witch or That’s Not My… Witch. Was your child dressed as a pirate last October? Then you can reuse that costume too, for Long John Silver from Treasure Island, or Hook from Peter Pan. It’s simple, easy and budget-friendly, leaving your child now primed and ready for this year’s World Book Day!