Magical Dress-Up Box

 

Where would we be without our fabulous dress-up box? We have had hours of fun from it. Whenever there's a birthday party, we raid it for costumes. At a moment's notice we have had theme dinners, hosted the Queen for a Birthday Tea Party and filmed movies (our "Noah's Ark" was epic).

On any given day our children can be seen playing "Narnia", Superheroes or Kings and Queens. The Crocodile Hunter was a regular visitor at our house (before his very sad demise) and various wild animals are often seen on the loose in our garden.

Regular members of our family also include Pirates, Fairies and Dinosaurs.

The dress-up box is a goldmine of ideas and creativity.

It began with a simple tiger tail from the zoo shop and some $2 Shop hats when Dash was about 2 years old. Dressing up found such favour I then scoured our hall cupboard for old outfits Mr G and I had used when theme Balls were on our social calendar (it's surprising how many there were!!) Some wigs, hats and crazy ties were added, along with Mr G's old Ministry of Works jacket (perfect for becoming Bob the Builder).

Over the last few years we have added to the collection bit by bit; one Christmas Dash got a lion suit; another year a dinosaur tail. Miss Fab has an impressive collection of fairy wings and dresses; we now have a great collection of animal noses, ears and masks and face paint.

There is serious imaginitive fun to be had in a dress-up box.

It calls for inventiveness. It makes kids become someone else; it gets them thinking, imagining, pretending and playing.

If your kids are not in the habit of dressing up, you could kick-start them by showing them how it's done (kids think it's a crack-up when grown-ups are silly)! You could try having a family dinner on a Theme, which involves every member of the family dressing up.

One night we had an Animal Party. We all had to dress as an animal (ears, tails etc); I took the kids to the vege shop and they picked out fruit and veges that animals would eat. We decorated the table with toy animals, and the kids had to identify which animal ate which food.

Another night we had a Kings and Queens night, followed by watching the Princess Bride movie. Then of course there was our Spanish Dinner (click here), and once there was even a Party for No Reason.

If you haven't got a dress-up collection yet, start with what you have stashed away in cupboards. Old jewellery, funny old hats; visit the local $2 Shop... you'll be amazed what you'll find there.

You don't need a fancy box, any large box or container will do the trick. Then just let your imagination run wild!

And of course the parents are the two biggest kids of all...!