Playing dress up and role play are the most important things you could encourage in your preschooler – probably even more important than teaching her the alphabet or numbers.  It helps those little minds blossom, and imagine a world full of possibilities. 

Finding costumes can be tricky though. Here are some ideas to create costumes for your kids:

• Check out thrift stores, and dollar stores for shiny paper garlands, flower necklaces and bracelets, feather boas, tiaras, hula skirts, boys’ suits, jackets, and retro clothing.  The gaudier the clothes, the more chances your child will actually like wearing these!
• Adjust older clothes she has to provide some dramatic flair.  Glue colored pom poms to a black beret, or to the edges of a scarf or muffler.
• Paste sequins, satin flowers, and rhinestones on hats, scarves and skirt hems.
• Recycle. Hand down your old handbags and purses to your daughter to use as accessories when she’s all dressed up for an evening out. If you have short dresses from your pre-baby days that you’ve given hope of ever fitting into, they can be used as elegant full length gowns for your daughter. Use pins to adjust.
• Use appliqués to decorate T-shirts
• If you need to play animal characters for a story time session, make your own animal smocks. Take a large paper bag, and cut open the side panels and remove them .Cut a large hole in the bottom of the bag, enough to slip over her head.  Use black marker to draw eyes, teeth and whiskers on the bag.  Slip your child’s head through the hole, so the bag is hanging like a smock on her, with the animal’s face in front.
• If you’re playing shop, cut out small pieces of sponge, and stick them on an empty shoe box.  Write down numerals on each sponge. Voila! You have a cash register!

 
Do your kids ever raid your closet?  It’s probably a girly thing, because I don’t see my boy interested  in hubby’s wardrobe…