My Tip For Surviving Bookweek

Bugger....it's that time of the year again!

Don't get me wrong, I have no objection to children reading books....in fact I think it's pretty damn awesome....and it keeps them quiet for hours!!!!

But the whole dress up as your favourite book character thing....yeah well that sucks for mums, big time.

And add to that the fact that I am talking about high school literacy day, dress up as a character from a book or movie, well then it sucks even more coz suggestions like Little Red Riding Hood or Winnie the Pooh just don't cut it in high school.....it's just totally embarrassing so I'm told, with an accompanying roll of the eyes!

So when you have had more than your fair share of high school literacy days and you are just totally over it here is my easy peasy tip to surviving yet another one....

Let your kids convince you that their normal clothes are actually a costume!  They will usually even provide photographic evidence to support their claim.

And voila, just like that you will have literacy day sorted.

The cargo pants that Miss 16 needs to take to Japan double as Hiro from Big Hero 6

The ripped boyfriend jeans that Miss 14 adores and fuddy duddy me hates teamed with a black t-shirt and you have Wayne from Wayne's World....party time, excellent!!  

So how easy is this my friends!!!  

Okay, so nobody will know who they are dressed as, teachers will accuse them of just being in mufti and they won't be in the running for any best dressed prizes......but hey they got their new pants and they're happy, I had minimal involvement and I am happy....it's a bit of a win win don't you think !!


Oh but don't be feeling too cocky just yet coz chances are that there will be one teen for whom good old ordinary clothes just won't do for literacy day....oh no!!!

She and her group of friends will have some wild idea about what they are going to dress up as.  Tomorrow they will change their minds.  The next day they will change their minds back again!

So be prepared that with very short notice this teen will triumphantly announce that her group has finally agreed......they will be dressing up as various Dr Seuss characters but no, no, no....not Sally from Cat in A Hat in her pretty blue pinafore or Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas in her dainty pink dress....oh no!  We are talking Cat in A Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Sam I Am.....yes Sam I Am people.

And so here is how you deal with making a Sam I Am costume with minimal expense and a even less enthusiasm!!

Firstly you head to the fabric shop with no real plan in place.  You see fluffy yellow fabric so grab a metre or two. You praise the heavens when you see a felt red hat in the party dress ups section.  And you grab some random stuff to formulate green eggs and ham.

Sticking with the no real plan in place philosophy you start to construct the costume. Having minimal sewing skills at best you need to keep this simple!!  

I got a dress that Miss 17 wears and laid it on the fabric.

I traced around the dress with a bit of leeway for a seam allowance.  Given that nobody in the house could find a tape measure I decided to wing it!  Once you're done cut out your fabric.

Once you've cut out the fabric pin your front and back together and start sewing!  I may have sewn over the seams twice......because I totally have no confidence in my sewing ability.....and because a costume malfunction....well embarrassing much !!!!

Cut the bottom of the costume to resemble a jagged edge and you're done!

Well done that is except Sam I Am isn't really Sam I Am without his green eggs and ham now is he!  For this I enlisted the help of a wonderful blog who had step by step instructions that even I could understand!!  Thank you Its Always Autumn !!

Because I don't know how to sew sleeves I opted for a sleeveless costume....Miss 17 on the other hand wanted sleeves....the compromise....a pair of yellow leg warmers worn as sleeves.....pretty sad hey!!   But there you have it....Sam I Am with minimal expense and minimal effort....seriously you don't want to look at the workmanship up close!!!

So there you have my easy peasy tips for surviving literacy day.  Stay tuned though because next week I have primary school dress ups for Book Week for Miss 11 and Miss 6.....ugh when will it end!!!!

Are you a fan of the book week dress ups?  Can we no longer be friends because you started work on the kids costumes months ago lol !!!!!