Alright, mamas! You’ve got just over a week till Book Week, so you know what that means! Cue the last-minute scramble, a wildly uncooperative glue gun, and your kid suddenly announcing that they’ve changed their mind about their costume the night before!

In all honesty though, as stressful as it can be, I LOVE Book Week, although I suppose that comes as no surprise with me being a bookworm and a writer! But if you’re not like me and Book Week fills you with more dread than excitement, then don’t stress, mama – I’ve got you! Whether you’re crafty, time-poor, or somewhere in between, today’s blog post is filled with fun, affordable ideas to help your little one shine without you losing your mind!

Alright, let’s get the easy options out of the way first. If DIY isn’t your thing (no judgement here!) or if you’re short on time, there are now heaps of affordable, ready-made Book Week costumes! Book Week has really taken off in the last few years, and with that comes a lot more costume options! Here are some places you can easily find them:

• Kmart / Big W / Target / Spotlight/ Discount or party stores – Budget-friendly costumes with plenty of classic characters (think The Gruffalo, The Hungry Caterpillar, Harry Potter, Matilda, Alice in Wonderland, etc.)

• Facebook Marketplace / Local Buy Nothing Groups / School Swaps – A goldmine for second-hand costumes - just search “Book Week” or your child’s favourite book character, or ask around since many mums are happy to lend/swap their costumes from previous years!

• Amazon / eBay/ Ali Express / Temu / Other online retailers – Great if you’re shopping ahead with time to spare (so you might have to keep this in mind for next year!)

If you’re feeling crafty though, or if your kid is like mine and chooses obscure characters/costumes, then it’s time to get creative! And let me reassure you: if I can create a costume, so can you! I have a friend who is absolutely amazing with a sewing machine and has made some really gorgeous, elaborate costumes for her kids over the years. As for myself? All I can do with a needle is some basic stitches, but that’s where fabric glue and velcro can come in handy! That said, here are some of my more creative efforts over the years:

The Witch – Room on the Broom (Julia Donaldson)

You might think this would be an easy costume choice, especially now that they have a ready-made version (for girls), but when my son chose this character a few years ago, I had to come up with something myself – especially since he’s a boy! So, I put him in matching coloured top and pants, bought a witch’s hat, broom, and cauldron (thank you, Spotlight!), as well as a star glow stick (Big W). I fashioned his cloak out of a black plastic table runner (Big W again), and I drew, coloured, and made the brooch myself using cardboard and Velcro. And since he didn’t have long hair I could plait, I just tied a ribbon onto a hair-clip and clipped it onto his hair. This was my very first DIY costume, and I was super proud of my efforts, especially when I got the pictures from childcare of him acting out the book while it was being read!

Wizard Lizard – Superworm (Julia Donaldson)

Similarly, I just dressed him in “lizard coloured “clothes. Then, I bought a wizard’s hat (Big W) and the perfect fake flower (from my lovely friend, Sarah, at Secret Blooms). For his servant crow, I ordered a toy crow off eBay and attached it to a long strip of cloth that I could tie onto his arm/shoulder so it looked like the crow was sitting on/next to him.

Grumpy Fish – Hooray for Fish (Lucy Cousins)

I ordered a cheap brown hoodie tracksuit, then bought stiff, brown felt and black Velcro dots from Spotlight. I drew and cut out fish fins from the felt and sewed them onto the sleeves and pants. Then I used fabric glue to stick the velcro-dots and a pair of googly eyes on either side of the hoodie, and voila, my Grumpy Fish!

Smaug – The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)

This was a tricky one because I wanted to make the costume a bit more kid/school-friendly. We’d ordered a dragon mask, wings and tail from AliExpress, but the wings seemed quite demonic for a prep school parade, so I bought some sparkly fabric from Spotlight and made my own wings. I’d also bought a cheap red tracksuit, so I attached the middle of the wings to the back of the jumper, and each wing tip to the wrist cuffs so that when he lifted his arms up, it looked like he was spreading his wings. My husband tinkered around with the tail to make it more school-friendly, and we used Velcro to attach it to the back of his pants. And for the finishing touch, I used fabric glue to stick plastic gold coins over the front of his jumper for Smaug’s treasure (I would’ve covered the whole front, top and bottom, except they didn’t have enough gold coins at the shops).

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s a list of costume ideas that are as classic as they are easy:

• Where’s Wally

• The Hungry Caterpillar

• Thing 1 & Thing 2 (Dr Seuss)

• Cat in the Hat

• Paddington

• One of the crayons from The Day The Crayons Quit

• Little Red Riding Hood

• Thelma the Unicorn

• Claris the Mouse

• Captain Underpants

And finally, a little mum pep talk. Remember, Book Week is about celebrating stories, imagination, and the joy of reading – not Instagram perfection. You don’t need to spend hours sewing sequins or panic-buying a $60 costume online to be a great mum. Whether you go big or basic, you’re doing a beautiful job just showing up for your kids. So don’t overthink it, and just have fun! And don’t forget to take a photo, because one day you’ll all look back and remember these funny Book Week moments – cardboard props and all!