Thursday 6th March 2025

Looking for a hassle-free World Book Day costume? You’re in the right place! We’ve put together a collection of quick and easy costume ideas to help bring your child's favourite book character to life - without the stress!

We would love to see your costumes! Tag us on Facebook and Instagram and we will share them to our stories!

World Book Day | Easy Costume Ideas

Whether you’re looking for a last-minute outfit, or a costume that don’t break the bank, we've got plenty of World Book Day costume ideas to get you inspired!

Use what you have at home

Before you buy or make a costume, have a look at what you already have at home! Can any of it be re-purposed? Here are some ideas...

• Animal onesies
  • Lion, elephant, monkey, giraffe, frog, dog - Dear Zoo
  • Bear - We're going on a Bear Hunt, Peace at Last
  • Unicorn - There's a Unicorn in your Book, Sugarlump and the Unicorn
• Halloween outfits
  • Witch - Room on the broom, The Worst Witch, Meg and Mog
  • Pirate - Charlie Cook's Favourite Book, Ten Little Pirates
  • Skeleton - Funnybones
• Princesses & Fairies
  • Princess dress - The Princess and the Wizard, Ten Little Princesses
  • Fairy wings - That's not my fairy, Mummy Fairy and Me
  • Ballet outfit - Angelina Ballerina, Luna loves Dance

Gangsta Granny

This one is pretty simple to pull off! All you need is:

• a cardigan
• necklace
• either white hair spray or a wig
• burglar mask (could be made from paper or card). 

Here's a makeover video from Blue Peter for inspiration!

Peter Rabbit

To become Peter Rabbit you’ll need:

• a blue jacket
• brown trousers
• face paint or eyebrow pencil for bunny whiskers
• bunny ears (available in £1 stores or easy to make from cardboard and a headband)

Where's Wally?

A classic! To transform your child into Where's Wally you will need:

• Stripey red and white hat 
• Stripey red and white top
• Blue shorts / trousers
• Round glasses (you could also use face paint or eyeliner!)

Room on the Broom

Channel Mum has a great video for a DIY witch costume! You will need:

• Orange wool 
• Black card
• Toy wand (or a straw and a paper star)
• Black bin liner

Mr Bump

An easy one! All you will need is:

• blue top & trousers 
• bandages or toilet roll to wind around your child’s head and stomach

Matilda

You don't need much to create a Matilda outfit:

• blue dress and tights with school shoes
• red hair ribbon
• book

The Cat In The Hat

Another absolute classic! 

• Black leggings and top
• White gloves
• Red scarf
• Stripey hat – you can make this using a tube of white card and paint or glue on red stripes
• Whiskers – (face paint or eyeliner!)

Tracy Beaker

All you need to be Tracy Beaker is:

• red stripy top, jeans and trainers
• messy dark hair (if your child doesn’t have the right colour hair you could use brown hair spray or a wig)

Billionaire Boy

A great costume with minimal effort!

• Grey or black trousers, or jeans
• White Tshirt
• A wallet full of money (use monopoly money, or print some fake notes at home)

The BFG

We love this DIY costume from Puffin Books, super simple too!

• a paper plate (or card will do)
• hairband
• waistcoat, or an old Tshirt
• Tshirt and shorts

We hope you've found our collection of quick and easy costume ideas useful, and you've got some inspiration to help bring your child's favourite book character to life! We would love to see your costumes! Tag us on Facebook and Instagram and we will share them to our stories!