Hellobee

Both of our kids love to play dress up and I think it’s great that they have so much fun with imaginative play. Lion has enjoyed dress up for quite some time and when I pick him up from school, he’s often decked out as a ninja or has a piece of construction paper taped to his back as a cape. Recently, I found out that Panda has developed a love of dressing up, as well, and at the most recent parent-teacher conference I was told, “One of his favorite things to do is to go to the community helpers box and put on those outfits.” We have a bin of dress up clothes and toys at home for the kids, some items we’ve purchased, some were received as gifts, and some we got for free at street festivals and other events.

Here are some of my favorite picks (as well as tips) for building and dress up collection:

1) Set of hats and helmets – Hats are great because the kids don’t need any help with them and they can change their character in an instant. Of all items in our dress up collection, the hats definitely get the most use.

2) Pirate hat and eye patches – I found this adorable pirate hat at Target when I was hunting for stickers. I’m sure there’s some story that goes along with this, but Lion insists that he and Panda are “good pirates” whose names are “Bruin” and “Juice” (am I the only one missing the reference?).

3) Capes and masks – One set of grandparents got this set of capes and masks for the kids at Christmas because of Lion’s obsession with superheroes. It was a huge hit and another one of those dress-up items that are easy for the kids to get into and switch out when they want. It’s also a pretty good deal for five capes/masks. Plus, the masks look adorable!

4) Astronaut costume – We had been coveting this NASA astronaut costume every time we visited one of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space museums. I finally purchased one off eBay last summer for Lion to wear on Halloween and it is definitely a favorite. There’s just something magical about space and I love watching Lion tell me that he’s going to be an astronaut.

5) Costume hoodies – Lion pretty much lives in costume hoodies during the winter (much to my chagrin since he has several adorable sweaters that don’t get much wear). It’s not really something that gets pulled out at dress-up time and doesn’t live in their dress-up bin, but I thought I’d add it here. Lion has Captain America, Flash, Darth Vader and a Ninja Turtle costume hoodie and Panda has inherited a Captain America and Where the Wild Things Are hoodie. We’ve purchased them each fall at Target or Nordstrom.

6) Accessories – In addition to the actual dress up clothes, the kids love to play with accessories that match. Their play kitchen is stocked, they have plenty of balls, and a few play tools to use depending on what they’re playing. Of course accessories aren’t totally necessary; Lion will grab whatever is lying around and use his imagination to turn a pen into a fire hose or a pipe cleaner into a screwdriver.

7) Football, baseball and sports jerseys – Both of our kids are obsessed with balls, so they welcome the opportunity to wear sports jerseys. Lion has been to football and baseball games and other spectators always comment on how cute the kids are in their jerseys.

And a few tips for building a dress up collection without spending much money:

These two race around together all the time wearing their superhero capes and masks.

Use recycled items (namely: cardboard boxes) to make props and accessories. We’ve frequently made accessories from recycled items like a “Captain America shield” from a cardboard box, swords from paper towel rolls and even a jet-pack from empty water bottles. Before we got the capes and masks listed above, we’d often use pieces of paper to create these items.

DIY (or have someone else DIY). We are very lucky that Mr. Dolphin’s mom is very crafty and loves to sew. She’s made some amazing gifts for the kids over the years (like a teepee) and has sewed various dress up items like a chef’s hat and superhero capes.

Free swag. We’re lucky that in the DMV area, there are tons of free (or cheap) events for kids all the time. Even better, a lot of these events have great free swag. Lion and Panda have firefighter hats from the recent Maryland Day as well as construction hats, vests from the National Building Museum’s Building Day, a bandana and glasses from last year’s Imagination Bethesda kids’ street festival — all free items from free events.

Keep Halloween costumes for dress up. Last year, we got Lion an astronaut costume for Halloween and it is one of his favorite costumes for dress up. I don’t love how expensive costumes are because they tend to be single use, but letting the kids play with it year-round definitely helps with the cost-per-wear.

Purchase Halloween costumes after Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, costumes are incredibly cheap the day after Halloween. We picked up a police helmet with a belt and walkie talkies from the local kids’ consignment store at a ridiculously low price the week after Halloween.

Buy used. I’m a big fan of buying used items, both for the cheaper cost and the environmental impact. With kids, in particular, I prefer going this route because they outgrow items so quickly. Our local kids’ consignment store, Goodwill and eBay are great places to look.

Double use items. Just as Halloween kids can be used year-round for dress up, there’s nothing wrong with letting kids wear jerseys to school and for dress up. Lion loves his football jerseys and baseball shirts, so why not wear them all the time? We also have been gifted several hooded towels (panda, monkey and dinosaur) and while we don’t keep them with the rest of the dress up clothes, they occasionally get pulled out of the bathroom at dress up time. See also the costume hoodie suggestion above.

Play time at locations with dress-up clothes. In addition to their school, the kids love when we visit the main library in DC because they have a huge children’s section, complete with a dress up corner. The kids always make a beeline for the dress up collection so they can pretend to be a surgeon, a firefighter, or a teacher.

Raid your own closet. Lion has one of Mr. Dolphin’s old button down shirts that he sometimes wears. An old orange glove of mine became his baseball mitt. An old tie or scarf, his belt or tutu.