With schools and nurseries across the UK preparing to embrace the literary celebration that is World Book Day, costume and party shops will be making the most of the last-minute rush for the event, which takes place this Thursday, 5 March 2020.
The past few years have seen World Book Day (or Book Week, as it is often known) catapulting children’s fancy dress to the forefront of the party industry.
The annual celebration of all things bookish is a highlight of the school year for most children under the age of ten – and their teachers, who have embraced the opportunity to dress up as Mary Poppins, Mrs Trunchbull or the Big Bad Wolf as eagerly as the kids.
As a key event in the dress-up calendar, all the major party and costume suppliers now offer their own, dedicated World Book Day collections, with licensed and generic options proving equally popular.
According to Anna Solly of Sancto – UK distributor for Italian company Widmann – World Book Day has grown in size each year.
“It has become one of our top annual events and gives our retailers an extra boost in the early part of the year,” says Anna. “Its popularity has given rise to new costume ideas being chosen as more new books are released and cherished by young and old.”
Widmann’s classic lines such as cowboys, Peter Pans, princesses and pirates always prove extremely popular and for this upcoming Book Week it has added new lines such as the grasshopper and a charming prince, which have already created a stir.
A new range of dress-up kits have also been introduced for both children and adults, ideal for anyone who doesn’t like being in full costume. “Our mouse tutu disguise sets are great for Book Day and then for playing general dress-up at home afterwards, as are the wizard and cowboy sets,” Anna adds.
