by Pam Thompson

Created on: July 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2009

I have spent a lot of time and money building up toy collections for my four sons. But the area in their toy closet that they return to day after day is their dress up corner!

Boys and girls love to play dress-up. It is a fabulous way for them to explore the often frightening world of grown ups. It is an outlet for their creativity, and it is a game played best with others!

If you have an unlimited toy budget, there are many ready made options for a dress up collection. School supply and specialty children and toy catalogs can be a great source of well made children's costumes which are designed to be taken on and off over and over and over. Some great options are The Little Dress Up Shop or The Baby Office . These costumes will certainly be a hit with your children.

Most of us would like to build up a collection on a tighter budget, and that is completely possible. I have found that by keeping my eyes open I have been able to amass an enviable collection. Here are some tips:

1. Explore your own closet. Do you have old prom or bridesmaid dresses hanging in the back of your closet? You Know that you will never wear them again and they will be hopelessly out of style by the time your daughter reaches prom age. Let her use them now. She will enjoy countless hours as a fairy princess. Does your husband have old ties that you would rather him retire from the collection? Toss them in the dress up closet, they will become belts, scarves, dog leashes, fire hoses and any number of fabulous accessories. Old scarves, blouses, costume jewelry (without dangerous points), suit-coats, and even old work ID badges make great dress up accessories. Best of all, they are free!

2. Garage Sales are Your Friend. If you have done a good job through the years of keeping your closets purged of valuable dress up junk, surely someone else is getting rid of some treasures that your youngster will adore. Garage sales are a great source of old briefcases, vintage clothing, and outgrown Halloween costumes. Which brings me to my next favorite source of dress up supplies:

3. November 1. I hit the mass merchandising stores early on November 1. Not to stock up on candy (my kids collected plenty last night!). I am hitting the stores to glean leftover costumes at 75% off or more. I usually skip the licensed characters, unless there is a particular one that my children are interested in. I tend towards the firefighter costumes, doctor outfits and cowboy costumes. I prefer the sets that have lots of accessories. We often mix and match these supplies. Currently my son has donned a batman t-shirt and is wearing a black cape we got from a $3 gladiator costume.

4. Friends and Family. Once your friends and family know that you are building up, or have built up a dress up collection, the donations will literally start flowing in. People love to know that their old things are getting good use and will love to donate their old dress ups or appropriate accessories. Your challenge will no longer be that you don't have enough dress up clothes for creative play, but that you need to find a new space to store it all!

Have fun!

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