by Stephanie Epplett

Created on: August 20, 2009

Children look up to the adults in their lives, so much so they want to be them and they often spend countless hours pretending to be the role models and adults in their lives. Helping a child cultivate a dress up collection is one of the best gifts you can give your child and will inspire some of the most imaginative and creative play that will not only keep your child(ren) occupied, but will help teach them life lessons.

The first tip in creating an affordable dress-up collection, is to clean out your own closet. Children often love to mimic and play as their parents, what better way to do this than with mom or dad's own clothes and shoes. Before you trash that old prom dress or run to goodwill with last year's fashions, let your children have first dibs at your clothes and shoes, this will enable them to effectively play the people they love the best.

The second tip is to hit the garage sales. Garage sales can offer a wide variety of dress up clothes and accessories you may not otherwise find. Old dance costumes make wonderful princess dresses and can often be found for a steal at a garage sale. Other accessories to help create inventive dress up play can also be found at garage sales. An old doctor bags, blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes can make for hours of fun pretending to be doctors. Old aprons, cooking utensils and pots and pans can help that budding little chef cultivate their culinary skills, without ruining your expensive cookware. A well worn desk and a pair of lens less frames and some old books and soon your children will be playing school. The possibilities are endless at a garage sale and easy on your pocketbook.

The third suggestion is to hit the second hand and thrift stores. While your little princess may adore her new gown, she will need a tiara and some jewelry to complete the ensemble and transform her into her favorite princess. Thrift shops are a great place to score on old jewelry, tiaras, purses and hats. It is important to check all jewelry carefully first to ensure that it is still in good order. You would not want your three year old choking on a stone in a ring or necklace that was loose. Thrift stores can also offer up a large selection of specialized dress-up clothes such as scrubs for playing doctor and army fatigues for playing army guys.

The fourth suggestion would be to get a good storage system for all the dress-up clothes and accessories. While dress-up is an important part of creative learning, it can make a large mess and the clothes and accessories that make up a wonderful collection can make take up a lot of room. A large plastic storage tub will enable you to keep the clutter down and the collection in good order for hours of imaginative play.

Finally, think with the child within. Remember what fascinated you as a child and what you loved to play with or dreamed of having in your own dress-up collection while you are building your child's collection. While the times have changed, some things remain the same children will always imitate, mimic and pretend to be the ones the look up to.

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