The utter joy of being able to dress up in something other than your school uniform as a kid is not lost on us. However, as parents, arranging costumes for World Book Day can prove quite stressful, especially when we're juggling so many other tasks.

 

In fact, 73 percent of parents find the whole affair to be a hassle. 61 percent thought of the event as 'a bit of a hassle', while 12 percent upgraded it to 'major'.

 

However, all of that work to fix your kid up in fancy dress is utterly worth it, parents find, as 77 percent still consider it a great way of celebrating reading.

 

World Book Day, which was established to encourage children's love of books, often involves our little ones dressing up at school as their favourite literary characters.

 

 

These costumes are sometimes 'cobbled together' with items from around the house (33 percent), are from a ready-made costume set (21 percent), or are handmade by parents (17 percent).

 

The Mumsnet survey asked 1,703 of their users with at least one child aged 11 or under about their World Book Day habits and attitudes.

 

One of the more difficult parts of World Book Day can be if you and your child disagree about what costume they should wear. However, if there's an argument, it's likely your little one will triumph, as in these conflicts the child's preference won out for 52 percent of those surveyed.

 

 

As for putting these outfits together, 42 percent of mums and dads say they had between a week and a month's notice to make sure their kid was ready to celebrate in costume. 19 percent said they only had a week.

 

If you saw a lot of little Matildas or Hermiones while dropping your child off at school today, it's no coincidence. Road Dahl and Harry Potter characters are two of the most popular costume categories, with 20 percent and 12 percent of parents dressing their kids up as these, respectively.

 

Let's be honest - no matter how much time we've put into our kids' costumes, it's all so worth it when we see that smile brighten their face as they read their favourite book.

 

Do you find World Book Day stressful, mums?

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