Our family is fanatical about fancy dress!
Gemma Davies, 38, from Gloucester, lets her imagination run wild with fancy dress costumes...
For some mums, fancy dress days at school are a nightmare.
Trying to track down a costume that no-one else has, and persuading your child to wear it can be tricky. Then there’s me...
I love any excuse to dress my children up!
World Book Day, Halloween, Christmas – you name it, I’ll find a fun, unique and creative costume.
Luckily, my children enjoy it just as much as I do.
Ellis, 20, Bunnie, eight, Abrey, seven, Lenny, five, and Vince, 14 months, are all used to my wacky ways.
And my husband Nick, 37, just turns a blind eye.
‘As long as you’re happy!’ he says, chuckling.
Back in the day, it was a struggle hunting down fancy dress costumes.
They simply weren’t around when I had my eldest son Ellis.
Instead, my passion for costumes began with my beloved pups.
‘What are you doing bringing them to school?’ Ellis would sigh, when I turned up at the school gate with the dogs dressed to the nines.
‘The children love it!’ I said, as they huddled round, eyeing up my latest ebay buy.
My dogs Teddy and Louis, now 15, Darla, now 12, and Peachie, now 11, have better wardrobes than me, all imported from America!
From fireman to Superdog and Pirates of the Caribbean, I used to track down the quirkiest costumes that I could get my hands on.
10 years ago, I even held a dog wedding!
Teddy was dressed up as a vicar, Darla had a gorgeous white wedding dress on, and Louis had a dapper suit with a bow tie.
I invited my sister’s dog to be a bridesmaid, and they all devoured a massive dog cake.
‘Congrats pups!’ I squealed. Any excuse to dress up! When Bunnie was first born,
I even held a wedding for the dogs
I went straight online and ordered her beautiful little dresses from America.
Her first costume was a lovely fairy outfit.
When Abrey came along, I didn’t dress him up too much – I really struggled to find cute boy costumes.
Then Lenny started off my fashion obsession.
He used to love dressing up as a baby.
From food to film characters and different occupations, I went wild sourcing outfits that no-one else had.
My children are my life, and it brings a smile to my face photographing them in their adorable outfits.
Ironically, Vince was born on World Book Day.
I was taking a photo of the children dressed up for school
when my waters broke.
It’s like the world knew how much I love fancy dress!
Vince’s first costume was Elvis, and he looked adorable.
Often, the children win fancy dress competitions and prizes.
With a mum like me, you’d hope they would have a winning shot!
Bunnie recently won a fancydress competition to go to a Dreamworks Trolls party.
An all-expenses paid trip to a lovely castle.
Not all their costumes are shop-bought, some we like to make at home.
In December, Bunnie won a prize dressed as Barbie, and we created the entire box from scratch ourselves.
And when Lenny was 16 months old, he won our neighbour’s Halloween fancy dress competition.
I dressed him up as an elderly man with a walking stick, then we secretly changed him into a serial killer with a giant cereal box.
‘You can’t even trust the old man down the lane,’ the neighbours chuckled.
Recently, the children used their craft boxes to turn Vince into a meatball pasta.
You can definitely make fun costumes on a budget!
‘What have you got now?’ my husband sighs, as I rip open another cardboard box.
‘It’s Joe Exotic!’ I cry, pulling out a miniature shirt.
Every time the doorbell goes, I’m hoping it’s the courier with another costume.
I can’t help myself – I’m always ordering the kids outfits online!
The most expensive part is shipping them from America – that’s where you’re likely to find the most unusual ones.
I don’t want to think about how much money I’ve spent.
We probably have over 450 costumes, and the most expensive costume is a £72 gnome outfit.
They are all stored in the garage, where I’ll keep them for the grandkids one day.
I don’t dress up myself, it’s just for the children.
My favourite part about fancy dress is the special memories the costumes hold.
Vince’s narwhal costume reminds me of our family day out at Weston.
The day he learnt to sit up by himself.
Bunnie’s nurse costume makes me think of her fourth birthday party.
She’d requested a disco dome in the garden, and just as Nick was signing the accidental form, Abrey slipped on the inflatable dome and broke his leg in two places.
When Nick brought him home from hospital with a plastered leg, Bunnie set to work looking after him in her nurse costume.
‘He’s my patient!’ she said,
My waters broke on World Book Day!
holding a plastic stethoscope.
To me, fancy dress brings joy and holds so many memories our family will treasure forever.
It is an innocent hobby that brings a smile to a lot of people’s faces.
I’d encourage all parents to make costumes at home with their kids.
Whether your child wants to be a meatball like Vince, or a Barbie doll like Bunnie, it’s all fun and games!
Let your children’s little imaginations run wild, and encourage them to role play with you.
They can be anything in the whole wide world!
It really is magical.