World Book Day: 27 Tweets From Parents Doing It All Last-Minute

"Sending strength to all the parents facing down World Book Day costumes at the eleventh hour."
So you want to dress up as Harry Potter again, darling?
abalcazar via Getty Images
So you want to dress up as Harry Potter again, darling?

It’s the most wonderful day of the year – if you’re a school child maybe. “Love books, hate World Book Day. Sorry, but that’s the truth when you’re a parent,” our former parenting writer, Victoria Richards, wrote pre-pandemic.

And she’s not alone. Twitter last night was sweaty with the fevered brows of parents trying to pull together eleventh-hour literary costume for their kids.

Hopefully your munchkin is all but packed off to school, dressed as Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood or Where’s Wally – even if that means stripping your own stripey jumper off your back at the school gate like Julia in Motherland.

But if you’ve forgotten, f-ed up, or simply can’t be bothered with the palaver of it all, we’ve rounded up some of the best tweets from parents who feel similarly.

Any other parents out there throwing together a world book day costume?! 📚 pic.twitter.com/LhzWUEnlcj

— Meg (@meg_j_boyle) March 2, 2022

Are you running around to make a costume for your kids “world book day” tomorrow or are they waiting until tomorrow morning to tell you.

— David (@DEdward5) March 2, 2022

World book day tomorrow, where you can all dress up ya little toe rags in costume and post them on Facebook. It’s almost as bad as the first day at school photos. No one cares Gemma and your little McKenzie Jr.

— Grant Coiley (@Gr77ntCOiley) March 2, 2022

Sending strength to all the parents facing down world book day costumes at the eleventh hour …

— Professor Ellen Townsend (@SelfHarmRes) March 2, 2022

School WhatsApp groups absolutely febrile with parents swapping costumes and last-minute inspiration ahead of World Book Day.

— Philip Woodward (@philmoomp) March 2, 2022

I’m just a mum, standing in front of a general area in my house at 10:20pm, asking for a World Book Day costume to magically materialise for tomorrow

— Katie O (@katie_rose_o) March 2, 2022

3 types of school staff for World Book Day-
1)you google a book to make it fit any of the fancy dress outfits you have already-however dubious!
2)you’ve planned in advance the most amazing costume-this is the highlight of your year!
3)you arrive in the morning clueless!
Me no.1! pic.twitter.com/DmXRgp8Izv

— TheTattooedHeadteacher🇺🇦🇺🇦👂❤️#antiracist (@KyrstieStubbs) March 2, 2022

World book day is all fun and games until you’re the one helping to sort out the costumes

— Tills (@StayBeautifulTN) March 2, 2022

Still working on world book Day costumes. The fucker who invented that should be tried at the Hague.

— GenericFirstName on a bike (@Nicovel0) March 2, 2022

I'm going to find the person who invented World Book Day as a costume event and I am going to have Strong Words with them.

— Leonie Hirst (@leoniehirst) March 2, 2022

Everything that is wrong with World Book Day in one parent WhatsApp. Costumes but no books 🤦🏼♀️ it’s not bloody World Costume Day 😡 pic.twitter.com/VAIKvHgPk9

— Siobhan Talbott (@SiobhanTalbott) March 2, 2022

i love my kids too much, how did they convince me to dress up for world book day, it’s almost midnight and im making my costume 🥲

— u (@nxctrnldaydream) March 2, 2022

Q: What do you get when you mix up the dates for World Book Day and International Women’s Day?
A: You get 5 days less than expected to make your 9 year old a costume, and a late night at the sewing machine…🤦🏻♀️ #parentingfail #WorldBookDay

— Kirsty McNeilis (Drysdale) (@drysdale_kirsty) March 2, 2022

It’s world book day tomorrow and guess who forgot and is now making a last minute costume 🙂me🙂

— CypriotMami🇨🇾 (@constantinamua) March 2, 2022

What I also need to understand is why when I searched on Google "black characters for world book day" the first thing I saw was an ad for a burglars costume?????

— Jamila (@i_am_jamz) March 2, 2022

“I need a world book day costume”.

Why not. It’s only ten to fucking 9 at night 😖

— Kate (@nipsywhisperer) March 2, 2022

8:50pm in Asda searching for a costume for Killian for world book day tomorrow 👍🏻

— Mike 🐢 (@mikzeypc) March 2, 2022

You mean you forgot to buy the world book day costumes that lidl were selling last weekend

— Darren Guy (@DarrenGuy) March 2, 2022

if your going to come in tomorrow, and ask for World Book Day costumes. Don’t!!

We’re not a fancy dress shop 👍🏻 #Primark

— Vicki ⭐️ (@xViCkIx_) March 2, 2022

I’ve just been told I need to go to Tesco to **see** if there’s any costumes for World Book Day **tomorrow**?

Pretty sure the only thing I’ll be seeing is they’re all sold out. pic.twitter.com/b0YLR8KMVt

— Chris (@ChrisWithTheT) March 2, 2022

To the person who stole my Amazon delivery from my front door, I hope you enjoy my world book day costume 😣 #WorldBookDay #CreativityPleaseKickIn

— Mr C (@scassidy653) March 2, 2022

Waiting for these annoying kids to hurry up and sleep so I can finish making the World Book Day costumes. What is sleep?

— SassyOrangeCreamsicle (@Rio_Devoe) March 2, 2022

11 hours until we leave for school for World Book Day, and 1 hour ago Theo changed his mind on his costume. So now I've got to make an outfit. By hand. By tomorrow morning. Cheers kiddo 🙃

— Jodi Wills (@Jodiii_Wills) March 2, 2022

Twas the night before world book day and all through the house, arrgggghhhh was the sound to be heard from the well prepared mother faced with a last minute change of choice of costume from iron willed 8 yr old. pic.twitter.com/tnqqieAMYt

— Anne Fox Clinks CEO (@AnneFoxThoughts) March 2, 2022

Poor parents are stressed about world book day …. Me too! I have just this evening realised that half my costume is still at my parents house!!! And I’m too tired to go get it!!!

— Fiona (@Fii_1996) March 2, 2022

My niece Esi (age 9) doesn’t want to go to school in costume for World Book Day tomorrow, so is here writing a novel in which she is the protagonist, so she can go as herself.

— Kate Heffernan (@k8heffernan) March 2, 2022

I don’t know who needs to see this but no-one ever made me a costume for World Book Day at school and I turned out fine.

— Natasha Holme (@natasha_holme) March 2, 2022
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