The youngest’s school Easter Bonnet Parade is looming. This, like World Book Day and other such occasions, must have been dreamt up by an alpha mum who can effortlessly fashion a costume out of scraps of leftover craft materials she happens to have lying around, and whose extrovert child loves nothing more than turning up at school with a birds nest on his head or dressed as a toilet. Alas, I’m sadly lacking in the creative crafts department. I once had to phone a friend to find out how to make the colour brown. I needed to know this as I was helping the eldest create a papier-maché medieval village which she’d forgotten to make during the school holidays and which was due in for the next day. It wasn’t a good evening. So I’m not best placed to be whipping up an Easter Bonnet.
But even if I were, the youngest wouldn’t want to wear it. My children hate dressing up at school. They’re quite happy with school uniform, thank you very much, as it makes them the same as everyone else. So when they have to dress up in order to fit in, they find it really hard. For last year’s Easter Bonnet Parade the youngest agreed to wear a faded blue baseball cap with a Happy Easter sticker on the front. When we saw everyone else’s extravagant creations, he was really embarrassed and said he wanted a proper hat next time, and I felt like an unfit mother.
So this weekend we went to our local Hobbycraft shop and bought a flimsy selection of yellow feathers, pom-poms and googly eyes with a straw hat to attach them to. As we were sticking it all together my husband came in and narrowly escaped getting a glue brush in a painful place when he asked if ‘anyone apart from the Mums actually wants an Easter Bonnet Parade?’ The glue’s dry now, and I just hope the youngest wears it every Easter until he goes to secondary school so that we don’t have to make another one.
This looks fabulous! Like Big Bird on Sesame Street! Mine came home with a St Patrick’s Day hat, I don’t know if they’re doing Easter bonnets!
If you don’t have to make one at home you’ve done well.
I’m with you! just on my way out of the door to purchase a straw hat, crepe paper, baby chicks etc… not looking forward to my evening of creativity – what a nightmare! Would love to see your finished bonnet 🙂
Good luck with that. Our finished bonnet is the one in the photo at the top of this post.
This did make me laugh. My son hated dressing up and I have always been useless at sewing/ craft etc. He once went to World Book Day in jeans and jumper with bar of chocolate in pocket at feeble attempt to be Charlie from the Chocolate factory.
You deserve a big pat on the back for your efforts: bonnet looks lovely.
My eldest goes to school on World Book Day as a muggle.
Brilliant!
Glad you like it. We can make one for you if you like.