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Christmas Toddler Toys.. dressing up

From glam princesses to gruesome monsters, there’s a wide range of fancy dress to be found for all ages and budgets.

Although some toddlers will enjoy role-play games without the added colour of a good costume, for some children it will help fire their imagination.

By acting out everyday or fantasy stories, children will not only exercise their own ability to make sense of the world and to construct narratives for themselves, but this kind of play should also enhance their social and language skills, even when acting out an adventure on their own.

Costumes are a good gift idea because a child can never have too many… even if it means three friends all playing house in the same Cinderella outfit! If you want to stock up, the supermarkets will always have a good range of reliable favourites, but for something more premium, try mail order catalogues as they have wider varieties to choose from.


Reversible Cinderella/Snow White Dress-Up £24, 2+ With two outfits in one reversible dress, this clever costume idea means double the dressing up fun! Mothercare also have a range of festive costumes, including reindeer, Christmas puddings, fairies and elves. www.mothercare.com	Pirate Costume Role Play Set £16, 3+ Definitely not just for boys, being a pirate lets your children roam the high seas with their cutlasses waving. This set includes an eye patch, hook hand, telescope, pirate hat and obligatory cutlass to complete the nautical look. www.debenhams.com	Fire-fighter Outfit £12, 3+ As well as fantasy costumes for fairy tale play, Early Learning Centre have a great range of ‘real life’ costumes for budding vets, doctors, builders and fire fighters. This fire-fighter jacket has nice touches – silver strips and high-visibility trousers. Buy the accessories separately. www.elc.co.uk

Tiger cub £22, 18mths+ From sparkly fairy gear to wonderful full-length animal costumes, Letterbox has a good range of quality outfits. Ones like this huggable tiger costume are machine washable. www.letterbox.co.uk	Elf Tunic £9, 2+ This is a bright unisex tunic suitable for any Christmas elf to dress up in. Included is a brown belt and green hood, with a bell on the end for accompanying the carol singers. www.woolworths.co.uk	Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Medic Kit £13, 3+ A great medical kit with all the life saving equipment your child needs to play doctor. Patients can be examined with the included stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, thermometer, bandage and lots more, and all the kit fits into a soft red bag for easy transportation. www.woolworths.co.uk