Creative Ideas NEEDED

In my opinion, I would just ask my child what they think would be a super silly hat or sock. This is a great opportunity for her to get creative/artistic. It should be a fun activity for the children, not a creative mom contest. I've seen this stuff get way out of hand at my daughters preschool where they had to make posters about themselves. It was obvious that most were done by parents. Ask her what she thinks and then try to accomadate her imagination with supplies to create it and by all means help her if she needs help, but let her take the lead. Also, I don't like the idea of the "prize" either considering that a hat created by a parent might win instead of an authentic child's creation.

Crazy hat day - if you can buy it the Flower Factory (that now has free memberships...feel free to say J. Brandenburg referred you = : ) has some crazy crazy hats all for just about under $3.

To make one, since you do have a 4 year old. Buy a hat from the dollar store and then find all sorts of craft supplies or odds and ends from around the house and let your little kiddo go to town gluing the items on. You could even name your hat "Things from around my house" or "Things found in the couch!" - lol there is quite a collection of things under our couch cushions!

Socks - you could either buy socks from walmart and let them sticker them (one time use) or use fabric paint. Or just let your daughter pick out some crazy socks (that may end up to be princesses). Your daughter won't care so much about the prize so I wouldn't focus on that....just let her have fun and she'll enjoy herself!

When I was in school we had a hat contest. I decorated a hat with different colors and shapes of balloons including the long ones sticking out of it...it was a lot of fun and took first prize!

Does she have to wear the silly socks or can you send her in with a sock puppet? Or find a way to make the socks she's wearing into puppets?

M., for crazy sock day, she can wear like four pairs, like a knee high sock, of colors, and maybe another sock over that , but shorter, and make each foot different , so like a knee high , mid calf, and a bobbie sock, different colors of stripes, etc, and different for each leg, so if she is wearing 3 socks on one foot, 3 diff ones on the other, just have fun , layer it, , or toe socks are cool too, but unless you take off shoes, it dont work, crazy hat day, there are lots of crazy hats out there, you have like dr seuss hats, hats from halloween , or other kinds of hats, look on oriental trading, online, and check out their hats, dont knwo if you have time to order, but they do have some hats on there, pirate hats, suess hats, animal hats, etc, some stores in malls will sell like those drinking hats, two cans on the hat and a straw, that goes from hat to mouth, fun stuffs, just have fun, and enjoy D. s

Wierd Hair Day
Mismatch day

When it comes to silly socks day....who said socks have to be worn only on the feet? Make it fun and put a sweat suit on her then pin socks all over it.

For hat day....go to the dollar store and get a cowboy hat (or similar type) then stick fake flowers in the top so they poke out the top.

Have fun!

What would make it really make it super creative is when he can say that help make the hat. Try recyling a old at at home as well as matrials. Buy some two side velcrout ( it peels off and stick on both sides) Put the velcrour around the entire hat and ask him what he would like on his hat and stick and peel. May cur a whole bigger enough to tie a scarf on it so that it can hang from.

Once again recylce some old sock and find som peel off eyes and put it on all of the toes find some iron letters or symbols oar shapes on iron them on the socks. When you go to the fabric store to pick up some these items. Tell the workers at the fabric store what u are trying to do and I am sure someone would be glad to help.

Hope it helps

J. B.

Junnie B Jones, look at your local libary, then off to the Thrift store. Many great idea's from authors. Best of luck.

Creative Hat Day - take any hat, hot glue or sew on wrapped candies all over the hat!! Big hit - everyone wants to be your friend!! crazy sock day could be those cute socks with each toe. I love them~

Hi, for a hat I thought of a "noodle" mop replacement.(not the whole mop) If you have time you could dye it her favorite color. As for socks there are so many colorful and cute ones at WalMart or a similar store. I have a pair that has Hershey's Kisses on them and I am 56! Good Luck! Denise K.

My 5-year old daughter had crazy hat day. We took a winter hat and safety pinned a bunch of animals too it - little stuffed aninals (Happy Meal size), rubber snakes and lizards, bath toys - sharks, fish. Then I took some gold wire with gold stars on it that we had from Christmas wrapping time and wrapped that around, then maid some braids and pinned them on. I let her pick things out from her toy box to pin on. If you have an old pom-pom, you could pin that to the top like a pouf of hair.

My teenage neice has these really fun thigh high rainbow striped socks that she wears with shorts around the house. They are super fun. I'm not sure where she got them but I bet you could find them at one of the teen stores at the mall like Limited Too.
Enjoy these fun days!

The creative ideas should ALWAYS come from your child. You will know which parents are competing for the prize, but what does a 4 year old learn from that. I always let me kids make their "entries" for these contests and they didn't win, but they were proud of their work.

Hi M.,
Don't know if this will help, but I had to ideas:
If you have a lot of pins, either campain pins (the one you pin on your shirt that you get for free) and put these all over a big hat. Or use safty pins and put all different type of beads on them and pin on any hat.

For sock day you can take one of your husbands XL tee shirts and safty pin every color and size sock to it. And depending on how good a sport your daughter is all over her pants too, but I think the shirt should be enough. You could even pin several socks together to make a scarf, and any other accessories you can think of.

I hope these ideas help and good luck....most of all have fun with it and get pictures so you can laugh at them years later......

Lisa Jo and family

My kids made some really cute "crazy" hats at the Ann Arbor art fair a couple years ago. You just take a PAPER grocery bag and roll down the open end until it fits snug around your child's head. Then stick on foam stickers or other types of decorations. Also, have a bunch of paper cut into thin strips and stuff these into the rolled up part all around so they are sticking up and out in all different directions. Hard to explain, but ends up super cute!

Hi! What about getting a cheap straw hat from the $ store, cut slits above the ears, of corse before she puts it on, add a old but colorful scarf to keep it on her head. If you have a glue gun, look at some old silk flowers or lace or even shoe laces to decorate, if you scrap book, cut-outs using felt or colorful paper should work with some rinestones, or big flashy buttons would work too! The socks are a different story. Good luck, and have fun. Let her help by picking from a stack of add ons you choose.
J.

How about something like wearing Mom or Dad's socks over his tennis shoes.

Take a baseball hat that fits him well and then decorate it with things from around the house. Maybe attach some construction paper and then add a favorite littler toy to it.

M.,

Something to keep in mind for this in the future is if you garage sale at all keep your eyes open for crazy hats at garage sales. I will pick them up so we can use them to put together Halloween costumes too.So check you old costumes (if you save them) for any hats you could use.

For Crazy Hat Day you could take a bicycle helmet and glue artificial flowers, or stickers on it. You could also take a stocking cap and either safety pin or glue ribbons, or streamers onto it. At my sons school one little girl came in with a wig from an old Halloween costume and it was really cute! My son wore a Pirate Hat (also from a Halloween costume). Otherwise try to think outside the box, any baseball caps lying around you could embellish?

For Silly Sock Day, Could you put a pair of adult mens knee socks on her-over her pant legs? Thats definitly silly! Or maybe several pairs of socks in different lengths and colors, so that you can see all the layers of socks? Maybe go a different direction and safety pin lots of socks to her pants and shirts?

Good luck and have fun with it, you don't need to spend much- if anything- just try to be original!

M. ~
Go to your local thrift store and see what you can find. That would be a great place to get alot of socks if you want to do the sweater thing....you never know what you'll find there!
D.

Go to mICHAELS YOU CAN GET FOAM HAT AND MAKE YOUR OWN HAT. mY SAON MADE A CUTE TURTLE HAT. THEY HAVE GREAT IDEAS

Try familyfun.com or Martha Stewart's site (she had, not sure if she still does, a Kids magazine that had fun ideas). Family Fun ususally has lots of creative ideas that are simple and inexpensive to do. Have fun!

Hi M.-
What about getting plain socks and a plain ball cap, grabbing a hot glue gun and letting her go crazy (with your help of course)? You could send her on a treasure hunt around the house to find special things to attach to the hat (scraps of fabric, small toys, postcards, cotton balls, straws, fake flowers) Maybe you could have a theme, like her favorite things, all one color, cooking stuff, favorite place, or anything really! You could make crazy socks by gluing on fabric scraps or fake flowers. Just make sure she can still get her shoes on!

J.

For the silly sock day...the dollar store (of course!)

Buy several pairs of adult socks...different colors/patterns. Cut them open at the foot or ankle and have her wear them on her legs and arms...scrunched up like leg warmers. Then she can wear one regular pair on her feet. It would be cute if she wore a skirt with tights and then put the socks on over her tights. You could even cut holes in one pair so she could wear them like gloves (cut one hole for her thumb, and another for all four fingers...not one hole for each finger).
Hopefully you understand this description...I think it would look really cute!

Good luck!