Cute Themes for a Pre-K Fashion Show

A Pre-K fashion show is one of the many fun preschool activities (right up there with a tea party, arts & crafts day, and various birthday party ideas for kids) that you can plan for your little one and all their friends.

While your preschooler isn't quite ready to join the ranks of Cindy Crawford or Heidi Klum, a pint-sized fashion show is a creative and fun way to introduce new looks for a local kids' boutique, raise money for your child's school or support a community or church group. If you are in charge of, or are at least contributing to, a pre-k fashion show, there are an array of cute themes that are both imaginative and age appropriate.

This article will cover some great theme ideas for your preschooler’s fashion show.

Holidays

If the pre-k fashion show falls near a major holiday, such as Christmas, Valentine's Day or Halloween, consider using the big day as a major theme. Deck the sides of your runway with festive colored tinsel or make a "red carpet" in a hue that goes with the holiday. If possible, choose clothes that reflect the holiday. For example, if you are doing a Christmas fashion show, you might choose red velvet dresses for the girls and reindeer sweaters or red and green plaid shirts for the boys. You could also dress your child up in winter fashion, such as scarves and mittens, to match the chilly weather associated with Christmas time.

Tips

Make sure you bring tasty snacks and treats to an event like this to reward the children for participating in the fun! In the case of a holiday-themed fashion show, you could bake cookies and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes that correlate to the holiday (i.e, heart shapes for Valentine’s Day, Christmas trees for Christmas, etc.).

Time Period

Throw a back-to-the-future fashion show and create a futuristic theme, or really go back in time with a 1950s or 60s focus. Create a modern take on another era that's also kid-friendly. For example, have a happening hippie 1960s show that features cute bell bottom jeans and pint-sized tie-dye tees, or flowing flower-power dresses. If you want to try a futuristic-themed fashion show, opt for modern metallics, such as shiny silver or platinum, and a simplistic stream-lined look.

Tips

Before the day of the fashion show, parents and teachers could collaborate to teach the children a little bit about the time period they will be representing. For example, if the theme were “1960s hippie,” you can explain a bit about hippies and their style to your child, or their teachers could make a mini lesson plan to talk about during circle time in which they discuss the background of the chosen theme.

Animals

Lions, tigers and bears — oh my! Get cute and cuddly with an awesome animal fashion show that features your preschooler and his or her friends or classmates. Decorate the fashion show hall or room with posters and printables of furry or feathered creatures, or line the runway with stuffed animals such as giraffes, lions or elephants. Choose clothes that have pictures of animals embroidered on them, or go with a wild animal-print theme. If you opt for an animal-print theme, keep the clothes age appropriate. Go with something that is more along the lines of cute pink and purple zebra print leggings that are paired with a solid sweater, than a leopard-spotted body suit.

Tips

A fun craft to go along with the animal-themed fashion show could be giving the kids some crayons and construction paper to draw their favorite animal. Use clothespins and a clothesline to display all the drawings when everyone is done to allow the kids to see their friends’ drawings, as well!

Cultures

It's a small world, and cultural diversity is key to your child's early education. Celebrate different countries and cultures with a diversity or world-themed pre-k fashion show. Choose one specific country, such as Japan or Spain, or go with an array of different cultures. Create an around-the-world theme and have each child dress in the traditional clothes of a specific place or culture. If you have friends — or there are other parents — who come from another country or culture, ask them for help on what is or isn't appropriate dress.

Pajamas

Who doesn’t love a good pajama theme? Have your child dress up in their favorite onesie or flannel pajama bottoms and fuzzy slippers for this cozy theme. Drape warm-colored string lights around the room to add to the comfy vibe. Allow your child to bring along his or her favorite blanket and/or stuffed animal, and give the kids time to share why that stuffed animal is their favorite!

Disney

Chances are, your kids are well-acquainted with at least a couple disney movies — thus, they likely have their favorite disney characters! If your child has a special disney-themed item of clothing, such as a “Frozen” nightgown featuring princess Elsa or a mickey mouse t-shirt and ears, encourage them to showcase it for this magical fashion show theme. If you don’t already have a disney costume or clothing with a special disney character on it, no need to worry! You can make this into a diy project in which you ask your child which character they would like to be, and then look up tutorial videos for how to make an outfit representing that character.

Tips

For any situation where you need to create any part of your child’s fashion show outfit, encourage them to get crafty and assist you in the process! For all you know, you could have some budding fashion designers that would love to create their own outfits.