Tulip, I am flattered of course, but I was the kindly, motherly Queen of Hearts from the nursery rhyme, and not the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Although Dad did joke I should have my photo taken with his axe and my severed head from Halloween.
Clod, part of me worried that the Tiger would be unsettled by all this, but he took it in his stride. He loved being called Lightning McQueen
I was asked TWICE if I was the Devil. No. And more than that, I was asked by countless children in the playground at lunchtime if I would take my wig off. NO. "Show me your real hair!" NO! You see that every other day of the week!
Of course the best reaction I got was from the other staff, which I was happy to reciprocate. And the older children were delighted when I named their characters - one year five girl couldn't believe I'd recognised her as Willy Wonka. I couldn't believe that anyone wouldn't! Oh the girls loved the little touches - the nails, the rings, the crown.
It was all well worth it. Not one member of staff had a completely shop-bought costume. Which I thought was great.