| Category | Details |
| Title | Dress Up |
| Season & Episode | Season 47, Episode 4707 |
| Main Muppet Characters | Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Cookie Monster, Rosita, Count von Count, Oscar the Grouch |
| Human Guest(s) | Nina |
| Letter of the Day | D (for Dress Up and Doctor) |
| Number of the Day | 0 |
| Theme | Using imagination and costumes to solve problems and have fun. |
| Lessons & Themes | Resilience when toys are lost, cooperative play, and understanding different professions through roleplay. |
| Key Segments | Smart Cookies (Long Arm of the Bear Claw), Elmo's World: Dress Up, Counting with Zero. |
| Air Date | February 18, 2017 (HBO) / October 16, 2017 (PBS) |
Summary
Elmo's feeling a bit let down. He can't find Clipity-Clop. Abby Cadabby shows up. She suggests using your imagination instead of a physical toy. She conjures a magic costume trunk. The two friends become partners in crime. They use a mop and a broom as horses. Abby uses magic to make the mop gallop. Elmo feels dizzy.
Abby dresses as a doctor to help her friend. She wraps Elmo's finger in a bunch of bandages. Elmo starts to look like a mummy. This look scares Rosita and Ovejita at the Bike Shop. Elmo decides to embrace being a mummy. They watch Nina fix a flat tire. Abby wears a bike repair costume to help out.
The make-believe continues. Abby turns into a baker. She brings a talking birthday cake to life. They turn the cake into a mummy birthday cake. Elmo forgets about his lost toy. He has fun being a cowboy and a doctor and a mummy and a repairman.
The Smart Cookies team protects a party from the Crumb. Cookie Monster can't stop a mechanical Bear Claw on his own. He gets that the team has to work together to win. Count von Count is all about the number 0, and Oscar the Grouch is pretty annoyed. He hoped the Count would have nothing to count.
Parent's Guide
Elmo can't find his toy Clipity Clop. Abby suggests using your imagination to become a cowboy or cowgirl. They use a mop and a broom as horses. It's hard for a kid to deal with losing a toy. Creativity is the answer. When you start pretending, you're in control again. You don't need a physical object to have a great time. Your mind is like a toy box. Tapping into your imagination can make you more resilient. You find joy even when things don't go as planned.
Abby and Elmo go from being cowboys to becoming doctors. They become bike repair people and mummies. Playing is how kids explore new identities. Dressing up lets kids try out different roles. This helps you develop empathy. You understand different jobs and viewpoints by pretending.
Elmo walks over to the Bike Shop, wrapped in bandages. Rosita and Ovejita are scared because they think he's a real mummy. Your costume looks different to an outsider. Pretend play can sometimes confuse or even frighten others. You've got to be aware of how your behavior affects the people around you. Dealing with these social misunderstandings is part of growing up. Share your fun so everyone feels comfortable and included.
It's better to work together than to solve a problem on your own. Success requires a team first mentality. Cookie Monster figures out that going after the Bear Claw one-by-one isn't going to cut it. The Smart Cookies team is a real tight-knit group. Cooperation solves complicated problems.
Count von Count and Oscar are learning about the number 0. The Count shows that you can't really count or categorize anything. Zero is a basic math concept. It's basically the absence of something. It's the baseline for all counting. Zero is all about recognizing what's missing.
