Sophie Loy, five, gets to wear dresses such as the sparkly blue dress donned by snow queen Elsa in the Disney animated movie Frozen.

All because her mother runs a costume rental business at home.

During peak party seasons such as Christmas, their four-room flat in Bedok Reservoir sees about 30 customers a month.

"My children and husband have got used to having people over," said Ms Alicia Cho, 31.

She started the business last year, after giving up her marketing executive job to spend more time with her children, then two and four years old.

"I love to dress my children up and take photos of them, so the costume rental idea came naturally," said Ms Cho.

Her costumes are from the United States and China, and are for sale or can be rented for $10 each.

One of the drawbacks of a home business though is the income, said Ms Cho, who now earns a quarter of her former earnings.

JANICE TAI