Halloween 2021

Did you have a fun Halloween?

I've already shared my Halloween pics over on Instagram, so if you're following there you've likely already seen our costumes and decorations, but I love looking back over our adventures and various holidays in more detail so I'm posting them here on the blog too. With a few extra photos, of course.

This year we ended up with a family costume for the first time ever. There have been years when the girls had costumes that go together (remember that time they were the Powerpuff Girls? You can see them here) but we've never done a whole family costume until now. It wasn't actually my plan to make a whole family costume, but it worked out that way and it makes me so happy. 

Ava decided that she wanted to be Mabel Pines from the Disney cartoon Gravity Falls. This inspired Lola to dress as the character Bill Cipher (a maniacal pyramid from another dimension) from the same show. Mathilde then decided she'd like to be Mabel's pet pig Waddles. With these three characters in mind, the girls decided that I should dress as Grunkle Stan. Kim doesn't usually dress up (unless he's wearing the nerd costume he wore for years) so I figured he wouldn't join in. Then when I was buying myself a fez for my Grunkle Stan costume I came across the hat worn by Mabel's twin brother Dipper Pines, and that was that. The whole family joined in!

My favorite Costume Making Supplies

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Ok, I hear you...

Halloween was last week. No more costumes!

But if you ask me, dressing up in costumes is for all year round - especially when they're easy to make accessories that can be worn with anything. Plus, I know that if I don't share these easy tips now while it's all fresh in my mind, I'll forget to share before next Halloween too! Shh... pretend I didn't say that!

You may have noticed through the years that our Halloween costumes are almost always made up of clothes and accessories that can be worn over and over and over. These are my favorite types of costumes as they reduce waste, can be worn by multiple kids (or adults!), and they encourage fun dress ups at any time of year. If you know Mathilde, then there's a good chance that you've seen her dressed as a coyote at random times. Oh look, there she is being a coyote on squirrel patrol - and it's not even Halloween!

So, today I'm sharing my favorite costume making supplies, including one very special "secret ingredient" that saves a ton of time and makes costume making easier no matter your crafting skills. Make sure you read through to the end for that one.

Last Minute Halloween DIY: Smurf Costume

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Another easy, peasy last minute costume today for those of you who still need ideas for Halloween.

Today we have a Smurf costume. Now, when I say that this one is easy, I really mean it. There's only one thing to make, and that's the hat, which you can find the DIY and pattern for below. This can be used for either Smurfette or a boy Smurf.

Last Minute Halloween DIY: Robot Costume

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Every year I like to make my kids' Halloween costumes, but pretty much every year I find myself leaving it to the last minute. I always have good intentions to get the costumes made early - I usually  have all the materials purchased months in advance - but when it comes to the actual making of said costumes, I always leave it to the very last minute. It probably doesn't help that October is always a super busy month in our home with Lola's birthday right in the middle of the month and many of our favorite festivals in the lead up to Halloween.

One thing I always try to do when making the kids' Halloween costumes, is work with clothes that they already have in their closet. Rather than full costumes, I like to make accessories that work with regular clothes. That way the accessories can be worn for much longer for dress up play

I'm sure that there are plenty of other parents out there like me who leaves costumes to the very last minute, so all this week I'm going to be sharing some super simple last minute costume DIYs.

First up we have a simple robot costume!

This costume is really easy to make and mostly consists of items you'll have at home - including recycling! You can make it to pretty much any size (just use a bigger or smaller box) and can decorate it anyway you like. You could paint the box or use silver contact paper to cover it, but I like to use duct tape to cover it as it strengthens the costume as well. We all know that Halloween costumes take a bit of a beating by the time trick or treating is over, so anything that makes the costume stronger is good in my books!