In just a few short weeks one of my favorite holidays, Halloween will soon be here. I love the decorations, seeing my kids all dressed and of course picking at their candy when they’re not looking (hehehe). Below is a little Halloween gear guide of some cool items from costumes to DVDs to candy for Halloween. Enjoy!!
Target is a one-stop shop for costumes and accessories for the whole family as well as a collection of stylish Halloween home décor including skulls, tombstones, pumpkins, lanterns, children’s plates and sippy cups plus so much more. Can’t wait to put my little guy in the infant Dinky Dragon costume. This adorable costume features a blue and green jumpsuit with an attached tail and detachable wings, character hood and non-skid booties for the complete baby dragon look. The costume is available in 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months. It retails for $40.29 at Target and target.com.
Costume Express is the family-friendly destination for everything needed to celebrate Halloween. They offer a complete assortment of costumes and accessories for the whole family. Even your pets! We all know kids change their minds constantly when it comes to what they want to be for Halloween. Because of this, Costume Express is allowing parents to make as many free exchanges as they need with its “I Want to Be Guarantee.” The guesswork is taken out of the equation and less moms and dads will go nuts this Halloween with costume shopping. Speaking of costumes what are the hot costumes this Halloween? According to Costume Express the hot costumes are superheroes such as Batman, Iron Man, Superman, Wolverine and Disney Princesses such as Sofia the First, Tiana, and Merida are some of the most popular princess costumes. Ninjas, witches and pirates are also very popular such The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
Mamas and Papas offers parents a cute selection of Halloween items for babies from skeleton and pumpkin onesies to Halloween themed bibs and teething toys. Each item is designed with soft fabric and bright colors, so baby will be comfortable in their spooky attire. The two pack of Halloween bibs features an orange bib that says “Mummy’s Little Pumpkin” and a white bib that says “I Love My Mummy”. The two pack retails for $12.99 and is available at www.mamasandpapas.com.
Overstock.com has a sweet Halloween vest and pumpkin tie that is sewn to a white onesie. Your little guy will look cute as a button for a Halloween outing, for photos or something to change into after you take off his costume. The outfit is 100% cotton, comes in sizes 3-6 months and 6-9 months and retails for $18.49.
Get in the holiday spirit with an endearing Halloween animated kids film called Room on the Broom, which is based on the #1 best-selling children’s picture book in America by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler (the same author and illustrator team that created the critically acclaimed The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo¹s Child). Room on the Broom features a witch and her cat flying on her broom but through the course of the book she loses her hat, her bow and her wand. Along the way she meets three helpful animals, a dog, a parrot and a frog that help find her belongings. All they want in return is a ride on her broomstick. But is there room on the broom for so many new friends? You have to watch for yourself and see. I can’t give away the whole movie now. It’s a great film filled with humor and adventure, while teaching the importance of family, friends and teamwork! Room on the Broom DVDs are available at Target, Walmart, Toys ‘R’ Us, amazon.com, Kmart, and many other retailers (MSRP $9.99);
Looking for a different kind of candy to give out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween? Then check out Surf Sweets, a gummy candy that is "unjunked" but tastes good. It’s an all-natural, organic gummy candy that is made with organic fruit juice, free of corn syrup, gluten free and allergy friendly. For Halloween they are introducing "Trick or Treat" packs of Fruity Bears with each bag containing 20, .5 oz packs. Surf Sweets' Fruity Bears are ideal for class parties or trick-or-treating. They are available for purchase at Whole Foods and for more information on the brand please visit www.surfsweets.com.
Want to get your little trick-or-treater a special treat this Halloween? Look no further. Edward Marc Chocolatier has an assortment of delicious, mouth-watering Halloween themed candy such as chocolate covered Oreo cookies (yum!), dark chocolate pumpkin filled with candy corn, festive nonpareils, white chocolate ghost pop, orange pumpkin pop, cat pop, bat pop and a witch pop. Prices range from $2.00-$9.50 and are available for purchase on their website at www.edwardmarc.com.
Pearhead creates unique and super-cute items and keepsakes for parents and families. Anyone celebrating baby’s first Halloween this year, such as myself, will love Pearhead’s First Halloween bragbook. This sweet little book is perfect for showing off your new little one in his very first costume. The book retails for $8.95 and is available at www.pearhead.com.
Playing dress up is a way that kids express themselves and it doesn’t have to be just at Halloween. Just Pretend Kids specializes in beautiful, high quality and affordable costumes for girls and boys alike. Their tutu collections are gorgeous and come in various styles and an array of colors. The Peggy Collection features two-toned tutus with coordinating bodysuits with matching wand and headband. The tutu retails for $29.99, bodysuit is $24.99, wand is $5.99 and headband is $5.99. All pieces are available at www.justpretendkids.com.
Looking for a fun DIY costume? The October issue of FamilyFun magazine has some great creative ideas for you such as this Sweet Gnome costume. To make this costume you will need:
11 white pipe cleaners and 14-inch square of red felt
Step-by-Step guide 1. Create a double-thick base for the beard by twisting two pipe cleaners together, offsetting them by about an inch on each end.
2. Lay this base across your child’s face, centering it under his bottom lip. Wrap the ends around his ears, then connect the tips to the base with twists to form loops.
3. Fold a pipe cleaner in half, and bend it into a mustache shape over your child’s upper lip. Remove the beard and twist the mustache ends onto the base.
4. Starting next to one ear loop, wrap a pipe cleaner around the base and curl the ends, as shown below. Add more pipe cleaners until the beard is full.
5. For a simple hat, roll the red felt into a cone. Secure the seam with tacky glue and trim the edges.
