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I was never a huge fan of Halloween when I was growing up, mainly because I’m sort of a chicken. I don’t like scary movies. I don’t like haunted houses. I don’t like anything that involves anybody jumping out in front of me and screaming “Boo!” or “RAWR!” or “HEY THERE ARE FREE FRIED CHEESE STICKS HERE!”
Though truth be told, free fried cheese sticks makes almost any situation more bearable.
But because I’m not really the poster child for jumping on board with a bunch of Halloween festivities, it’s really sort of a wonder that I’ve managed to get our child into some sort of costume every single October since he was born. Except for when he was one. I think I skipped a costume when he was one. Let’s just go ahead and assume that it’s because I was tired.
Our church used to have Trunk or Treat, and that was our motivation for costume-related fun for a couple of years. By the time the little guy started pre-school, we found ourselves in the midst of the Fall Festival tradition – which, truth be told, suits me way better than Halloween because nobody’s going to try to scare you at a Fall Festival. Unless you’re frightened by inflatable slides and cake walks, in which case the whole Fall Festival thing might not be for you.
Over the last few years it’s been fun to see our boy’s costume choices mirror the stuff that interests him; he’s dressed up as Mr. Incredible, Spider Man, Obi Wan Kenobi and even Darth Vader. It’s been all-light-sabers-all-the-time around our house for two straight years. But this year – well, it’s a departure from the norm for us. Alex isn’t dressing up as a character from a favorite movie. He’s dressing up as this guy.
Yep. Mario. From Super Mario Bros. Complete with some mad jumping moves and all manner of sound effects. He’s beside himself with excitement. I’ve actually hidden the costume in the back of my car until it’s time for the Fall Festival – otherwise it’ll be worn slap-out by the time the Fall Festival rolls around.
So what about the kids in your family? What are their favorite costumes? Answer in the comments, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card courtesy of BlogHer.
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com exclusive offers page and click through to the other bloggers’ reviews; you have nine more chances to win!
And finally, here are the official rules.
Happy Costumes, everybody!
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My kids are all grown now, but my favorite costume of all time was my oldest son’s homemade Coca-Cola can costume, complete with a pull tab on top of his head!
My sons are going as a knight and a pirate, and my daughter may be going as a butterfly, a fairy, an princess, a doctor, or cheese. (?!)
My 4 year old loves to be a super hero.. Last year was superman.. This year is going to be wolverine.
One year I made a little mermaid costume, and a matching birthday cake! Another year, I made a purple velvet(-ish) gown with bodice lacing and a poofy blouse. For me, I have a t-shirt that says “This is my Halloween Costume” and that’s good enough.
My son is planning to be Count Dracula this year.
My teen is trying to get her Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd costume together. My youngest wants to be Glinda in her bubble dress from Wicked, but is thinking a fancy witch is more what she wants… :)
Favorite costume? My daughter was the only one who had a favorite costume. I swear she was a princess every year for the first ten years of halloween. Of course who am I to complain since that made costuming pretty easy.
Christine
dazed1821@aol.com
Unfortunately my boys are not dressing up this year. They think they are too old. But in the past it was power ranger, harry potter.
My kids favs are witch for DD and Venom for my son!
leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com
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A few years ago I went to a Disney Store closeout and bought a Little Mermaid costume, a Sleeping Beauty costume and the Dragon from Sleeping Beauty costume. They have been passed around a few times until everyone grew out of them, so now this year our dog is the dragon! :)
My kiddos are going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Darth Vader!
My daughter went as a biker ghoul
I loved it and she looked cool
bepoia(at)hotmail(dot)com
My girls are 4 and 6 and until this year, they’ve always just raided the dress up corner and been princesses or ballerinas.
This year, my six year old really wanted to be Velma from Scooby-Doo. “She’s so smart, they’d never solve the mysteries without her!”
My four year old decided to be supergirl! (The exclamation point is mandatory.)
MY LITTLE ONE LIKES ANY COSTUME WHERE SHE CAN WEAR A DRESS- WEIRD HUH? kytah00@yahoo.com
Any one of the many dance costumes from the past dance revues.
any sort of fuzzy furry animal.
My daughter is going to dress up as a pirate for halloween, but she loves to dress up daily as a ballerina!
Every little girl loves to be a special little princess, pink fluffy dress and sparkley tiara <3
DD is Jessie from Toy Story and DS is something Star Wars-ish!
My fav was a pumpkin
http://twitter.com/sodahoney/status/29107343691
Three kiddos in the house… we have Sacagewea, an owl and a chick magnet.
My oldest likes the pun costume the best.
Several years ago I got a batman and a spider man costume off the clearance rack and my two youngest wore them all the time to play! For about 3 years until they outgrew them.
ape2016(at)aol(dot)com
My son is going as Will from the Rangers Apprentice book series and my daughter is going as Artemis Greek Goddess). I am going to be Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz. Thanks for the great giveaway!
For three or four years, one of my sons dressed as Captain America and the other dressed as Spiderman. Thankfully we’ve gotten past that stage…I like a little variety! :)
This year my oldest will be a cowboy, my middle will be Peter Pan, and my youngest will be an elephant.
My daughter is at the age where she wants to be anything that makes her look beautiful! If she can put makeup on and curl her hair that’s what she wants to be. This year it started as a ballerina….then tinker bell…we finally settled on a gorgeous purple butterfly! I love being 3 (vicariously through my daughter, that is)!!!
Our favorite is a Witch costume that my daughter made!
deb551069at)gmail(dot)com
My daughter is going to be a princess
http://twitter.com/susan1215/status/29188332919
We let our kids pick out something from the stores…usually it was the latest superhero or popular kids program personality
holly hobby
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
My son said Boba Fett (Star Wars) is the best costume. Coincidentally, that’s what our little neighbor boy is dressing up as tomorrow.
aleq13@gmail.com
One year my nieces and my kids were Winnie the Pooh and the whole cast, including Christopher Robin.
My son shaved his head and painted it like a jack-o-lantern….without warning me. I got a photo text before I knew about it!
My son’s favorite was his Darth Vadar costume
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having nine boys before we had our first girl we had many spidermans/soldiers/animals but when our daughter was 2 she wore a princess costume! All of us, boys included, thought she truly was a living princess. . . since then we’ve added another son and rounded the family off with a second daughter and the princess costumes are ever present once again!
My daughter’s favorite is a fairy princess costume.
My dog was a ghoul yesterday for the Howlween Pawty. He had a blast bobing for dog treats and trick or treating at the local businesses. Today we are going to walk 4 mutts.
My kids like to wear their costumes before it’s time, too!
My oldest was Yoda this year, complete with a light-saber
My middle was The Cat in the Hat
My baby was a panda
My kids went as a gypsy, Harry Potter and a Southern Belle. My 14 year old who dressed as a Southern Belle got lots of comments, the people seemed to appreciate a teenager who actually made an effort to dress up.
ajolly1456 at gmail dot com
My son dressed as a farmer and his little sister dressed as a chicken!
Thanks for the chance to win!
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com
My friend’s two-year-old dressed up at Scooby Doo, and she made his wagon into the Mystery Machine. It was amazing… until he decided to take all the letters off the van and she had to put them back on again.
This was my son’s first Halloween. Since he’s our little “punkin”, he was a pumpkin this year!
My daughter was a chicken this year and it was so cute!!!
My kids were very excited this year. Ella (7) was a cat. Natalie (5) was a horse for her school hoe down and Halloween (with the most fantastic horse costume, just her size, scored at Goodwill for $7.99). And then we had a little 6 week old pumpkin.
Growing up my sons would get so excited about their costumes they would wear them 24/7. They would be worn out or ripped by the time Halloween arrived!
My favorite is a lion costume my nephew wore this year!
My five-year-old would literally have wrestled Alex to the ground to steal that Mario costume. He was so put out that I made him be Buzz Lightyear…which was his deepest heart’s desire up until the very morning of Halloween when he saw his brother’s Pirate mustache, which reminded him of Mario, and he changed his heart’s desire right then and there!
This year my boys were an Alabama football player (age 3) and Big Al (8 months). I have to say, they were precious!
We have no kids but still love to dress up. My best homemade costume ever was a waffle I made out of a foam bed pad.
My daughter was a “fang-less” vampire (a loose tooth preventing fang usage!
My nephew was a ketchup bottle! :)
I’ve never been much on Halloween either. Largely due to the fact that I have heard the story of my being drugged when I was three while trick-or-treating in Baton Rouge. I’ll spare the details but suffice to say we never trick-or-treated since. We had a family tradition of going to Mr. Gattis, now Gattis. What happened to Mister?
But we do have Fall Festivals which have also been referred to as Fall Vegetables by my youngest. I do love fall vegetables, too.
This year, the youngest (four) dressed as Fancy Nancy. We put together her costume with dress-up items she had here at home with the exception of some Fancy Nancy slippers and a pair of gloves from Walmart. I’d say the two oldest are too old to dress up but that’s ridiculous. Being 20 or almost 18 doesn’t stop them. The oldest dressed as a pirate to match baby boy.
My favourite was dressing the little guy up as a pirate – ARGHHH!
i think my favorite things this year were my two pups dressed up as Brown’s football players and my sweet husband dressed up as a referee! They were the hit of the neighborhood!
Our daughter is a little old for dressing up now, but I enjoyed seeing all the little kids dressed up at our school’s carnival.
My son is Spiderman 24/7 lately. My girls are princesses or fairys of some sort.
Favorite costume for my little man is the Moo Cow. He loved the bell!
My nephew is obsessed with Spider Man! He’s been spider man 3 years in a row now, including the infamous black Spider Man!
I don’t have any kids in my family. Wish I did! But when I was a kid, I once dressed at static cling!
ladybug, lion, spiderman, dorothy, caterpillar, you name it, we’ve got it!!!
My kiddo is all about the Scooby Doo gang right now. At 6, she made a STELLAR Daphne, and her dad and I dressed as Fred and Velma. Too fun!
OH MY STARS- my 7 year old was Mario this year,big brother was Lugi and baby sister was a clown.
And you are NOT KIDDING about the sound effects-they had them down pat!
My favorite costumes for my daughter one year was a rubik’s cube that we made from a cardboard box and sheets of colored paper.
My 21 year old daughter is a senior in college, she went to a Halloween costume party this year. She was fully dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. She wore a rope around her neck with a sign attached: “Nudist On STRIKE”. She didn’t spend any money, had a blast and I was proud she had her clothes on:)
Oh, we’re all superheros, all the time around here! Both in costume AND in conversation. I answer the question, “Mom, if you could have any super power, which one would you have?” probably once a day!
Iron Man is a current favorite for both our son and our daughter~~never-mind that they have never seen the movie.
My little guy was a chili pepper his first Halloween. Being Mexican I decided to go for a veggie that was more authentic to his heritage than a pea in a pod.
I went as a mustard bottle complete with a pylon as a squeeze top hat!
When my son was younger, he had two really great costumes. One was Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. He had this wooden snake that was so realistic-looking and he nailed the Aussie accent. It was hilarious.
But the best costume was when he went as a Domino’s Pizza Delivery guy. He was in middle school at the time and we got a box from Domino’s, cut a hole in the top and he used that to collect his candy. It was awesome and the dads all LOVED it.
My girls are kitties no matter how they’re dressed or what they’re doing. They do love some princess dress-up costumes, though! Princess kitties anyone?
My first little one is still in utero,but I think that next year we’ll dress her as a baby giraffe (found a cute costume).
we don’t have kids in our family at the moment (hopefully soon!) but my favorite kids’ costume from this year was a 4 year old dressed as a scuba diver and his little 1 year old brother as Nemo.
Favorite costumes in our family are: BatGirl; SuperGirl; Princess; and Cinderella…see a theme here? Hehe
My favorite is my daughters lady bug costume. She loves it so much she wore two years in a row even though I bough her a new one this year.
It’s almost always a superhero or movie character of some sort. This year, my 8-year-old went as Harry Potter, including the blonde hair dyed black. My 4-year-old went as Buzz Lightyear.
Favorites so far are the jack in the box and the lego costume I made this year out of cardboard boxes for less than $20 for both. Go me.
Only have dogs but they were the cutest blowfish ever this year!
All of my friends’ children were really into princesses and pumpkins this year.
My boys are home pretty much everyday, as we homeschool. So some days, I’m teaching my oldest as he’s dressed as Venom or maybe he’s Captain Rex. My middle boy likes to wear his own Carhartt overalls and his dad’s Philly’s cap and pretend to be Mario, but his new favorite is the Incredible Hulk. My baby has discovered Batman and is usually in black. He has managed to “store” (aka “lose”) the mask, so I’ve had to put my novice sewing skills to work and fashion a replacement mask. And I never thought I’d be one of those mothers who let her kids wear their costumes out into public, but here we are!
My 10 month-old baby boy had his first Halloween this year. I dressed him up as a pumpkin.
My favorite costume when my oldest son was little was when he dressed up like Noah. My husband made a cardboard ark that my son “wore” and we put stuffed animals peeking out of it. Loved it! He’s 20 now and he and his girlfriend dressed like Fred and Wilma! :)
Princess. Always a princess. I have 3 daughters and I am princessed out.
Elliot was Batman this year – but last year he was the cutest green dragon with red spikes – SO cute – that was my favorite so far.
I have 3 boys and they are a little obsessed with cowboys…they will wear a cowboy hat around all day :)
One of the favorites in our house, is the starfish, yeah don’t know why either…this year the baby was a dragon and that was a big hit too.
my girls dressed up as the girls off of Camp Rock this year. it usually is something they are interested in. Last year, were were My Little Ponies.
Sissy was tickled with her Cat in the Hat costume this year.
My favorite costume for her – as long as we chose them for her – was her Auburn cheerleader costumes.
My favorite was a unicorn costume we had for my daughter.
The favorite costume was when my daughter was one of the three blind mice with 2 of her cousins when they were babies.
My daughters fav. costume was the fairy
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Favorite costume for our cold-weather Halloweens was definitely Pooh Bear. It was a full-body, fluffy suit with a hood and SO CUTE!
My 5-year-old cousin dressed as OK State’s Pistol Pete for Halloween. The best part was that he dressed his bottle calf as Bullet, Pistol Pete’s horse!
my favorite costume for kids this years was a garden nome. just so CUTE!
My kids were iron man and a fairy princess :)
My favorite costume was a little clifford costume I put together for my son.
A cute little toddler clown has been my favorite so far, but he was rivaled by our multicolored witch this year.
My daughter wanted to dress as a pirate but she kept saying she wanted to be a boy pirate…not a girl pirate. She did end up in the girl costume however and looked so cute!!