halloween on a budget

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About a month ago, I posted about how I was going to attempt to make my kids awesome costumes for a total of $40 or less. Did I do it? Absolutely! I couldn't come back here saying I had failed, right?

 In my previous post, I had no clue what Alex had wanted to dress up as, but I had determined that Katie would be Little Red Riding Hood.  Well, obviously that didn't work out so well!  My sweet little two year old has a mind of her own and absolutely insisted on being a monkey.  

 Here she is, at our MOMS Club Halloween party.  This is the only time she wore the ears at all.  For this costume, I made a leotard-type shirt out of brown furry fabric, adding a little cream tummy.  The top was baggy enough to give her some more body, so she didn't resemble a skinny monkey, and had a long stuffed tail attached.  The tail was so long it dragged the ground and, if I had it to do over again, I would shorten it just a little because it seemed to bother her a bit.  To make the ears, I wrapped an old headband in matching fabric, sewed and stuffed two semi-circles, and hot-glued it all together.  She wore the get-up with a pair of leggings and a shirt that she already had.  Here's how it breaks down:

Fabric: $10 for a total of 1/2 yard.

Snaps: $2

Total: $12

I had the stuffing, thread, headband, glue, leggings, and shirt on hand.

Alex decided he wanted to be a ghostbuster.  Pretty simple, right?  Well, I had to search all over for a khaki shirt because I waited until the last minute and thought that it would be easy to purchase.  I should have ordered online weeks prior because I went to many stores and a men's size small was the best I could come up with.  That's okay, my little munchkin liked it anyway.  I painted the ghostbuster logo on one sleeve and his name on the left chest pocket.  We paired the shirt with a pair of khaki pants and his belt.  Then, I had to make the proton pack.  I happened to have an old vacuum extension, so that worked out nicely.  I hot-glued that to a piece of foam board, added some faux-tupperware containers, and spray painted the whole thing black.  Then, I dissected a backpack that we never used and stapled the straps to the board.  Grandma completed the outfit by purchasing those goggles at the Spirit of Halloween store.  He loved it!  And, he got more compliments than I even could have imagined for such a homemade costume.

Shirt: $7

Red and white paint: $6

Black spray paint: $1

Tupperware containers: $2

Foam board: $4

Pipe cleaners: $1

Goggles: gift

Total: $21

Total for two costumes: $33.  I even had enough left over to buy that fun Halloween shirt for $5.  Score!

**Photos courtesy of Amy Stamp.

halloween fare: tapeworms and cockroaches

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Just in time for Halloween, my friends and I had our monthly recipe swap.  The premise is that each person will bring a dish and share a recipe according to the month's theme.  This was our third get-together and it was a fun one.  Mrs. M came up with the theme for October and served as our lovely host.  Her idea?  Halloween look-alike foods.  Oh, goody!

A quick google search turned up loads of spooky and gross recipes.  After much thought, I finally settled on two: Barbecued Tapeworms and Stuffed Cockroaches. 

Barbecued Tapeworms

Though the original recipe for the tapeworms called for hot dogs, I used a pack of smoked sausages that I had in the freezer to make the tapeworms.  I also substituted barbecue sauce in lieu of the ketchup.  This gave the dish a flavor similar to that of cocktail wienies.  Simply slice each sausage lengthwise into 6-8 pieces.  Boil and drain.  Return to pot and combine with 1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce.  Simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve warm.  While the recipe I referenced said to serve them as sandwiches on hot dog buns, I chose to just set my worms out in a bowl.  Either way is fine.

Stuffed Cockroaches

For the cockroach dish, I used pitted dates, a block of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup of crushed walnuts.  Simply leave the cream cheese out until it is good and soft (I skipped this part, trust me-- you want to be patient).  Then, combine walnuts and cream cheese.  Go ahead and add some food coloring to turn the mixture brown, or even puke green, if you want to be really gross.  Slice the dates open down one side, smoosh some filling inside, and pinch closed.  Serve on a creepy dish with plastic roach garnishes, if desired.



Did you know...

• Cockroaches have been around since the time of dinosaurs!
• A cockroach can live almost a month without food.
• A cockroach can live about two weeks without water.
• Some female cockroaches only mate once and stay pregnant for life!
• A cockroach can live for up to one week without its head!
• Cockroaches can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes!
• Cockroaches can run up to 3 miles an hour.

source: Pest World for Kids

one mom's guilt trip

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Do you ever feel guilty for not spoiling your children? That's where I am right now.  With two kids, small outings and holidays get expensive pretty quickly if you don't watch what you're doing. 

Before Katie was born, Alex always had deluxe Halloween costumes, but I was working and between my income and Grandma adding bits and pieces (like a leather coat for an Indiana Jones costume), we could do that.  Last year, I made his Jedi costume and it turned out pretty well.  Earlier this year, I made a Luigi costume for him to wear to a birthday party, thinking it would double as his Halloween costume.  However, I neglected to realize that shorts would not be appropriate attire for the end of October.  Oopsie.

So, I've started looking at costumes for both him and Katie.  I've thought about sewing them, and I still may, but I've been browsing the Halloween sites for inspiration.  Good golly!  I kinda forgot that costumes can be so pricey.  To get Alex what he wants, and to buy something cute for Katie, we're looking at nearly $100 just for Halloween costumes.  Is it just me or is that completely crazy?!

So, I want to give them something nice.  I want Alex to be able to dress up as what he wants.  Honestly, I never would have blinked an eye at a forty or fifty dollar costume a few years ago.  Now, I might have waited for it to go on sale, but we still would have spent at least $30 on it.  So, I feel bad that now I'm hesitant to blow that much dough on something that will be worn a maximum of three times in my son's case (he doesn't play dress up anymore).  I also feel guilty because, at age nine, he might not even want to dress up many more times.

My solution is to have him identify a costume he likes and then reproduce it at home for (hopefully) less money.  I'm also going to sew up something for Katie.  We had been looking at a monkey costume for her, but now I'm thinking more along the lines of Little Red Riding Hood.

Since we all know that home crafting projects take on a life of their own, I'm going to challenge myself to really stick to a budget on this one.  Let's say, $40 for two costumes.  Can I do it?  I sure hope so.  I'll post the finished products when I actually finish (you know, after I actually get started).  Want to join me?  Leave a link to your super-fun, budget-friendly homemade costumes below.