Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

New Costumes for Animal Lovers: Cheetah!

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Product provided for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone. 

Does your child have a favorite animal? One that s/he likes to pretend to be all the time? My oldest is all about the cheetah, so when I surprised her with a cheetah costume on her first day of summer break, she was positively giddy.

This little surprise has turned out to be an AWESOME item to have on hand during the, “Mommy, I’m BORED!” season of the year. As soon as I suggest that she turn into a cheetah, she lights up and runs to grab her ensemble.

cheetah costume 1

Overall we really like our piece from Anytime Costumes (and they have other fun animals, so definitely take a look if you could use a fun little surprise for your kids this summer!). The headpiece is a little big on her, but she doesn’t seem to mind. And while she has room to grow elsewhere, it’s not too terribly big on her (I cuffed the legs a bit up under so that you can’t see the cuff…works great!). I’m glad for the room to grow because this means that she’ll get at least a year of wear out of the costume before  having to relinquish it to her little sister.

The costume is soft, has very vibrant colors, and is comfortable for lots and lots of rolling around, jumping and pouncing.

cheetah costume 2

Our only complaint is that there is no tail included, which was disappointing for Darah. I found a tail on Amazon to help complete the look for her, though.

Not really in need of an animal costume for the kids? You can still get a jump start on your Halloween costume ideas by following ATC on Facebook. They post a fun new costume idea most every day!

107 Days Until I Transform Into a Greek Goddess: Halloween Prep!

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Halloween is in 107 days. That probably still sounds like plenty of time to decide what you’d like to be for Halloween.

That’s right, I’m talking about YOU. Not your kids.

Are you wondering why on earth you should be dressing up for Halloween? I’ll tell you why: because IT IS FUN! And your kids will absolutely LOVE that mom wore a costume when taking them trick or treating, or to the local harvest carnival.

I will tell you truthfully that last year I didn’t dress up to take Darah trick or treating. I was in the throes of morning sickness and it was an accomplishment for me just to get out of the house. But Tim dressed up as Harry Potter, and Darah LOVED that her daddy was in costume.

So I’ll be joining the ranks this year. And I decided to go with the same type of costume that was my all-time favorite from all my childhood years of trick or treating: Greek goddess.

That probably sounds like an unusual choice for a child! In the third grade my class did a unit on Greek mythology and I loved it so much that I asked to be Aphrodite for Halloween that year. From the Greek titans all the way down to the half god/half mortal beings, I found the entire concept of Greek mythology to be completely fascinating. I still do, in fact! So it seemed like a great choice to go with.

I chose a goddess costume from Anytime Costumes. I can’t show you a picture of me in it, because to be 100% honest, it doesn’t yet fit. And I did that on purpose. This costume is part of my inspiration for fitness. I’ve got a goal to participate in a 5K in mid-November, and I’ve already started my slow, but steady training to be ready.

One of the benefits of getting my body in shape to do a 5k will be a bit of weight loss. I believe that with 15 pounds shaved off my body, this costume will fit beautifully, and might just make me feel immortal, if only for a few hours!

I have taken a closer look at the costume, and while the quality isn’t something akin to what you’d find in the formal section of a department store, I still think this costume will hold up pretty well for several years of use.

There are 3 1/2 months until Halloween. I want to first encourage you to dress up with your kids this year. It will be a great family memory. And next, I want to encourage you to think about what you want to look like at Halloween. There’s still time between now and then to make some lifestyle changes if you would love to look like a goddess!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.