costumes - Stuff Parents Need

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

July 17, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

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.

My Little Superhero (Costume Discounters Review)

July 7, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Play time gets more exciting every single day. Darah’s imagination is already amazing to witness, and I know its only going to get better! One of my big projects that I’m currently working on is putting together a bin of dress up costumes for her. Some of the items I can get at the thrift store or yard sales, and some accessories I can pick up on clearance (all that big, chunky jewelry that is so popular right now is perfect for dress-up!). But there are some costumes that just need to be left to the experts to create and that are worth paying for. Take this photo, for instance. I wouldn’t trade it or the memory of the first time she put on this costume for $1,000! I mean it!

Darah is sporting the deluxe Supergirl costume for toddler, and isn’t she fabulous in it? I had just put it on her and wanted to do a little photo shoot. I suggested a dramatic hands-on-hips pose, but she had other plans, and immediately went for the more contemplative superhero stance. She’s a bright one, because this look is just so perfect! It’s as if she is looking down from the sky at the people in need, thinking through her strategy in her head and gathering her strength for her upcoming mission. Love it!

This costume came from Costume Discounters, which is a really great resource for superhero costumes (babies through adults!). I think every child’s dress-up box needs at least one caped or masked avenger. For Darah, Supergirl was the perfect choice. You see, Tim was well-known as a child for wearing his superman costume EVERYWHERE. No really. Everywhere. In fact, my mother-in-law was known by some people simply as, “Superman’s mom.” Ha! It is fun for Darah to be able to continue the tradition.

I’m not sure if Darah will be Supergirl for Halloween this year, although that is certainly a possibility. Costume Discounters has a really wide variety of Halloween costumes for toddlers, so I’ll at least be looking over their options in a few months to see if anything strikes me (or lines up perfectly with whatever Darah will be into at that point in time…it changes weekly!). Currently I’m loving their plum pixie costume!

What about you? Are you starting to think of Halloween costume ideas? Any favorites from past years? I’d love to hear!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Easter Bunny Costume for Toddlers

March 6, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Oh. My. Word. I can barely contain my excitement about Easter this year. I can’t believe that it is so late into April! That just gives me all the more time to plan for it, though!

This will really be the first year that Darah will grasp the concept of an egg hunt. SQUEAL!!!! Easter egg hunts in my family are serious. I wish there was a special “serious” font I could use to convey my meaning. The adult children, myself included, still hunt eggs. I honestly had no idea that this was not normal until I got to college. And you know what? Who cares?! We love it! And this is coming from the world’s WORST Easter egg hunter. Just ask my brother. I’m terrible. He is also an egg thief, but that’s a whole other post!

Easter Bunny Costume for Toddlers

Anyway, so back to Darah. For her first true egg hunt, I’m going all out in terms of the outfit. Will it be her Sunday best?! Well, it depends on how you look at it. She’ll be wearing this!
Oh yes she will! Little Darah is totally rocking the bunny costume! I could die just thinking about the pictures that we will be taking. They will be absolutely priceless. She’s just such a doll, from her floppy ears all the way to her cotton tail. The costume even comes with bunny feet and a carrot!

After I got Darah in her costume, she spent a good amount of time laughing at herself in the mirror. She just could not believe that she had been transformed into a bunny. I’m not so sure that it would have occurred to me to get her a toddler bunny costume for Easter, but now that I have one, I have to tell you, this is an AWESOME idea! The body of the costume will probably be outgrown within 6 months, but the headpiece has a lot of give to it (let’s just say a certain grownup in the house might have tried it on, herself….). It will last for a long time and be such a great element in the dress up bin!

So, where does one find such cuteness? Amazon has a great selection (including the one showcased above). I also really loved this one at Target!