Stuff Parents Need

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

Scooby Doo Costume for Kids: Layah’s Halloween Pick (Zoinks!)

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Thanks to Costume SuperCenter for providing Layah’s Scooby Doo costume. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last month I sat my girls down and we had a brainstorming session on Halloween costumes. Darah flipped through a costume catalog, cut out ideas, and created an entire vision board full of possibilities.

Layah’s brainstorming session, on the other hand, took 8 seconds. She thought for 6 of those seconds and then yelled, “Scooby Doo!” and marched right up to her room without so much as another word on the subject.

I asked her again a week later and she promptly said, “Mom you already know! Scooby Doo!”

There was a time when Layah was interested in Scooby Doo, but that was maybe a year ago, so this request really did seem random to me. And yet, she was quite decided about her choice! So I found a Scooby Doo costume at Costume Super Center and I was really pleased to see the price point (currently $23.99 AND an additional 20% off with a coupon code!). Last year Layah wanted to be Jasmine, which was just as random. I paid $50 for that costume, which she wore on Halloween night, but has NEVER worn since (despite the fact that my girls play dress up all the time). I’ve been down this road before, so I was really happy to see that her choice this year wouldn’t be nearly as expensive.

scooby doo costume 1

The costume is not one I would expect to endure constant play for too many months, which I think you can expect based on the price. I was a little disappointed to see that the entire back is open. Layah will need to wear some sort of brown shirt underneath, but it’s a very hard color to match, so we’ll also be safety pinning her into the costume.

scooby doo costume 2

We will also have to do a little safety pinning to help the Scooby Doo mask stay in the correct position. Both of these fixes are totally workable, but I wanted to point them out just in case you are looking for something that doesn’t need any adjustments.

Layah seems quite happy with the costume, and unlike last year’s costume, she’s asking to get to dress up in it frequently. I’m not allowing too much play with it, though, until after Halloween to ensure that we don’t find ourselves with a stained or torn Scooby Doo costume before the big night.

scooby doo costume 3

If you want to get more information (and learn about deals) from Costume Super Center, like them on Facebook. And if you have a little Scooby Doo in your house and you want to dress up, too, know that the Costumer Super Center also has Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred costumes!

“Did You Make That?”: The Toddler Costume Reveal!

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Special thanks to Birthdayinabox.com for providing the toddler costume for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

I recently revealed our 16 month old’s Halloween costume on Facebook. She is going to be a little owl! Her toddler costume received unanimous approval, as well as a few questions about how I made it.

How I made it??? I can’t sew on a button properly, let alone sew a costume! And that brings me to what I wanted to say to all the moms and dads out there who are feeling the pressure to create a costume, and that pressure is stressful, rather than exciting and fun:

Buy the kid a costume. 

You do NOT have to spend hours upon hours sweating it out by your sewing machine. And if you are like me and have no sewing skills, you don’t have to spend even a single minute feeling guilty that you won’t be whipping up something one-of-a-kind. Or even worse, convincing yourself that you can learn how to sew in your spare time and THEN put together that fabulous costume idea you saw in Parents magazine.

It’s already October 1, y’all. Let that dream die, already.

There’s not a thing in the world wrong with making a costume, especially if that brings you joy and happiness. But don’t let it suck the life out of you, and definitely not when there are so many cute options out there. Just feast your eyes on this feathered friend!

toddler costume: owl

This owl costume came straight from Birthdayinabox.com. This site is a fantastic resource, not only for cute costumes, but also for party ideas and all the party supplies you could ever need!

If you are still scratching your head over what your child should be for Halloween, and if you are still trying to convince yourself that you have the time, skills and interest in sewing a costume, just take a look around at Birthdayinabox.com and see if you like the idea of clicking a few buttons instead! Before you know it, you could be spending your time practicing your owl hoots like Layah and I are doing!

toddler costume owl hat

Dress Up Time! Costumes for Any Time of Year!

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Ever since we visited Darah’s cousin Livy in North Carolina this past December, getting dressed up has been something she is REALLY into. Livy had a dress up trunk, and Darah definitely thought that was an awesome idea. When we got back home, we actually decided to turn her trunk, which was just a generic toy bin, into her dress up area. It has been a huge hit! We have tutus and various out-of-season but oh-so-fun-to-wear dresses in there, as well as hats and necklaces and scarves.

I’ve been to the dress up section of a few big box toy stores, and I have to say, I wasn’t all that impressed with the selection. Everything is some take on a ball gown (nothing wrong with that, but how about some variety?!). And the prices are sky high for the pitiful quality, in my humble opinion.

It then occurred to me that I was looking in the wrong place. Since I wanted something a little bit different, perhaps like the selection I could find closer to Halloween, why not shop online at a Halloween store? They are open all year, after all!

I went to Wholesale Halloween Costumes online and found an absolutely adorable mermaid costume. Before you tell me that this is just another princess costume, let me remind you that its a fish, and that really is quite different! Darah is absolutely bonkers about Ariel, and while I have my reservations about going nuts with the Disney princess stuff, Ariel happens to be my favorite Disney character, and I actually really enjoy our frequent games of, “under the sea” (hiding under the covers). We also love to go all over the house looking for treasures to take to Scuttle. She gets a big kick out of what Scuttle names each object and declares its purpose to be. I try to not spend much of our time talking about Prince Eric or getting married, but instead, focus on having great adventures under water. Our adventures have even prompted me to do a little research on the history of mermaids. Pretty fascinating stuff, really!

The costume, in my opinion, is quite good for the price. Is it the highest quality costume that you could possibly imagine? No. The sequins do start to come off after the dress has been worn a while, but that’s something easy to fix. It’s also long, which is great if you have a tall kid, but a little tough if your child is a shorty like mine. Darah has learned how to master hiking up her fins, though, so she doesn’t seem to mind. She asks to wear the costume all the time; it is definitely her current favorite dress up outfit!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes from wholesalehalloweencostumes.com. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.


You Don’t HAVE to Make Your Child’s Halloween Costume! Promise!

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Whether you are crafty or not, you probably feel at least some pressure to come up with something original, creative, super cute, and of course, inexpensive for your little one’s Halloween costume. Pinterest abounds with DIY ideas that just scream, “Best mom EVER made this!!!!”

But let me be the one to tell you that if the thought of making a costume gives you any sort of stress or anxiety, you hereby have permission to NOT do it. And you aren’t a bad mom if you buy a costume! Promise! I will be buying costumes every year until Darah outgrows Halloween. As much as I’d love to whip up something awesome for her, it just isn’t going to happen. I lack the skills, the time, and the mental strength to endure it. Just being honest!

This is why I’m glad that there are companies out there that offer great costume choices at affordable prices! It makes sense for me to spend $30 on something that my daughter will delight in and save myself so much headache (and subsequent guilt when the final product doesn’t look quite right!). JustKidCostumes.com is an EXCELLENT resource for those of us who need to make a purchase and then be done with it!

For just over $30, I was able to get a super cute princess costume with fiber optic lights in the skirt! Even if I COULD sew, I couldn’t make something this fun! What I like about this particular costume is that it is generic, so it isn’t any particular princess, which leaves more to the imagination. BUT…it also sparkles and shines! Darah is going to have an absolute blast with this when we take her trick-or-treating (this will be her first year to go! EEE!). I’m even feeling inspired to dress up, myself, and be part of the fun. Tim’s got his costume ready to go. Any ideas for me??? Remember, DIY is NOT my scene! 🙂

While JustKidCostumes.com might not be able to outfit me for Halloween, they can certainly outfit your child with something simple and cute or even something downright extravagant. They’ve got it all!

AND…I’ve got a coupon for you, to make shopping for your child’s costume that much more fun! Use code BLOGGER10 now through October 16th and score 10% off! Yay!!!

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