Life, as of Late

One of my absolute favorite traditions as a Mom is dressing up for Halloween as a family! I love the planning process of coming up with various ideas to fit our family and am beyond excited for this year’s costume for our family of 5. Prior to this year’s celebrations, we were a family of 3 and later 4. There are so many unique and fun options out there. I had to share a few of our family’s Halloween costumes over the years.

For our family’s first Halloween with our oldest child, we opted for a simple Harry Potter theme. My husband wore Harry Potter style glasses, accompanied by a Gryffindor colored tie and wand. Using liquid eyeliner, I drew a simple lightning scar on his forehead. I crocheted myself a matching scarf as well as a hat and dress for my daughter who was none other than, Dobby, the house elf! I loved this costume so much because I was able to handmake mine and my daughter’s first Halloween costumes which, for that reason, will always hold a special place in my heart. One day, I hope to pass it on to my kids when they’re older as a keepsake or potential costume for their own babies.

In 2022, we welcomed our son in the Spring, making us a family of 4, however, my husband didn’t dress up this year. Fresh out of ideas of creative costumes for 3, I searched through Facebook Marketplace for some last minute, affordable options. I came across the cutest Little Red Riding Hood costume for my daughter that even came with a matching basket she could use to hold her candy! Once I found this, I knew I wanted to build the rest of our costumes around this theme. Through another Marketplace listing, I found a costume set for a “elderly woman” that included a gray wig, pearl jewelry, reading glasses, and a cane. I figured I could dress up as Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother!

With this in mind, I knew it only made sense for my son to dress up as the wolf! I was able to find toddler sized wolf ears from Target and picked up a plaid sweater for him as well. I loved this theme/idea because it’s one that you don’t see too often and because it was mostly purchased second-hand, it was so affordable! Costumes, especially when purchasing multiple, can bee quite costly, and when you consider that they’re worn for only one to two nights, it can be hard to justify the price. However, there are so many ways that you can minimize the costs, by either getting creative and pulling from what you already have, making it yourself, or purchasing used.

Last year, in 2023, as a family of 4, we dressed up as The Wizard of Oz characters! This was the first time I think we fully committed to and invested in our costumes. It could have to do with the fact that we now live in Utah where everyone goes all out for Halloween, which I love. We picked up all of our costumes from Spirit Halloween. My husband dressed up as the Scarecrow, myself as the Wicked Witch of the West, my daughter as Dorothy, and my son as the Lion. I went the extra mile by purchasing green foundation and eyeshadow to paint myself green.

Buying costumes from Halloween stores, such as Spirit Halloween, can be very costly, however, I love that they include all of the costume accessories that tie everything together. For example, the Scarecrow’s hat and Dorothy’s bowties. We wore our costumes to go trick-or-treating and create beautiful memories with our little ones. I stored all of the costumes away to sell this coming October and hopefully use the funds to purchase our costumes this year. I cannot wait to plan our next costumes this year!

What have been your favorite costumes over the years?