When my sister and I were little, my mother always made our Halloween costumes. A bunny, caterpillar, and ladybug to be specific. I wore them until they no longer fit, at which time they were handed down to my sister. We loved them– I still remember crawling around on the floor as a bug! As my mom would say, they wouldn’t have won any awards. They were crafted from mostly felt. But the time and love that went into them made them so very special!
I vowed to make my daughter a costume this year, and I failed. I just ran out of time. So I pulled a Sandra Lee and went “semi-homemade”. I think it’s a good compromise, but I could just be trying to make myself feel better. The bad news is that I chose a “flower fairy” costume, the type I’m sure she’ll be wearing each year for her young life. I should have chosen a kangaroo, or monkey, or something that I know she’ll refuse in the future. But it was just so “her”! The good news is that I did it on a budget, and managed to pull it together with very little effort.
I found this costume at Babies R Us, and it was on sale for $16. The hat is a little over the top, so I think I’m just going to use a headband I already have for her:
Then I found this treat basket at Old Navy. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but matched SO PERFECTLY. I can reuse it as a basket in her room after Halloween is over, so it’s worth the $6.50 (note: it’s now on sale online for $3-$5, but this was the last one in the store).
Since it’s chilly up here around Halloween, she’ll need some leg warmers. I couldn’t find the perfect shade of green, but I did find these from Etsy seller Salts:
If she were a bit taller, these would look cute (from Etsy seller LovelyLittleOnes):
To finish the look, I have a pair of Robeez that fit the theme:
And it’s not pictured, but I do plan to go to Michaels and find a long stemmed tulip. I’ll take off the leaves, wrap the stem in green ribbon, and maybe add a few fun ribbons near the top to make a tulip wand. What do you think? Here’s the price breakdown:
Fairy costume from Babies R Us: $16
Treat bag from Old Navy: $6.50
Baby Legwarmers (can be used again and again): $8.00
headband: free
Robeez: free
Tulip wand: about $3
TOTAL SPENT: $33.50, BUT $14.50 of that is toward reusable items so really only $19.00!
She is going to look adorable!
Augh! That’s adorable. And you’re makin’ me feel so jealous and like a lame, lame mom because I have totally flailed on getting a costume put together for my li’l one. I had the thought of making her be an Olive, since she probably won’t want to be one ever again–which I still might do if I can think of how to make it happen…
Also, here’s a question–when you take an infant trick-or-treating, I’m sure everyone thinks it’s so cute, but are they also kind of annoyed that you’re basically collecting candy for yourself? Hee hee. I’m getting really excited thinking about the fact that I’ll be getting some serious treats for the first time since high school!!
stopping by from sits.
My mom made all my costumes, too. We also wore them until they no longer fit. Her costume you put together for this year is adorable!!
Major update!
I remembered how you so helpfully pointed your readers to the Etsy “Alchemy” feature and asked for someone to make me an olive costume last night. This morning had three bids on it already! I’m going with a seller named Notthekitchensink, whose “sushi” and “noodle bowl” costumes are so flipping cute I’m going to be forcing the “Olive” to be a shrimp ebi next year whether she likes it or not. You have to check them out!
(She’s making me the basic olive body–I’m going to get some olive green long-underwears and have her wear a red pimiento hat! I smell official 2010 Christmas card photo…)
Stopping by from SITS! I think she will be adorable. My grandbaby is now 6 weeks old. Can’t wait to see what they come up with for her costume.
Cuteness! 🙂 Way to shop for things that you will be able to use again later!
I’ve had Halloween on the brain for weeks already! Sharing some knock-offs that are definitely semi-homemade.
http://littleoneofakinddesign.blogspot.com/2009/09/pb-kids-peacock-costumeknock-off.html
http://littleoneofakinddesign.blogspot.com/2009/09/pb-kids-puppy-dog-costume-knock-off.html
http://littleoneofakinddesign.blogspot.com/2009/09/halloween-previewlittle-ks-bunny.html